In our strongest chapters, members are connected, information flows and people get together outside of chapter meetings.
If members only come together to talk about bargaining and their contract, our union can feel impersonal or like a service provided, but we’re a community. When we share resources and consider member needs beyond the contract, we create a social network with tighter bonds, which leads to more effective campaigns that come together naturally. People are already engaged when it's time to do the hard work that wins quality contracts.
But how do you do that? Workshops are a great place to start! McMinnville Chapter 90 is holding a series of workshops this school year. Chapter President Lora Moye said chapter leadership wants to create more spaces for classified staff to get to know each other and learn valuable information about their employment and their futures.
“We’re trying to get more people to come in,” Moye said. “We’re trying to show our members and our nonmembers – hey, these are the kind of things your union can do for you.”
In the fall, Chapter 90 hosted ROSE Treasurer-Secretary Tim Stoelb for a presentation on retirement through PERS last week. Stoelb walked attendees through the steps of figuring out when to retire and how to get started with PERS.
People came out for the PERS workshop who Moye hadn’t seen attend chapter events before. Turnout was higher than some chapter meetings, which Chapter 90’s executive team sees as an indicator that they’re on the right track.
“We want to make sure we’re providing the resources our classified staff need,” said Vice President Lisa Johnson.
Their next workshop was about unemployment insurance (UI) benefits as we headed into the holiday break, as breaks can be used as the waiting week for UI.
Retired Oregon School Employees (ROSE) is a great resource for workshops that provide real information your bargaining unit needs and can use. They offer a variety of workshops: PERS and Your Retirement Plan, Introduction to Social Security, Medicare Introduction, Introduction to ROSE, and Identity Theft and What You Can Do. A ROSE member can come deliver the training in person, or they can be done over Zoom.
These trainings aren't just for people who want to retire at the end of the year or even next year, ROSE Chair Bonnie Luisi said.
"We want to make sure that members understand they can sign up for online accounts for PERS, Social Security and Medicare now," Luisi said. "Even if you're not planning to retire for 20 years, you can go on there and check your work records, make sure your information is correct."
"It's pretty overwhelming when you get to that retirement age," ROSE Secretary-Treasurer Tim Stoelb said. "We try to help relieve that anxiety a little bit."
Luisi and Stoelb said it's important to get classified employees the information they need to plan their futures, because it helps workers see that our union is invested in their success.
"This is something they can learn for their own benefit and be prepared," Luisi said. "And that helps the camaraderie in the group."
So how can you have ROSE come to your chapter? Just ask ROSE Chair Bonnie Luisi and Secretary-Treasurer Tim Stoelb! ROSE's website also has a lot of additional information about planning for retirement.
More broadly, a workshop program can be a way to support your membership and conduct outreach in a way that adds value for your coworkers. If you'd like to create a similar program in your chapter, start by thinking about which questions you hear the most and what workshops might help address them.