Mass. AFL-CIO Futures Convention Spotlights Young Workers

John Drinkwater, organizing and mobilization coordinator for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, sends us this report on how the state federation is helping build the future by tapping into the skills of today’s young workers.

Continuing its ongoing mission to develop young union leaders in the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO’s Third Annual Futures Convention elected a new Futures representative to a serve on the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Executive Council and head the Futures Program for the coming year.

This year, delegates at the Feb. 5 and 6 convention voted among a group of three candidates nominated by their fellow delegates and chose Daniel Manning of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2325 as their new rep. Ben Sherman of Sheet Metal Workers Local 17 and Christopher Deane of Iron Workers Local 7 also ran for the Futures seat.

Manning will be the third young union member to hold the one-year term Futures seat, taking over for Allison-Doherty-LaCasse, a member of the Boston Teachers Union/AFT who served for the past year and led the Futures program through its successful second year. Jeremy McKeen, a member of the Lynn Teachers Union/AFT, served as the first Futures Representative in 2008.

Manning has been an active member in his own Worcester-area local, which represents Verizon’s telecom workers. In October, he delivered a memorable speech at a rally in front of Verizon’s New England headquarters in Boston, urging the company to stop a round of devastating and unjustified layoffs during these trying economic times. Unfortunately, Manning’s job was one of thousands that Verizon eliminated nationwide, but he remains an active member of the local, serving on its executive board.

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes, who opened the Convention with a speech to delegates, congratulated Manning on his election.

I look forward to working with him throughout the next year to further grow this important program, and to have his voice representing young union members on our Executive Council. I also wish to thank Ben Sherman and Chris Deane for their clear dedication to the program which they demonstrated by running for the Futures seat, and Allison Doherty-LaCasse for her excellent work as Futures Representative during the past year. It is inspiring to see so many younger members, including all of our delegates, who wish to become more involved in our labor movement.

Among the many compelling speakers at the Futures Convention, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler offered a video-greeting to delegates and expressed her regret for being unable to join the event in person. Secretary-Treasurer Shuler was scheduled to speak, but had to fly back to Washington, D.C., immediately after addressing the Mass. AFL-CIO State of the Union Convention because of the massive snowstorm headed for the nation’s capital. Another great speaker: former Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and candidate for State Auditor Suzanne Bump.

Some exciting news broke during the convention, with two Futures delegates announcing they are gearing up for runs for the state legislature in 2010. John Kelly, President of IBEW Local 2321, announced a run for State Senate in the Second Essex and Middlesex district, and IBEW Local 2325 member Paul Mark announced a run for State Representative in the Second Berkshire District.

The agenda also featured a series of workshops on labor law, workers’ rights and running for elected office. Isabel Lopez of the Massachusetts Coalition of Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) led the workers’ rights panel, and was accompanied by two immigrant workers who contacted the MassCOSH Workers’ Center for assistance in dealing with abusive employers. Their stories demonstrated the long way we have to go to truly achieve workers’ rights.

Jeff Santos, host of The Jeff Santos Show on progressive talk radio station AM 1510, spoke to delegates about communicating labor’s message through the media, and Elaine Bernard, a preeminent labor scholar and the Executive Director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard University, discussed the challenges facing the labor movement in the decades ahead and how it is up to the next generation of union leaders to take them on and rejuvenate the movement.

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