By Jammi Juarez
Jammi Juarez with IBEW 1245’s delegates at the Summit in Chicago.
Over 1,000 young workers came together in Chicago on March 19-22 to attend the 3rd NextUp Young Workers Summit. IBEW had the largest delegation with over 100 members in attendance. Former IBEW LU 125 Organizer Liz Shuler, now Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, was in attendance – she is the youngest person and the first woman to hold this title with the AFL-CIO.
The conference had a heavy focus on social media. We were encouraged to Tweet, post, hashtag, tag and share as often as possible. We also used technology to have a “paperless” event. Participants downloaded an app to their phones to access the daily workshop schedule, locations and facilitators. Text message blasts would keep us updated on changes throughout the conference. It was very progressive and informative.
Below are four testimonials from IBEW 1245 delegates:
Anthony M. Seemster
The Chicago young workers summit was a great experience and the first time I have been to Chicago. I started the conference on Thursday with a bang we had some great speakers including the amazing Danny Glover who made a great speech about he importance of workers’ rights.
Throughout the conference speaker after speaker really brought to the forefront the importance of what we do. In the workshops I realized how forward-thinking 1245 is and how our program is such a great opportunity for young workers like us to get involved and make a difference. The most amazing part of the conference was the Rally for $15. We started at McDondald’s and ended at Food 4 Less. We marched, held signs, chanted and showed solidarity for the workers of those chains. I loved seeing the amount of people who were marching and how passionate they were about the cause. The turnout was amazing for the rally and it was something that I was so happy to be a part of. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
The whole trip was a great time. We saw so many young people being so passionate and hearing what they have to go through on a daily basis. I would love to be able to help our brother and sisters more often. The stuff that we do at our local would be so beneficial to other locals and I would love to be a part of that.
I also would like to participate in 1245 having a booth at our next event or even hosting something out our way. I also would like to see is having some shirts or pins or some bring like that to give to our brother and sisters to remember us by.
I appreciated the opportunity and look forward to the next trip. The team we went with was great and we had a great time and learned a lot. I appreciate getting asked to the event and I can say our team represented 1245 to the fullest!!
IBEW delegates together at the Summit.
Lupe Johnson
Our trip started in the beautiful, historic city of Chicago! We had full days scheduled of conferences, workshops, social events, and even a day of action. This was my first conference and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I went in open minded and excited for the experiences to come.
From the moment we started ice breakers and meeting others we found that although there were a lot of unions present, a lot felt as though they came more so from public sectors rather than private sectors. We also found that 1245’s representatives (Melissa, Anthony, and myself) held very different positions in comparison to what others do for a living. It made me appreciate to know that IBEW 1245 truly appreciates us and our commitment despite our titles. It was great to meet our other brothers and sisters from different parts of the country and even in other departments within our company…. all on the same page for one common goal.
Although we all had pre-scheduled days there was a lot of flexibility in the workshops we attended. We collectively thought out what best suited our situation or seemed relevant in our day to day. Some examples of workshops we attended were Collective Bargaining 101, New Jim Crow – Drug Wars, Mass Incarceration and the Labor Movement, Internal Organizing for Young Workers, and How to Talk about the Economics of Power, Privilege and Oppression.
These workshops helped and benefited me on many different levels. I met many different people with different fights, views, perspective, and ideas. I have not yet been part of a bargaining committee but felt this would be a great place to start. We (Anthony, Melissa, and myself) thought that for our personal period of negotiations we can show solidarity by either wearing matching shirts in non-uniform departments or for ALL departments to wear matching neon band aids.
We thought about emailing surveys to our members to better understand their needs and wants. This will help departments near and far feel connected and build a better morale.
Specifically speaking to New Jim Crow – Drug Wars, Mass Incarceration and the Labor Movement, I learned how California was truly been a pioneer and stepping stone to change. This workshop gave me knowledge how mass incarceration has a direct and indirect effect on our labor movement.
Prop 47 was discussed and how it can be a positive life changer for many. I was fortunate enough to meet the guest speaker for this workshop. HIs name is Robert Rooks working as an Organizing Director at Californians for Safety and Justice. We spoke and exchanged contact information.
The workshop of Internal Organizing for Young Workers was enlightening for other reasons. We realized how IBEW 1245 is before our time. We were able to bring so much to the table for other groups who are not as fortunate as we are to already be focusing on our “youth”. WE gave suggestions to others of including family, social events, mixers, and even our charity bowl. We once again were humbled to be part of such a strong, forward thinking union.
How to Talk about the Economics of Power, Privilege and Oppression was my personal favorite. We were all so involved with the workshop it went over 30 minutes in discussion. This workshop provided visuals and examples of our economy and how it is and isn’t circulating. This helped provide a new insight on how and where certain individuals stand within our society. How we react amongst each other and how to better understand the true problem. All of these workshops in their own respect helped me understand and see sides of the picture I needed to see. They opened my mind and heart so that I am better equipped to not only speak on, but be an even better representative in this fight for solidarity and labor.
We were very fortunate to have many speakers at our conferences. To name a few were; actor and activist Danny Glover, Liz Shuler (1st woman & 2nd youngest elected) Secretary Treasure for AFL-CIO, Keith Ellison / D-Minnesota (policy making), Sonia Ramirez (North America’s Building Trades Unions), Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance & two young guest speakers, Carmen Berkeley for AFL-CIO (Organizing in a Diverse Labor Movement), and so many more great people.
These speaker sessions held all 1,000 + attendees. The speakers were very inspirational and brought in a lot of high energy. They were very influential with making a human connection. We were able to hear their stories and what their needs were. They validated our fight and how much we truly are appreciated for our work. These speakers reminded us of our progress and the work that lays ahead. Some of the speakers listed above were some of my favorite speakers. However, the young gentlemen who benefited from the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance were my favorite and touched me personally.
The Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance has a trade program at a high school level. This provides apprentice programs for our youth. When they graduate for those who do not continue to college, are now equipped and trained to enter the work force immediately. The benefit of entering the work force makes are youth responsible, tax paying citizens who are now contributors to our economy almost immediately entering adulthood. The long-term effects to crime and labor are so beneficial it is definitely worth mentioning and even more investing in. Stories like these opened my eyes to other aspects and solutions to our fight in improving our labor conditions. It would be great for us in California to have programs such as those implemented in Chicago.
Our Day of Action is an understatement. We were able to participate in a friendly protest in the McDonald’s parking lot and then walked down to Food 4 Less’ parking lot to continue there. We were joined by many buses with our brothers and sisters. We were welcomed and supported by the citizens of Chicago. We chanted endlessly and heard many horns in support of bystanders and drivers. Our solidarity and unity was undeniable. We received much attention from the media, both English and Spanish speaking outlets, and even the police department. Even with the presence of cops and their “vans” for possible arrests we were not intimidated. We as one continued our right to organize.
With a feeling of success and promise to return we completed our Day of Action and returned to the buses ALL safe! I completely enjoyed this and hope to see this also take place in our very backyard, the state of progress, California!
1245’s Jammi Juarez with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler.
Melissa Becerril
Talk. About. Energy.
Yes, this conference was full of energy! The AFL-CIO Next Up Summit, hosted in the beautiful windy city of Chicago was full of ambitious, driven, young delegates representing multiple locals, labor councils, and federations from all over the country. I had the pleasure of representing our Local 1245 with three additional delegates and was excited for the opportunity to partner with fellow organizers in our endeavor.
We had a full itinerary each day of the summit, beginning on Thursday with a rally plenary with guest speaker and union activist Danny Glover, to workshops based around campaigning, mobilization, and activism, and ending Sunday with a state based workshop to ensure we had a plan of action to bring home with us. Although every aspect of the trip was incredibly educational and memorable, the best part was our Day of Action. We hit the pavement with 9 busloads full of young activist ready to take on the fight for 15. We peacefully protested in front of a McDonald’s in west Chicago in the hundreds, then marched our way to the local Food 4 Less, to fight for a living fair wage for the workers. I felt so proud and humbled to be a small part of such a huge movement, and that I could be a part of the good fight.
Additionally, I really gained knowledge with a leadership-based workshop on how to talk about the economics of power. In this workshop, we spoke of breaking down barriers that hold workers back, and recognizing that power, privilege and oppression is both a social and economic issue. We were divided up into small groups to discuss amongst ourselves what we could do in our own workplaces in order to overcome barriers that we may face and how the strength of the workforce, no matter the race, color, or gender, in many numbers is much strong than just a singular CEO.
I’m very excited to put into action the items I’ve learned at the summit, such as uniting our members with a solidarity action in the workplace, such as matching t-shirts or matching nail polish (yes even the guys!) so the company knows that we all stand together, as one. This is especially important in a contract negotiation year. In addition, ways to grow our organizing efforts within our local by hosting a member-to-member mixer, or even a Brothers and Sisters in Solidarity bowling night, are some ideas that were discussed that I definitely want to put into action.
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, and thank you for choosing myself and my brothers Anthony and Jeremiah and sister Lupe for being the voices and faces of our local. I couldn’t be more proud to say WE ARE IBEW Local 1245!
Jeremiah Tompkins
I was privileged to attend the NextUp Young Workers program in Chicago. It was a great learning experience and they had multiple workshops available throughout the day for us to attend.
Trying to decide which one to go to was the hardest part – you don’t realize how much information is out there until it’s in front of you and you’re trying to soak all you can in the little amount of time you have.
I attended a politics workshop that touched base on setting up campaigns and helping to encourage voter participation in our elections.
I had the opportunity to meet fellow brothers and sister from Local 1245 and also met with several people across the United States. We laid all of our experiences on the table and swapped stories and learned from each other.
As an IBEW 1245 member sometimes you just show up and do your job and don’t realize how much work that our union actually does and puts into campaigns and special small elections for our towns. We have a great team here at the IBEW and I’m honored to be a part of it.
Coming home is the start of putting everything you’ve learned into action. It’s easy to complain about needing younger help and why aren’t you dealing with this problem we have, the real question you should ask is where do I need to be at and what can I do to fix this myself.
Step up to the plate because you’re next!