Linda Veraska and Ruth Meyerowitz had never been to summer school before. Both were glad they went this summer.

Veraska, the System Administration Chapter’s part-time concerns representative, and Meyerowitz, a Buffalo Center Chapter member, used some vacation days in July to attend the United Association of Labor Education’s Northeast Regional Summer School for Union Women. The theme of the 36th annual summit was “Fired Up for Change!”

The women chose to attend the five-day program, held July 17-22 on the Rutgers campus in New Jersey, to learn more about the labor movement, to sharpen their leadership skills and to learn new techniques to get more UUPers involved in the workings of the union.

“I know one thing that I will do is to reach out, one-on-one, to members to get them to become involved,” said Veraska, program officer for Turkey in SUNY’s Office of Global Affairs. “That was a big take-away for me. It’s all about personal connections; that’s the most effective way to get people involved.”

Well worthwhile

“It was fabulous,” said Meyerowitz, an American studies professor at UBuffalo. “I’ve wanted to go since I saw a film about Bryn Mawr summer schools (for workers) held in the 1930s, so I was really excited about this opportunity to do more leadership training. It was great because I learned techniques to involve more faculty in the union.”

Each year, the seminar brings together rank-and-file union women to learn more about the labor movement and develop skills to make them more active, effective union leaders and members.

More than 100 women from across the Northeast went to the Summer School, most of them from non-education unions such as the Transport Union Workers of America and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It was a very diverse group of women, which made being there even more beneficial, Meyerowitz and Veraska agreed.

“It was a different kind of union environment and I really enjoyed it,” Meyerowitz said.

Women only

That the event was solely for women made a difference; the gathering allowed participants to discuss issues unique to them. Veraska and Meyerowitz said they were intrigued and inspired by the “war stories” told by a female plumber, one of just five females in a union of about 4,000 members.

“Hearing about her struggles gave you courage,” said Veraska. “She reminded me of the courage women need to have on a daily basis.”

At the summit, Veraska and Meyerowitz took part in several seminars dealing with issues facing unions, such as educating the media about what unions do and fighting stereotypes that union members are overpaid and overcompensated.

More than book smart

“I learned as much outside just talking to people as I learned inside the class-room,” Veraska said. “We’re different in so many ways, but the struggles we go through are the same.”

Other topics covered included dealing with intergenerational issues in unions, and a fundamental shift that’s pushing unions to focus more on organizing and mobilizing members rather than the traditional role of a service organization.

A memorial commemorating the 100th anniversary of New York City’s tragic Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire was also held. The women were given names of one of the fire’s 146 victims, which were read during a candle-lighting ceremony at the end of the program.

The memorial spurred Veraska to go to the public library and borrow a book about Frances Perkins, a champion of organized labor in the 1930s and 1940s.

“It was a fantastic experience and I’d do it again,” Meyer-owitz said of the Summer School. “It wasn’t a vacation, it was work. But it was fun.”

— Michael Lisi