AFGE District 14 recently held its first ever university-style training last week, and the new program started with a bang. Drawing dozens of members from across the region, District 14 University is the culmination of months of effort to take their training regimen to the next level.
With influences from the District 5 PORT Training and District 10 leadership training, the week-long training featured everything from pep rallies to a wide variety of representation-centered courses. The class structure included core classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with secondary courses on Tuesday and Thursday. This format allowed participants to take multiple classes while focusing on key representational areas.
Participants engaged in core classes like new leaders, financial officers, EEO, and representation. Some of the secondary workshops offered included local presidents’ roundtable, young workers, parliamentary procedure, workplace health and safety, and how to lead an effective local.
"It is critical that we provide these types of learning opportunities for our membership,” said AFGE District 14 National Vice President Eric Bunn. “With the diversity of our members in terms of what level of government they work for, it was essential for us to provide educational opportunities that center their particular experiences. We also wanted to create an environment where folks were excited to participate in the training and motivated to share what they learned with their members and stewards at their respective locals.”