Public Employee Press

Labor Education Program grows
Building union leaders

ALFREDO ALVARADO

IN A CONTINUING effort to build the union leaders of tomorrow and expand members' educational and training opportunities, the DC 37 Education Fund is now offering new courses in its Labor Education program. "The Education Fund does not rest on past achievements," said Barbara Kairson, administrator of the Education Fund. "We continue to develop new and informative courses that enhance the skills of the members."

Conflict Resolution, Writing for Shop Stewards and Public Speaking have been added to the Labor Education curriculum.

Local 2627 member Rosalind Cerngg-Payne, a 28-year veteran at the city Dept. of Education, is taking the new six-week Public Speaking course. As a Computer Specialist, she writes software programs and spends most of her time on the job by herself, working on the computer in her office with little opportunity to interact with colleagues or the public.

The Brooklyn native thought the class could help develop her speaking skills, which she plans to put to good use. "I'd like to become more active in the union," she said. "This course will definitely help me with that."

The class is taught by Onida Coward Mayers, who has taught Public Speaking at Brooklyn College and several schools within the city university system.

"I've been extremely impressed with the students. They're all very committed and have a desire to move forward with their careers and in the union," Mayers said. Students have to give a minimum of three speeches during the course, one to inform, one to demonstrate and another to persuade. She also picks topics out of a hat as subjects for brief, impromptu speeches by the students.

The Public Speaking course is currently offered on Monday or Friday evenings at DC 37 headquarters. The two-hour classes are held weekly for six weeks. "We wanted to offer a course that would be useful to the members at work and in their personal lives as well," said Claire Menelas, assistant director of the Ed Fund Labor Education unit and the instructor for the Shop Steward Training course. The public speaking class is open to all members.

The new Writing for Shop Stewards course is geared toward helping participants hone their writing skills, organize and write better minutes of union meetings and prepare members' grievances. "The public speaking and writing courses help members improve their communication skills," said Menelas.

Getting more active in the union was a motivating factor for Local 1505 activist Edwin Sallas as he joined 30 other
members in Shop Steward Training. Sallas, a City Park Worker at College Point Park in Queens, was recently elected as a shop steward. In addition to his work maintaining four baseball fields, a soccer field and a roller rink, he is looking forward to applying on the job what he's learning in the classroom. "Issues on the job - things like out-of-title work - need to be addressed," said Sallas. When he completes the course, Salas will receive a certificate.

All of the classes are held at DC 37 during the evening and are free. Members who want to take the Conflict Resolution and Writing for Shop Stewards courses must first complete Steward Training.

"This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Education Fund. This milestone shows the commitment to membership education that DC 37 has demonstrated," said Kairson.