1987 Women's Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) founded

The Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD), formed in 1987, was the result of women from several different labor groups coming together in response to the small number of women in union leadership positions. Leaders of WILD came from the Boston Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, and staff from UMass labor programs.

The first program offered through WILD was a weekend of workshops and meetings at Clark University in Worcester, in June 1987. Training focuses on skills needed in union leadership positions, such as organizing and grievance handling, as well as education directed specifically at women, including sexual harassment and women’s leadership. Now in its twentieth year, WILD has continued to offer an annual summer school program, along with other training and workshops designed to prepare women to become union leaders as well as teachers at WILD and in their locals. Due to these efforts, the Massachusetts Labor Movement has become more democratic, with women becoming more highly represented in leadership positions.