***REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN***

The CLUW National Executive Board will be meeting on November 13.  All CLUW members who are not members of the NEB are welcome to attend as observers. See Tentative Agenda for NEB and Conference.

Conference sessions are designed to give union women skills so they can play prominent roles in their unions and their communities. This training will offer several tracks of in depth education (you will be expected to choose one) as well as a number of elective workshops.

Here is a sampling with a complete listing and descrptions that can be found here.

Educational Tracks: 1. Skills for Emerging Leaders, 2. Organizing for Change, 3. Are You Thinking About Running for Office?  Now is the Time! 4. Public Speaking...Yes I Can! (you will be expected to choose one).

Elective Workshops: Workplace Bullying and the Duty to Represent; Using Reproductive Justice to Mobilize!; Strengthening U.S. Policies to Reflect Working Families’ Lives; Courageous Conversations.

Conference Package prices include conference, materials, lunch each of the 3 days of the conference and a light reception. $250 for CLUW members and $300 for non - members.  A $50 late fee applies after October 14th. All union members and allies are encouraged to attend. Save The Date Flyer can be found here.

Registration: NEB and Women's Leadership Skills Conference:
On-line Registration (preferred method): credit card or check accepted.  Or download Paper Registration Form.

Hotel Information: All events will take place at the Tropicana Las Vegas at 3801 Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109.   The CLUW hotel room charge is $99.00 single/double plus $15.00 resort fee and current taxes of 12% per room, per night which includes high speed wireless internet in guest rooms, state-of-the-art fitness center and bottled water. Please click here for more hotel information.

Room reservations should be made ASAP but no later than October 14th directly with the Hotel by calling (800) 634-4000 (group code STCLU or Coalition of Labor Union Women) or by booking online by clicking here.

Find Las Vegas Visitor’s Information here.

Transportation Information for McCarran International Airport click here.

Together, the Labor Coalition for Community Action, which includes the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, and Pride at Work, rises in solidarity with Native Americans and our allies in protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and defending Native lands from exploitation by corporations and the U.S. government. We advocate for a progressive labor movement rooted in dignity and respect of all peoples, including Native Americans and their families. See full press release here.

In 2008, 6 million Americans didn’t vote because they missed a registration deadline or didn’t know how to register.  In 2016, we want to make sure no one is left out. On September 27, 2016, volunteers, celebrities, and organizations from all over the country will “hit the streets” for National Voter Registration Day. CLUW is a partner. This single day of coordinated ?eld, technology and media efforts will create pervasive awareness of voter registration opportunities–allowing us to reach tens of thousands of voters who we could not reach otherwise.
 
According to exit polls, 53 percent of voters in the 2012 elections were women, which means that women determined the outcome of the presidential election. So with that in mind, it is crucial to register unregistered women who understand the needs of working families.
 
CLUW members are encouraged to participate by finding an activity in your area – search via zip code, or contact your local chapter to see if they will be hosting a registration event themselves.
 
Please make sure you document the activities you participate in – take photos with your cell phone, provide the names and location of those participating, include any organizations with whom you are partnering and send this information to: CLUW@CLUW.org with Voter Registration in the Subject Line.

Remember, every election year we’ve all heard people say that they couldn’t vote because they missed the deadline to register. Let’s make sure their registration is securely submitted long before the earliest state deadlines!

We look forward to a great event and a surge of newly registered voters!
 

September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month

HealthyWomen National Survey Focuses on Cervical Cancer Attitudes and Behavior

(Editor's note: This is the latest article in the monthly service provided by CLUW from HealthyWomen.  Each article addresses a topic large numbers of respondents asked for in the CLUW/HealthyWomen 2015 survey. Note that we have added a HealthyWomen link on the top of the homepage.  We are archiving previous 2016 articles there.)

For many years, CLUW sponsored a program focused on cervical cancer prevention, Cervical Cancer Prevention Works.  Although the program is not currently active, CLUW continues to be committed to make sure union women know that cervical cancer is preventable and how to prevent it.

Although, cervical cancer (caused by high-risk HPV) is preventable and so are other HPV-related cancers (mouth and throat cancers in men), the numbers of these cancers in the U.S. keep rising. Read more about this here.  We hope you find this article and the video helpful.  For more information on cervical cancer prevention, click here.

Below is the short video noted above from our health partner, HealthyWomen.

Beatrice Lumpkin, long time CLUW member (Chicago Chapter) addressed the delegates at the American Federation of Teachers’ Convention in Minneapolis on 7-20-16.  She was part of a panel and talked about her lessons from spending 83 years in labor and community organizing.  Then, on 7-21-16 the AFT Women's Rights Committee presented her with a Living the Legacy Award.
 
Bea is a founding member of CLUW and at 98 years old she is believed to be the oldest active CLUW member. On March 27, 2014 CLUW honored her with the Pioneer Award during the 40th Anniversary Celebration.
 
Sister Lumpkin became an activist in high school in New York City during the Great Depression (1933). She was part of the fight that won unemployment insurance and social security and fought for women’s rights.  She helped organize laundry workers in New Your City in 1937. Moving to Buffalo she worked in a radio factory represented by UE. During the war she fought for the double V – Victory against fascism abroad and Victory against racism at home.. She was active along with her husband who was a steel worker in Chicago. She later became a mathematics teacher and joined the Chicago Teacher Union and was a stalwart in 1971 at the strike at Malcom X College. Since joining CLUW she has been a vice president of the Chicago CLUW chapter, a delegate to the National Executive Board and a delegate to most CLUW Conventions.  She is also an author and mother of 4.
 
Congratulation for a life well lived!

Connie Leak, Akina Reid and Marilyn Wiley at the CLUW summit booth which attracted considerable attention.

At least 30 CLUW members came to Washington, DC to participate in the United State of Women Summit on June 14th, sponsored by The White House.  The Summit brought together 5,000 attendees to celebrate victories and acknowledge battles not yet won to achieve equality for women and girls domestically and internationally. The 12 hour program was filled with speakers including elected officials, labor leaders, celebrities and non-profit heads. The Summit included themes of economic empowerment, health and wellness, educational opportunity, violence against women, entrepreneurship and innovation, along with leadership and civic engagement.

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama and Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady served as program hosts.

President Connie Leak commented that, “I am glad I, and our CLUW sisters, had the opportunity to hear the stories of so many advocates who are waging struggles for women and girls.  Their accomplishments are inspiring.”

What follows are some highlights:

Carol Gstalder of Consumer Insights North America, Nielsen reported public opinion which confirmed that 92% of Americans say that employers should take steps toward equality in the workplace. Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer who spoke later in the program would certainly agree. She explained, “Our idea is big. But it is not new. Imagine this: I’m trying to push a boulder up a hill. I’m leaning in with all my might. It’d be hard, if not impossible. But what if my friend Ariana helped? And then each of you helped, too? If all of us pushed that boulder, we could move mountains. That’s what a union is. Stronger collectively than we are apart. Working women have many boulders to move. Equal pay. Paid leave. Fair schedules. But if we stand together and negotiate together, we win together.” Later Mary Kay Henry, President of SEIU reinforced this by stating that, “When we speak out together we can make change happen in this country.” She pointed out that the success in raising the minimum wage has caused 10,000,000 people in NY and CA to have more money in their pockets.  Read more here.

Laura Wentz, Philly Chapter President, Darlene Smith, NJ State President and Diana Limon, CA State President at summit.

Mentoring is a widely recognized tool for job, career and union development, particularly for women. Mentoring circles, as discussed at the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) education conference in April, offer a powerful and accessible variation on the traditional mentor/mentee model. As noted by CLUW President Connie Leak, it is no surprise that CLUW is an active advocate of both practices.

This article, based on a workshop at the CLUW conference, focuses on what mentoring circles are and why CLUW is encouraging its chapters and union women's committees to initiate them — as well as how to create and sustain them.

The Association for Women in Science defines mentoring circles as "a small group committed to meeting regularly and supporting one another with advice, encouragement and information" with a particular focus on "career growth and problem-solving...."

As CLUW Pres. Leak observed, "Some of us have been lucky to have had a mentor…to have been taken under the wing of a more senior advisor/mentor — someone who taught us the ropes, the 'unspoken' rules, the unwritten politics of the union.” 

"Unfortunately, for women and minorities, what I have just described is most often the exception rather than the rule, as most mentors are men and we know that men — when they look for mentors — most often seek out a mentee who looks like them or looked like them 25 years ago.  That excludes many women and minorities....”.  Read more here.

CLUW members discuss mentoring circles as a way to educate and engage members and potential members.