Transcript The Next Generation Mentoring Future Union Leaders

The Next Generation
Mentoring Future Union Leaders
A Joint Venture
“I was one of the lucky ones…I was the
beneficiary of hands-on guidance from an
array of members whose experience
helped point me toward 30 years of
activism and leadership in the labor
movement. But, in my case, it was just
luck…”
Linda Foley, Pres. Berger-Marks Foundation, Former Pres.
The Newspaper Guild
Workshop Objectives
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What Is Mentoring?
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What’s in it for you? The union?
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Where to begin?
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Greek Philosophers Mentored their
students as did teachers in ancient Rome.
Since the labor movement began, labor
leaders have informally mentored
What is Mentoring?
For the individual:
 A relationship between a “mentor
(teacher) and a mentee (learner, protégé)
 Relationship is devoted to developing
knowledge and skills for union activism
What it’s Not
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Does not guarantee advancement
Won’t give you “inside information”
Can’t stand alone: needs to be part of a
broader union commitment to education,
leadership development
Why Do Unions Need Mentoring?
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Makes union stronger over time
Gives seasoned activists feedback from less
seasoned members
A two way street (information often goes in both
ways) so more seasoned can get info, too
Increases union solidarity
Creates new activists
Additional reasons
What’s in it for the Mentee?
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Helps develop skills
Helps understand how the union works
Can identify barriers to success and map
strategies to overcome them
Helps to avoid political pitfalls
Can increase commitment to the union
And for the Mentor?
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Gain a sense of satisfaction from helping others
Learn from mentees
Develop own communication skills
Learn to effectively give and receive feedback
Learn from mentee about issues not aware of
previously
Informal/Formal
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Formal: Structured (planned, guidelines,
rules)
Informal: Accidental
Unions historically tend to have informal
mentoring programs
Informal Mentoring
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Relationship and process developed by two
people involved
Some people do it without even knowing it
Relationship has little or no guidance from
the union
Drawback: Doesn’t reach everybody
Formal Mentoring
Union sets up and oversees the program
with some of these components:
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How often mentor and mentee meet
How long mentoring will formally last
Keeps track of program, successes
Formal Mentoring, Limitations
Is the match working?
 Establishing trust can be difficult between two
people who don’t choose each other
 Guidelines can limit flexibility
Solution: Program needs guidelines, but they
can be flexible
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Kinds of Mentoring
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Traditional
Peer
Mentoring Circles
Traditional Mentoring
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Set up with more experienced union
member serving as mentor and less
experienced member as mentee
Knowledge primarily is expected to flow
from the top-down, but, in a good
mentoring relationship knowledge and
communications flow two ways.
Peer Mentoring
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Takes place between members doing
similar union jobs
Set up to learn from each other
Can offer a different perspective
Provides a safe space for talking, sharing
experiences
Mentoring Circle (Group
Mentoring)
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Group meets regularly over a period of
time
One mentor and a group of mentees
Peer mentoring can occur, too
Can create a network of contacts
Learning from one or multiple mentors
Internal/External
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Most unions use internal – mentors and
mentees are in the same union
External might be useful for learning
particular skills, especially if you cannot
identify people internally who can teach a
particular skill/s. Mentor might come from
another local, another level of the union
Before Starting a Program…
Important questions to answer:
 Does my local need a mentoring program?
 Is yes, what would its goal/s be?
 Who are the groups of members you want
especially to include in the program?
 New/uninvolved members
 Already active members (who could be more
active)
 Both
Important Questions (cont.)
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Who are the people in the union who
need to ok the program?
How can you reach these people?
What do you need to say to win them
over?
Which type of mentoring program might
be best for your union?
Important Questions (cont.)
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Who might be the mentees (be specific)?
Who might be the mentors (be specific)?
Check out Appendices to see what is there
and what you might need that is not
there…
Additional Questions
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How long will the program run? (6 months
to a year is typical)
Time commitment of mentors/mentees?
How can union free up time?
Where will mentoring sessions take place?
What else to consider…
Focus on Women with Families and other
under-represented groups
 Listen to their particular needs
 Incorporate what’s learned to help ensure
they participate and complete program
 Take child care, location, hours, language
into consideration.
Challenges
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Making time
Generational differences
Gender differences
Racial/ethnic differences
#1 Question
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What’s the first thing you will do about
this when you get home?
What will we do before you leave to help
get you started?
For more information…
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Contact the Berger-Marks Foundation
[email protected], 202-243-0133 to order
additional copies (Copies of handbooks are free;
there is a charge for shipping for more than one
handbook).
You can also download and copy the handbook
at the Berger-Marks website,
http://www.bergermarks.org/resources