OPEIU 2 Young Workers Committee "Steps Up"

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

The young union activists of OPEIU Local 2 are taking on the challenge of energizing and motivating their fellow young union members. The local’s “Step Up” Young Workers Committee (at right, at their April 24 meeting) was formed after several members attended the AFL-CIO Next Up Summit in Minneapolis in 2011. The Committee’s mission is “to educate, engage, and empower the younger membership; promote solidarity and coalition building; bridge the gap between younger, newer and experienced members; and improve the lives of members and families through collective action, social activism, and community service.” While recognizing that a lot of the issues for young workers are the same as those for all working people – equality, good wages and jobs – the committee has also discussed the need to educate new hires, young as well as older, on what a union is, the history of the union movement and how their union works. The committee has been actively recruiting young members, and has done lunch-and-learn presentations at local shops to talk about the committee and the young worker movement. In early April they gave a report/presentation at the local’s quarterly membership meeting and hosted a happy-hour afterwards to meet more members and tell them about the Young Workers Committee. “We’ve also started a Facebook page for Local 2 to keep members informed and also draw in younger members,” reports chair Chris Levy.

- Includes reporting from White Collar, OPEIU’s newsletter; bottom right: Michelle Wyvill, a Local 2 member at IAM who'salso on the AFL-CIO Young Workers Advisory Council; photos by Caniesha Washington  (top and Chelsea Bland (bottom)