New Leaders Learn the Ropes

The BAC New Leader Class of 2001, in the lobby of the AFL-CIO’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., with a freshly restored, BAC-crafted mosaic of union members at work in the background.

BAC President John J. Flynn opened the 22nd annual BAC New Leaders program by telling 30 Local Union officers, field representatives, and organizers that the program’s objective was not “to try to teach you how to be good leaders—that happens over time, just like our time with the tools. Rather, our goal is to provide you with the tools you’ll need to do the best job you can for your members and your Local.”

New Leader attendees at one of the program’s classroom sessions; from left to right are: Gary Menna, Field Representative, 1 MD-VA-DC; Tim Norton, Field Representative, 4 IN/KY; Dan Palazzo, Organizer, 11 NY; and Refugio Pinedo, Jr., Field Representative, 18 CA.

And with that, the New Leaders Class of 2001, the largest group in years, began a week of sun-up to sundown sessions. The program is conducted annually at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland. Although many hours were spent in the classroom, occasional field trips offered a welcome change of scenery. The New Leaders visited IMI’s National Training Center at Ft. Ritchie, and the Washington, D.C. memorials and monuments for an unforgettable look at BAC craftsmanship at its finest.

New Leader participants enjoyed comparing notes with IMI trainees from their Locals, during the New Leaders’ on-site visit to IMI’s National Training Center in Ft. Ritchie, MD. In the photo above, from Local 1 MI, are left to right: apprentice John Ethier; Field Representative John W. Flynn; apprentices Marlon Jennings and Renee Brunelle; and Organizer Frank Rodriquez

Local 2 NY Organizer Bob Mantello, left, and apprentice Danelle Rossi.

New Leader participants received up-to-the-minute information on the essential areas of union operations, including collective bargaining, organizing, benefits, national agreements, IMI and its training and promotion programs, trade jurisdiction, communications, and health and safety, to name a few. So much information was imparted, that, as Secretary-Treasurer Jim Boland told the New Leaders at their graduation dinner, “You may not remember everything, but at least now you know who to call or what office to contact to find out what you need.” Boland expressed confidence, however, that the New Leaders would have no trouble remembering the opportunity to meet one another, and the chance to exchange ideas and compare personal experiences. “That’s where the real learning takes place,” says Boland.