The Futures Program

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The Massachusetts AFL-CIO Futures Program

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO Futures Program is designed to bring young union members together to better understand the issues facing various sectors and industries within the Labor Movement, and to foster greater unity among young union members in Massachusetts. Through our annual Futures Convention and programmatic, social, and community service events throughout the year, we hope to empower young union members to become leaders within their unions, communities, and the broader Labor Movement. Through our growing network of young union activists, we will also mobilize support when our union brothers and sisters are involved in a struggle.

For the second straight year, delegates to the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Futures Convention have elected a fellow delegate to serve as Futures Representative to the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Executive Council. The Futures Representative also takes a leadership role in determining the goals and agenda of the Futures Program. At the 2009 Convention, delegates selected Allison Doherty-LaCasse, a building representative at the Urban Science Academy in West Roxbury, and a member of the Boston Teachers Union Executive Board, as their new Representative. Please see Allison’s message laying out this year’s agenda, below. |

If you are interested in joining fellow young union members at an upcoming event, or would like more information about the program, email Allison at futures@massaflcio.org.

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A Message from Futures Representative Allison Doherty-LaCasse

Dear Futures Members,

The Second Annual Massachusetts AFL-CIO Futures Convention was a tremendous success. Thank you so much to those who were able to participate. I am honored to serve as your Futures Representative for the next year and I look forward to growing this program. For those who were not able to attend the Convention, there will be plenty of upcoming opportunities to get involved. This year’s group seemed very eager to keep the momentum going, and I am writing to you now because it’s time to get our real work started.

Right now our country is in an economic crisis. Many workers have suffered layoffs and each day we hear of more job losses. For those of us fortunate enough to have a job with union representation, we must not only look out for our own families, but also find ways to help our union brothers and sisters in need, and step up for other working families who have been affected by this crisis. We are the future of the Labor Movement and what we do now will help to define us. You can help the Futures Program define our goals and put them into action by attending the first Futures Steering Committee meeting on Thursday, February 26^th at 6:00 PM, at the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, 389 Main Street, Malden.

We need action and activism from young union members. The Labor Movement can never have enough of that. We can grow the Futures Movement from coast to coast, but we need to start here. We need to have a Futures Committee in every Central Labor Council and in as many local unions as possible -- and these committees need to be active.

It is up to us to keep the Labor Movement alive, and to fight for working men and women on issues of social and economic justice. We collectively are one voice, and we are going to spread our message, demand respect and fight for workers’ rights. We must get involved. And we will!

The Second Annual Futures Convention passed two resolutions urging the growth of the Futures Program. Click here to read the resolution urging Central Labor Councils to add a Futures Representative to their board, and click here to read the resolution urging unions to establish a Futures Committee. These are the goals of the Futures Program for 2009.

Please find a list of the Futures events we have planned for 2009 on this page. We hope to add more as the year progresses. I hope that you will join us, and please pass these events on to fellow young union activists. We will be keeping everyone updated through our Futures group on Facebook and on this webpage. If you have yet to join the Facebook group, you can find us by searching ‘Union Futures (MA).’ If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions, feel free to email me at futures@massaflcio.org.

Respectfully,

Allison Doherty-LaCasse

Boston Teachers Union

Futures Holiday Party and Charitable Goods Drive

Futures Holiday Party and Charitable Goods Drive on Thursday, December 10th 7:00 PM at the Boston Teachers Union Hall at 180 Mt. Vernon St. in Boston. Please join us to celebrate the holiday season while also helping families in need. We ask all who attend to please bring a donation for an area charity. Friends and family are welcome. For more information, please contact futures@massaflcio.org.

Futures News

Click here to read an article about the election of Allison Doherty-LaCasse as the new Futures Representative.

Click here to read a resolution passed at the 2009 Futures Convention calling on Central Labor Councils to add a Futures seat to their Boards.

Click here to read a second resolution calling on local unions to establish a Futures Committee.

Click here to read about a recent study which shows that record numbers of young workers have a positive view of unions.
Click here to read an article about the 2008 Inaugural Futures Convention.