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BMWED Internal Organizing Workshops - 2024
We learn best through action and by teaching one another.
BMWED is committed to sharpening our skills at engaging, informing, and mobilizing our members to ACT together and win our fights to secure a better quality of life and dignity at work for us all! To do this, we need YOUR input as we develop a series of online workshops focused on how we can strengthen our union together!
To make this training happen, Ash Anderson, your Director of Education, is soliciting proposals from BMWED members, Lodges, or groups of members that address one of six topics related to internal organizing. Interested members can submit proposals on one or more topics. If a group of members or a Lodge submit on a topic, that group or Lodge should select a lead member to coordinate review and development on the proposal.
Once proposals are received, they will be reviewed and, if they meet the criteria, we will develop a workshop based on that topic. If more than one group or member submits a good proposal on a certain topic, we can coordinate so all good ideas get space and time for development during the workshop!
For these workshops, Ash Anderson will act as facilitator, but the submitting members will be the lead instructors! Don't worry, Ash will help you through the process so there won't be any hitches! During the online workshop, members or groups will have around 20 minutes to present or introduce their topic, followed by group discussion and possible exercises to help participating members dive into the topic or ideas presented. We'll also include time for a debrief and take a look at how we can put any lessons or ideas shared directly to work for our members.
Workshop Topics:
1. What makes a union "militant?"
Whether by strong union supporters, union busters, or just regular people, the idea of "militant" unions have been around as long as unions have existed. But what does that term mean for us? Different people define the concept of militancy differently. How has this concept been used to lift up or undermine unions? What factors, internal or external, affect how a union is perceived, and how can these concepts serve BMWED in our work?
2. Different Paths for Powerful Lodges
How can we improve our local Lodge meetings? This question has been kicked around as long as we've been doing this work! Each generation of union members sees unique challenges and opportunities to get our members and our families involved, increase participation, and make things better than how we found them. A submission on this topic should focus on real work you or your Lodge has done to address this issue, highlighting what worked, what didn't, and how you built on the work you've done to keep it going.
3. Finding the Signal in the Noise: Communicating in our union in the 21st century
Modern communications and social media networks generate vast amounts of information (and disinformation) our members access every day. How has this helped our work, or hurt it? What can we do to make social media work to benefit our brothers and sisters. Are there new ways we can share or communicate that reduce the toxicity or "noise" that have become such a feature in online media?
4. Getting the Party Started! Notes and Reflections on Actions
Submissions on this topic should focus on actions (informational pickets, rallies, campaigns, petitions, etc.) that members or Lodges have conducted or taken part in conducting. We're not talking theory, we're sharing the lessons we learned by doing the work! If you have led or been part of an action, either in BMWED or elsewhere, what lessons can we learn from it. What succeeded? What failed? How would you do it again, if you got the opportunity?
5. Solidarity: More than a Slogan
What does solidarity even mean? The word solidarity gets used a lot within organized labor. Does it mean "my union, right or wrong?" Does it mean chanting and singing songs, or tough arguments at the Lodge meeting, or passing the hat around for a sick family member? How has the idea of solidarity translated into meaningful action for you, your group, or your Lodge? How can we keep that going, sustain and grow it?
6. The Closest Families Have the Loudest Arguments: Conflict Resolution within our Union.
We're sisters and brothers in a union that's been around longer than any of us. We all show up as ourselves, giving what we can, and that means we'll often find places where we disagree. So, how do we handle that disagreement or conflict in a way that keeps us all united and able to keep moving forward? Submissions on this topic should explore real-world issues that members have addressed to resolve conflict or tension within our membership. We may never land on the 100% answer, but we can all share and discuss useful tools that we can all use together as we keep building our union.
Proposal Guidelines:
Your proposal should be a thorough statement describing how you're approaching the topic, what you want to discuss, how you intend to discuss it, and the key points or ideas you believe your proposal addresses.
If your proposal has more than one author, you should list all authors and note which would be the coordinating author to develop the workshop.
Submit your proposal as a document (using software like Microsoft Word is recommended). Documents should be double-spaced, 12. point font, with 1-inch margins and should probably run about 5-7 pages in length.
If you are referencing or quoting the work of others in your proposal, you should make proper citations for any work that is not your own. There are a variety of styles used for citations (MLA, APA, Chicago Manual, etc.). Any should work, but be consistent with whichever you choose. All works you referenced should also be listed at the end of your proposal.
If your proposal has charts, diagrams, photos, or other illustrations, place them inline with your text and caption or cite as needed.
Proposals should be saved as a .pdf file and sent as an attachment by email to education@bmwe.org. Use the subject 2024 Internal Organizing Workshop Proposal. In the body text of the email, please list all contributors or authors, their BMWED Lodge and System/Federation, and the topic you selected for your proposal.
All proposals should include the following text either as a foreword to the main body or an afterword prior to your list of works referenced:
The views or positions expressed in this proposal are those of the author or authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) or its components. These views or positions are shared to exalt the character and increase the ability of BMWED members in fulfillment of our BMWED Bylaws and Resolution Number 67: Education.
Publishing Selected Proposals
Your proposal may be selected for publication in our BMWED Journal. Selected proposals will be reviewed and given time for any needed revisions to fix style, typographical, or other issues. The BMWED Education Department will work with the BMWED Communications Department and BMWED senior leadership to review and select proposals for publication.
Use of Submitted Proposals
Submitted proposals become the property of the BMWED Education Department for the purposes of internal distribution or publication and may not be published elsewhere without the consent of the BMWED Education Department or the National Division President. Proper authorship and attribution will be given to the author/s upon publication or the development of any workshops or other educational tools and materials. The BMWED Education Department assumes no rights of authorship for the ideas presented.
By soliciting proposals from our BMWED membership, the Education Department intends to engage our members to think critically and productively about internal organizing. These proposals will form the basis of content for member-led presentations on internal organizing during a series of online workshops dedicated to this topic. This series will commence on a date to be determined, starting in the last quarter of 2024 (October through December), with a total number of workshops determined by the volume of proposals submitted and interest among our members.
All proposals will be reviewed and returned to the author/s with notes for potential typographical, stylistic, or content corrections, if needed. Authors will then be asked to collaborate with the Education Department in developing a presentation based on the proposal, developing key arguments or findings during an online workshop covering the related topic.
All proposals submitted and (if needed) corrected will be posted too the BMWED Education website for access by all interested members and as a preparatory resource for the upcoming workshop series.
Criteria for Rejecting Submitted Proposals
Any submission that demeans or denigrates BMWED, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or any other labor union will be rejected. Any submission that demeans, denigrates, or discriminates against any member of the BMWED, IBT, or any other labor union will be rejected.
Submitted proposals can present new ideas or express disagreement with policies, goals, concepts, or tactics used by the BMWED, IBT, or other labor unions. Submissions are encouraged to ask difficult questions and navigate complex or controversial ideas. However, any disrespectful, insulting, derogatory, or discriminatory language used against BMWED, its component Departments, Systems, Federations, the IBT, any labor union, or any individual member is unacceptable and contrary to the spirit and values of our union.
Any paper that shows evidence of willful plagiarism will be rejected. Inadvertently missing a citation, or incorrect citations, will require review and correction prior to final acceptance.
Any questions or concerns regarding this Call for Proposals, what is required, or the planned workshops should be sent to Ash Anderson, BMWED Director of Education, at education@bmwe.org.