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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2012)
No dunces at annual LERC Summer School B Y STEFAN OSTRACH S PECIAL C ORRESPONDENT EUGENE — For many, summer school used to be a dreaded prospect. Summer school meant we’d failed some class and had to make it up in- stead of enjoying our vacations. But for 143 union activists on the University of Oregon campus the weekend of Aug. 10-12, the AFL-CIO Summer School offered a great opportunity. For more than 30 years, UO’s La- bor Education and Research Center (LERC) has organized the summer school. LERC instructor Lynn Feekin thinks the summer school is “one of the best programs LERC does. It’s the only place unionists from all different unions come together for a weekend. They learn, play volleyball, watch movies, and picnic. It’s such an ener- gizer and solidarity builder.” The weekend event brought to- gether active members with a wide range of experience levels — from rank-and-file members, to local union leaders, to executive board members and officers, to staffers — from a wide variety of private and public sector unions that included the American Fed- eration of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers, the Machinists Union, La- borers Union, the International Broth- Machinists Lodge 1005 members Clarence Williams (left) and Tim Frey listen intently during “The Real Life of Union Stewards” workshop at LERC Summer School. Summer School attendees on New Deal Art and Architecture tour of federally-funded projects on University of Oregon campus led by Nathan Moore, a member of Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation Local 3544, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. (Photos by Stefan Ostrach) erhood of Electrical Workers, the Ore- gon Nurses Association, the National Association of Letter Carriers, United Food and Commercial Workers, Serv- ice Employees International Union, UNITE-HERE, the International Al- liance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and others. Scott Petterson was at his fifth sum- mer school. “I learn something every year,” said Petterson, a vice president of AFSCME Council 75. “It’s hard to give up a weekend away from family, but I want to be the best union leader I can. There’s no better place to learn.” Petterson praised the “good instruc- Have a Great Labor Day! tion and real life experience from oth- ers.” Reflecting back, he related, “The first year I felt a little overwhelmed, not sure if I’d fit in. But other unions have the same problems and issues. It’s a tough economy and everybody is suf- fering.” Lisa Dupell, a staffer at UFCW Lo- cal 555 who worked her way up through the ranks, enjoyed the cama- raderie. “It’s a really good experience, the different unions coming together,” she said. Feekin noted that the relationships formed at the summer school carry over into communities across the state, “They go home juiced up about the la- bor movement, tie in to the bigger pic- ture, excited to put shoulders to the wheel,” she said. (Editor’s Note: Stefan Ostrach, a re- tired Teamsters union representative is a special correspondent in Eugene.) The Hard-Working Dedicated Municipal Employees Laborers Local 483 Salute our Union Brothers and Sisters AUGUST 17, 2012 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Richard Beetle Scott Gibson Business Manager President Kevin Stampflee Farrell Richartz Mark Lewis Vice President Recording Secretary Sgt.-at-Arms Donna Bandeen Wesley Buchholz Mike Murphy PAC Treasurer Executive Board Executive Board PAGE 21
