In-Person
Visit www.afge.org/events to view upcoming events across the Federation.
In-person FSED classes take place at District, Council, and other AFGE training events. These are our core curriculum classes, offered regularly throughout the year. For a full list of all in-person courses, please email [email protected].
Representation/Stewards
- Worksite Representation: Stewards Training (3 days): This in-person course instructs participants on the roles and responsibilities of an AFGE Steward. The course covers a wide range of important topics, including: AFGE governance, Weingarten rights; grievance handling; conflict resolution, rights at work, scope of bargaining, workers’ compensation, and member benefits.
What you will learn:
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- The duties and responsibilities of an AFGE Steward and union representative
- How Chapter 71 of the United States Code, “the Statute,” impacts your role and rights as an AFGE steward
- How to distinguish between a formal and informal meeting
- What constitutes a grievance and the five steps of handling a grievance
- How to communicate with employees in the workplace
- Advanced Representation (3 days): This course builds upon the basic Representation: Stewards course by going deeper into the knowledge and skills necessary to properly represent AFGE members. Participants will spend time preparing the necessary forms and filings for representation and demonstrate their knowledge of rules and practices through highly interactive activities throughout this course.
What you will learn:
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- Best practices for assisting members with grievances
- Tips for writing legal briefs
- How to determine if Agency penalties are appropriate
- How to effectively support BUEs during investigative interviews
Local Leaders/Local Officers
- New Leaders: Local Officers (3 days): This in-person training is designed to provide local officers with essential knowledge needed to competently perform the duties and responsibilities associated with their office. The course will provide an overview of the constitutional and legal frameworks that govern the administration of the union, such as the CSRA, LMRDA, and the regulatory bodies that enforce these laws.
What you will learn:
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- How the AFGE Constitution and local bylaws regulate the local union’s practices.
- Legal duties and responsibilities under the LMRDA and CSRA
- Fiduciary duties under the Department of Labor and associated reporting requirements for local LM forms
- How to run effective union meetings
- How to plan and budget for a “Strong, Effective Local”
- Building Power Through Strategic Planning (minimum 2 days): This course helps local leaders learn to think more strategically and develop strategic plans for their locals. The practice of careful strategic planning has resulted in AFGE becoming one of the AFL-CIO’s fastest growing unions in the past, overcoming various challenges along the way. Participants must have completed New Leaders: Local Officers class prior to this course and should be a current leader/officer at their local.
What you will learn:
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- How to improve strategic thinking skills to shape the context for strategic execution.
- Best ways to lead through strategic change
- How to develop a solid, executable strategic plan
- How to Lead Effective Locals: Leadership Development for Union Officers (5 days): This week-long intensive training offered at AFGE headquarters gives local leaders and executive boards a deeper awareness of labor history and the role local leaders play in the broader labor movement, increased basic knowledge of leadership models and frameworks that support the development of local leaders and e-board members, and enhanced skills to develop and implement strategic plans that reflect the needs of the local and its members.
Participants will hear from knowledgeable department directors and their staff on a variety of topics including how to draft or amend local bylaws, how to work effectively with an executive board, how to plan a local budget, and how to engage more members through mobilizing, organizing, and communicating.
For details and to learn more about this training, click here.
Collective Bargaining
- Collective Bargaining I - Legal Frameworks (3 days): This in person-training was designed to assist AFGE members and leaders in developing a working knowledge of their collective bargaining rights under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71. Course topics include identifying collective bargaining roles and responsibilities under Title 5.
What you will learn:
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- The rules and requirements of collective bargaining under 5 U.S.C Chapter 71
- Key terms and concepts used in federal sector collective bargaining
- Common legal strategies used in federal collective bargaining
- Collective Bargaining II - Negotiation Skills (3 days): This in-person training was designed for experienced AFGE leaders and members who are interested in further expanding their federal sector collective bargaining skills and knowledge. Participants will learn how to apply appropriate negotiation techniques and strategies at the table.
What you will learn:
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- How to determine which bargaining strategies, skills and techniques are likely to be most effective at the bargaining table
- How to implement strategic bargaining processes to prepare for council-level negotiations
- How to recognize the relationship between internal union politics and collective bargaining
- How to examine the ratification process and identify effective strategies for educating and gaining support from membership
Health & Safety
- Health and Safety Training (3 days): The Health and Safety basic training is intended to promote worker and local union participation in creating a safer and healthier work environment. You will be able to effectively recognize basic safety and health hazards in your own workplace, make recommendations for change, and participate in inspection and abatement efforts. This course introduces participants to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Executive Order 12196, 29 CFR 1960 and 29 CFR 1910.
What you will learn:
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- How to identify health and safety hazards at your workplace
- Best practices for controlling health and safety hazards
- How to file an OSHA complaint and request an OSHA inspection
- Basic Workers’ Compensation (3 days): This in-person training teaches participants how to represent bargaining unit members if they become injured or ill due to a work-related activity. Participants will review the rules and regulations associated with the claims process and the responsibilities of employees, supervisors, and union representatives.
What you will learn:
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- How to identify and file a workers’ compensation claim
- The rules, regulations and terminology associated with the claims process.
- How to avoid common pitfalls in the workers’ compensation process
- Advanced Workers’ Compensation (3 days): This in-person course instructs
participants on the workers’ compensation hearing process and what to do if the initial workers’ compensation claim is denied. Participants will prepare the necessary forms and filings for a hearing and demonstrate their knowledge of rules and procedures during a mock hearing.
What you will learn:
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- How to prepare for the appeals process if the initial workers’ compensation claim is denied
- How to conduct a full review of claim files and documentation, identify missing or inadequate information, and draft an appropriate response
