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Aug. 20, 2010:NWLP 8/17/10 10:49 AM Page 4 AFL-CIO to establish special council for young workers WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — Re- sponding to demands from its first-ever Youth Summit less than three months ago, the national AFL-CIO will estab- lish a special council of young workers from around the country to consider, refine, and channel their issues and to help connect the labor movement to young workers, or those 35 and under. The council is the most fully devel- oped part of the federation’s increased outreach to youthful workers, AFL- CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler told Press Associates Union News Service Aug. 5 at the labor federation’s Executive Council meeting in down- town Washington, D.C. Shuler, 39, was the prime mover be- hind the summit — along with data showing union members are older and grayer than the U.S. workforce as a whole. Only 5 percent of workers aged 18-24 are unionized, compared to 16 percent of those aged 45-64. Further, according to the 300 youth- ful activists at the summit, labor doesn’t know how to reach and in- volve young workers, needs to adapt to changing non-tradi- tional work environments, and must start L IZ S HULER two-way com- munication, among other things. Shuler’s report to the Executive Council touched on all those issues and more, including the need to educate young workers about unions. “There are a lot of moving parts to this and it’s still being developed, and will be road- tested through ‘webinars,’ ” she said. “People felt really comfortable with what we recommended,” Shuler said of the other union leaders. “First and fore- ATTENTION! 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Youth summit participants also noted young workers are in different arrangements from traditional ones unions are used to. The new arrange- ments include part-time work, contract work, work from home, and freelance work. Unions must figure out how to both organize and benefit workers in those new arrangements. The commit- tee will handle that task, too. Recruiting and involving younger unionists also involves mentoring, the summit participants said. Shuler reported that her colleagues were surprisingly receptive to the idea, but warned that local union leaders may be another story. There, mentoring and participation opportunities — such as holding union office or serving as a national convention delegate — often go to older veteran members who worked their way up. “Don’t just give me a mentor and a program is what we’re saying,” Shuler explained. “I want to be able to pick the mentor, help develop the program and have two-way communication. And another thing is that union meetings are boring and need to be turned into edu- cational opportunities that appeal to members,” she added. Young labor activists — YELL— to meet in Portland, Saturday, Aug. 28 A newly-formed youth organiza- tion of the Oregon AFL-CIO, dubbed Young Emerging Labor Leaders (YELL), will convene for a daylong meeting Saturday, Aug. 28. Participants will elect one person to become a voting member on the Oregon AFL-CIO General Board. The meeting will take place at the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center, 16021 NE Airport Way, Port- land. Meals are provided, beginning with breakfast from 8:30 to 9:30, and ending with a barbecue social at 5:30 that will include union entertainment. Workshops will delve into what it means to be a union member, why unions are involved in politics, and how to organize and mobilize for change. And longtime political consultant Steve Novick will moderate a forum for candidates seeking the Oregon AFL-CIO General Board seat. To register, e-mail or call Oregon AFL-CIO organizer Ian McEwen at ian@oraflcio.org or 503-224-3169. There are no hard and fast guidelines as to what constitutes a young union member, said YELL co-founder Jaimie Sorenson, but the target age is 35 or under. Anti-union ballot measures to be voted on in four states PHOENIX — Four states will ask voters in November to undercut the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, a bill in Congress that will make it eas- ier for workers to form and join a union by allowing “card-check.” Associated Press reported that Re- publican-controlled legislatures in Ari- zona, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah have forwarded ballot meas- ures that will ask voters to decide whether the state constitution should require a secret ballot for workers vot- ing to unionize. If passed, the secret ballot initiatives would have little immediate effect be- cause federal law already allows em- ployers to require a secret ballot. Rather, the ballot measures are an attempt to pre-emptively undermine the Employee Free Choice Act. EFCA would allow a majority of employees to create a union by signing cards. EFCA has stalled on Capitol Hill, but businesses worry congressional De- mocrats will bring it up in a lame duck session after the midterm elections. Arizona Democrats said Republi- cans were pandering to their base hop- ing to boost Republican turnout in the Nov. 2 election. Arizona Republicans cast the meas- ure as an economic development op- portunity that would send a message that the state is business-friendly. Lawmakers originally referred the issue to voters more than a year ago, but a judge kicked it from the ballot be- cause it was improperly crafted. The state Supreme Court recently upheld the decision, so Gov. Jan Brewer called lawmakers into a last-minute special session last week to address the issue. 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