Mission Statement
The Steward
Steward Handbook
Bill of Rights
Nobody's Perfect
Checklist
Faces Don't Win Cases

Questions & Answers

Contact Education Committee

What Our Training Offers

The District 141 training courses are one day seminars designed for IAM stewards, committee members and local lodge officers. The training is intended to help our stewards and other local union leaders improve their confidence level, to exchange ideas and to develop and hone skills to deal with real, everyday workplace problems and situations in a methodical and systematic way.

If you want to know more about:

• Your grievance procedure,

• Your rights at work,

• Dealing with disputes in the workplace,

• How to be an effective union leader or,

If you would like to:

• Learn new skills,

• Be more confident about your rights and how to protect them,

• Know about your role as a union leader or,

• Play a more active role in the IAM,

then you’ve come to the right place, District 141 training. Our courses and seminars are fun, informative, enlightening and user-friendly. You will meet members from other stations or other classifications, share experiences, learn new skills and ways of helping your coworkers. You will learn how to be a respected union leader and to understand that you are not dealing with a problem alone; there are resources and options available to you for the asking.

Emphasis is placed on:

• Solving grievances and other problems

• Roles and responsibilities

• Leadership

• Attitudes

• Communications

We use a variety of teaching methods to keep the sessions flowing in an upbeat and participatory way. For example, when we have a “Steward Fundamentals” class at the District Headquarters in Chicago, we use flip charts, a whiteboard, 2 short videos and a PowerPoint presentation. We usually do 4 grievance and contract language exercises. We also slot in time from a member of our prestigious EAP program and a knowledgeable Workers Compensation lawyer.

During our sessions we strive to put everyone at ease, no matter what’s going on in the workplace. There’s a lot of group work and lively discussion. Lectures are rare. We invite questions on how to deal with various situations and lead discussions in trying to help solve a problem that someone is having at work. We are not about memorizing facts but rather about giving you the tools you need to succeed. There are no tests or essays. Very little writing is required but when it is, spelling doesn’t count.

We have 16 members who are part of our education staff. They are people who have the same day-to-day work life as the participants in our classes. Using these members is an important part of our approach to educating our stewards and other union officials. Our educators truly relate to the class participants as peers; they’ve been in their shoes before and have experienced many of the same problems and difficulties. Their knowledge and understanding of union work helps the participants feel at ease when sharing ideas and learning new skills.

Our educator’s backgrounds are as varied as our memberships. All do a great job at listening to others, showing patience, speak well and are open to many points of view.

They are willing and able to communicate their knowledge and use their skills in a positive way to help build the IAM. These people are self-motivated and eager to share their knowledge; they have my deepest respect. I am proud to work with the following District Educators in 2005. 

District 141 has long believed that our members are the experts in the workplace and that’s what our Educators are. The role of our educators is to help members build confidence, exchange ideas, discuss the issues you care about and develop skills to deal with workplace problems. The group above has pledged to fulfill this commitment.

Our training is structured systematically to build a positive and productive way of acting and reacting to situations that will benefit everyone. Our seminars bring union leaders together to talk about and share their experiences, to gain new skills, and to formulate a strategic plan when processing grievances.

Come join us some day; you won’t be disappointed!