Report on the Next Gen District 11 Conference

This was the first ever District 11 Next Gen conference that took place in Kansas City Missouri, and 10 of our members were able to attend. These include 2 new active members Emma Schoenthaler and Alex Regstad. The theme was Surfing with Nextgen, and man did they play with that theme. With USW blue and yellow Hawaiian shirts, to the Aloha reception, we learned how to balance the union and community to bring the next generation of members together.

 The biggest things I learned at this conference are as such:

Next Gen includes both young and older members, they are the members who are the ones who will be the next generation of union

Community support is vital to a union's strength

Start small, don’t expect big things to happen right away

Put your members to work, and put the right members in the right places (committees, set ups, boards,communications,tech)

Education about the union: Not only for our members but for the community as well.

We heard from Will Wilkinson the Next Gen Coordinator about what he wants to see Next Gen become and do for union membership, there was a panel of several locals whose Next Gen committees have had lots of success, and what made that happen. There were 4 panels that covered your labor leader history, learning your power,building power beyond the bargaining table, and finally labor history and the working-class life through music. All were interesting and important to bringing in members to be more active.

If you ever have the chance to go to a conference for any committee or union activity I highly recommend it, because not only do you leave with a vast knowledge of information that could help not only the union as a group, but you as a person, but you leave with a great network of friends and colleagues.