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Boilermakers learn leadership skills at School for Workers

Twenty-five Boilermakers attended the 64th Boilermakers Summer Institute, basic session at the School for Workers.

School for Workers was back in full swing with nearly three dozen Boilermakers attending the basic and advanced sessions for the 64th Boilermakers Summer Institute in Madison, Wisconsin.

The basic session, which took place July 23-28, covered topics such as: the Brotherhood structure and services, the history and context of the NLRA, labor and globalization, local officer duties and responsibilities, labor law, collective bargaining, internal and external organizing, health and safety, public relations, political affairs, membership mobilization, IBB research services, social media basics and building strength at the workplace through diversity.

The advanced session was held August 6-11 and covered: building the union and membership mobilization, organizing campaigns, labor and economic inequality, health and safety, communication skills, political affairs, collective bargaining and contract enforcement, labor and globalization, advanced social media, costing and negotiation, and organizing one-on-one conversations.

Sessions were led by School for Workers professors, as well as International staff. Typically, graduates of the basic institute return after a year to complete the advanced session.

The 25 attendees at the 2023 basic session were:  Robert Chowning and Rudolph Morman, L-19 (Philadelphia); Charlie Fernandez, L-90 (Pearl Harbor, Hawaii); Levi Flerchinger, L-344 (Ridgecrest, California); Derin Hunt, L-433 (Tampa, Florida); Scott Bonk, L-661 (Florence, New Jersey); John Christianson, Archie Corrigan, Justin Grandowski and Christopher Swette, L-696 (Marinette, Wisconsin); David Gordon, L-802 (Chester, Pennsylvania), Jairo Cervantes and Francisco Hermosillo Lopez, L-1247 (Chicago); Ken Suarez, L-1509 (Cudahy, Wisconsin); Lucas Arias, Chris Falcone, Danny McKenzie and Trenton Warner, L-D174 (Louisville, Nebraska); John Magnus and Tyler McCauley, L-D239 (Three Forks, Montana); Brent Lane and Collin Owens, L-D357 (Fairborn, Ohio); Kenneth Abernathy and Johnathan Dowdy, L-D455 (Selma, Missouri); and Mike Autry, International Rep.

Nine Boilermakers attended the 2023 advanced session: Mark Leighton, L-290 (Bremerton, Washington); Tim Rollins, L-433 (Tampa, Florida); Kevin Duffy and Darcy Gray, L-580 (Halifax, Nova Scotia); John Christianson, Archie Corrigan, Justin Grandowski and Christopher Swette, L-696 (Marinette, Wisconsin); and Jeremy Coppes, L-D375 (Paulding, Ohio).