Union workers educating each other, and all of us

Consortium for Worker Education has partnered with United Federation of Teachers Local 1 and the Transport Workers Local 100 to help union members exchange expertise to benefit all of New York.Consortium for Worker Education has partnered with United Federation of Teachers Local 1 and the Transport Workers Local 100 to help union members exchange expertise to benefit all of New York.

New York City is home to 695,000 union members. What can they teach the rest of us?

“People don’t think of workers and unions in an educational context, but when we look at the extraordinary scope and depth of union training programs across NYC, we see an largely untapped social resource with enormous potential,” says John McDermott, Consortium for Worker Education’s Special Projects Director.

All of CWE’s programs center on providing workers with the skills they need to advance in their career. Accessing the expertise and experience of veteran workers to shape the training is critical to the success of our union programs.

CWE put that philosophy into action earlier this year, when the United Federation of Teachers Local 1 and the Transport Workers Local 100 participated in a CWE-led working group to expand apprenticeships, along with CUNY, the MTA and the NYS Department of Labor. Building on those discussions, CWE was able to assist in the creation of a new partnership between the unions, a kind of professional development cultural exchange.

UFT knew that some of their Career and Technical Education teachers would benefit from updating their knowledge and industry skills – exactly the programs that are being taught internally at the TWU – skills related to signals, infrastructure, and track maintenance.

TWU Local 100's expertise in signals, infrastructure, and track maintenance has become a resource to NYC Career and Technical Education teachers, members of UFT.

The two unions initiated Zoom classes where TWU trainers could share the latest on safety, work regulations, and what industry-specific skill sets teachers can impart to their students. The initial classes are turning into a lasting relationship for skills and knowledge transfer, as well as networking that will benefit high school students and a public transit system that faces skills gaps in infrastructure positions.

"In response to the urgent needs of New York City Transit concerning capital construction, subway infrastructure, and the retiring workforce, the Training and Upgrading Fund works in partnership with others to provide the best training models across the transportation industry," says Charles Jenkins, Acting Director of TWU Local 100's NYCT Training & Upgrading Fund.

It turned out, TWU trainers needed support from the UFT as well. The COVID-19 pandemic had forced in-person education to go online at institutions across the city, and the member education programs at TWU Local 100 were no different. Who better to advise online learning than the public school teachers who had put it into action for the city’s million public school students in the spring? Assisted by CWE, TWU and the UFT Teacher Center worked to organize Zoom classes about how to develop an online lesson plan, how to use a digital white board, and how to effectively utilize online platforms as a teacher.

The success is sparking other discussions of inter-union partnerships to respond to the coronavirus as well as solve long-term challenges. “Unions know how much workers have to offer,” says McDermott. “The Consortium for Worker Education is committed to supporting and connecting unions to our public education systems so New Yorkers get the full benefit of their members’ expertise.”