First Annual Massachusetts AFL-CIO Union Candidate School a Success

First Annual Union Candidate SchoolThe first Annual Massachusetts AFL-CIO Candidate School took place on Friday September 25, 2009. The school offered training on how to run for public office and was open to union members active in the Labor Movement who are either running for public office, currently hold public office, or are considering a run for public office.

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes opened the program with remarks about his pride in seeing so many members of the Labor Movement participating in the program. President Haynes remarked on how “the voices of union members are needed as much in your community as on the job and in your local union.”

Massachusetts State Senator Steve Tolman of ATU Local 589, State Senator Ken Donnolly of PFFM, State Representative Marty Walsh of LIUNA 223, and State Representative James O’Day of SEIU 509, each offered the crowd advice on issues ranging from mobilizing voters to staying active in the community. They all told the crowd that they were optimistic about getting more labor candidates elected to the State House and how important it is for us to have many strong voices there, and at all levels of public office. They all echoed the sentiment that as a union candidate you must be passionate and unapologetic about what you stand for in order to win an election and to truly fight for working families as an elected public official.

Following the Senators and State Representatives, Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes thanked all attendees for participating in the program and handed the podium off to Mass. AFL-CIO Political Director Robert Bower, who welcomed the instructor for the program, Murray Fishel.

Dr. Fishel is a prominent national political consultant who has worked with many labor unions, as well as a former professor at Kent State University. Each participant in the program received a large campaign binder with various graphs, statistics, and instructions for running a campaign to guide them through the training and to use as a reference in the future. The topics of discussion ranged from the modern campaign, campaign strategy and tactics, targeting, building an organization, media and messaging, voter contact, fundraising and budgeting, and details and resources on the union end of the campaign. One of the main lessons was in stressing the importance of sending a specific message to targeted voters. In order to help those participating in the program understand this, Dr. Fishel used visual examples from the hundreds of campaigns that he has worked on in the past. Along with this tactic, Dr. Fishel also used specific, real world examples of strategies that have won elections in the past. The other major lesson of the day was the importance of spending campaign dollars wisely and strategies for recruiting volunteers.

Following the six hour presentation, Mass. AFL-CIO Political Director Robert Bower took over and spoke about the “Labor Piece” section of the campaign binder, which outlined the roles of Central Labor Councils, gave a detailed overview of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO's legislative agenda and the Committee on Political Education, and the endorsement process.

Bower took time to thank Dr. Fishel, as well as the staff, affiliates and Executive Council of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO for making this inaugural program a great success. He also thanked the local union sponsors who helped pay for this training, some of those sponsors included AFT-Massachusetts, UA Loca 537, IBEW Local 2321, IBEW Local 103, Iron Workers District Council, ATU Local 589, UA Local 550, IUPAT D.C. 35, UAW 2322, IBEW 2222, MassCOP, BTU Local 66, UWUA Local 369, and Teamsters Local 25.

All those who attended the program thanked Dr. Fishel and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO for this opportunity. The Second Annual Union Candidate School will be held in 2010. Please stay tuned for more details.

Click here to see pictures from the first Annual Massachusetts AFL-CIO Union Candidate Training School.