IATSE_3rd2017_web

with topics that often arise on International
assignments.
Furthermore, each spring International
Vice Presidents, representatives,
and other top staff members gather for
a three-day intensive educational workshop
and retreat. There, the International
staff and Executive Board members come
together to recognize and discuss issues
important to the Alliance. These meetings
also provide an opportunity for
IATSE staff to meet in person for short
and long-term planning and common
goal setting. By sharing a collective vision,
the Alliance moves forward with an enhanced
spirit of unity and cooperation.
Key instructors at recent staff trainings
and the titles of their presentations were:
Trish Westwater, “Strategizing and Communicating
About Activism” (2015); Paul
Silverman, “Working More Effectively—
Time Management” (2015); Scott Treibitz,
“Communications—Framing Ourselves
as Organizers” (2016); Liz McElroy
of the AFL-CIO and Yvonne Syphax of
the Bonnie Ladin Union Skills Program,
“AFL-CIO Messaging/Words that Work”
(2016); Yvonne Syphax, Tiffany Bender
of the AFL-CIO, Sally Alvarez of Cornell
University and Ed Fry, “Convention
Preparation: Leading By Example” and
“ReSET for the IATSE” (2017).
In late 2013, AFL-CIO President
Richard Trumka founded the National
Labor Leadership Initiative (NLLI).
This high-level leadership program responds
to the present turbulent conditions
confronting workers and unions.
This affords union leaders an opportunity
to talk about the institutional objectives
that will build and strengthen our
movement. The NLLI stemmed from
the AFL-CIO’s belief that, rather being
swept up in the inertia of America’s historical
union movement, we must instead
focus on proactivity and planning. To
do so, unions must ally themselves with
progressive institutions that boost the
rights of workers, immigrants, students,
and the middle class. Each year, during
three week-long retreats, NLLI participants
spend hours deliberating over the
groundwork necessary for an enhanced
pro-worker movement. The NLLI offers
strategic ideas about forming alliances,
building capacity, using our resources to
reverse the rising tide of anti-union propaganda,
and transforming the economy
to benefit all workers. Between 2013 and
2015, IATSE General Secretary-Treasurer
James B. Wood and International Trustee
Patricia White respectively participated in
two of the three NLLI meetings.
This group has served as a useful
think tank for those interested in building
pro-worker power. The NLLI has
also added new depth to the expansive
educational offerings for the IATSE’s
members because some of the material
presented at the NLLI has been incorporated
into IATSE leadership training.
Additionally, the IATSE will be able to
draw upon the bonds and relationships
formed with other participating organizations
as future resources. Every group
that addresses the concerns of working
people—including the IATSE—will need
to be flexible, dynamic and intelligent to
confront our many challenges.
We must recommit to being resilient
and trained leaders within the IATSE
every day. In connection with the leadership
training programs noted in this
report, we have persevered toward that
end. IATSE leaders at every level must
continually work to become more skilled
at representing workers within the Alliance.
Under my leadership, more and
more programs and courses have been
offered through the Education and Training
Department. I encourage all Delegates
to this Convention to take advantage of
the International’s support with these
myriad offerings.
Craft Skills and Safety Training
As I have routinely reported, craft
skills and safety trainings are the most dependable
ways to identify the most critical
needs and pressing challenges facing
IATSE members in their workplaces. By
offering our workers the resources they
need, the Alliance gains competitive leverage
and provides our employers with
an invaluable resource—a dynamic,
highly-trained workforce that helps them
succeed. In conjunction with the IATSE
Entertainment and Exhibition Industries
Training Trust Fund (described more
fully elsewhere in this report), the IATSE
has paved the way for our powerful membership
to thrive. We have carried out
several projects to support the development
of industry-wide standards for
worker health and safety for entertainment
workers in the U.S. and Canada.
Leading these is the Entertainment
Technician Certification Program (ETCP)
for entertainment industry professionals.
The Training Trust Fund continues to
reimburse eligible IA workers who pass
any of the ETCP certification tests. The
reimbursement amounts have recently
increased and individuals can now complete
their certifications without paying
the $550 exam fee. I urge all members and
IATSE local unions to continually publi-
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