Published 21 Oct, 2015
The entire TWU International staff came together for a five-day boot camp training at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum Heights, MD this week, part of President Lombardo and the IAC’s response to ongoing requests for increased training for TWU’s staff and development opportunities. The boot camp was designed to fully immerse International staff in a campaign planning and development experience, offering many of them a front-line look at intensive organizing, agitation and public affairs tactics being deployed on the most sophisticated campaigns around the country.
“It’s time for TWU to pack an outsized punch,” Lombardo said. “As we return to our militant roots, we’re going to wage contract campaigns against some of the nation’s largest employers. And in order to do that, we need to be prepared. And our enemies need to know that this union knows what it’s doing, and that we don’t back down without a fight.”
Parts of the training focus on refreshing fundamental skills, including one-on-one member communications and get-out-the-vote efforts, while other sections challenge participants to develop new skill sets, introducing staff to cutting-edge digital strategies to help organize our members and generate participation levels that can be tracked, measured and reported. Each training module is designed to empower staff to re-imagine their role within the organization, and to commit to fulfilling that role with renewed purpose and increased capacity.
Participants were also tasked with generating real-time campaign strategies that target diverse audiences in different regions and industries, all centered on engaging TWU’s membership. At the end of the week, the staff left with a clear set of action items, road maps and plans to implement, ensuring the hard work won’t go to waste.