2021 Executive Director Update

As we begin to emerge from this COVID era, we are stretching our legs as we get back to normal and return to in-person activities. We hope to once again visit your local union halls for membership meetings, and to renew those personal relationships that we have with so many.

The Labor Guild is happy to announce we have been awarded a grant from the Catholic Health Foundation to run a worker health & safety workshop series. This $9500 grant is a first for the Labor Guild. Beginning in 2022 the Guild will be partnering with the Massachusetts Nurses Associations, MassCOSH, Modern Assistance Programs, and others, to do a series of eight workshops regarding health and safety related issues. 

We have also been working on an analysis of our files in order to streamline future grant applications. During that process we found that since 2012 over 1300 students have attended workshop series through the Labor Guild School. This exercise will help to identify student demographics for future grants. 

We also recently finished the second half of our Spring term, comprising two five-week sessions, one class per night, Monday through Thursday. This term we had a total of 60 graduates, with many taking more than one class. Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, our entire Spring semester was immensely successful. Our Fall semester will be once-again be virtual, and will begin Monday, September 13, running through November 18. 

To broaden our educational footprint, we kicked off our “Grow the Guild Program”, with our dear friend Patti Legault-Frank and her renowned Parliamentary Procedure and By-Laws workshop. We were successful in registering students from as far Connecticut and New York, and even Florida, New Mexico, and California. 

Mark your calendars; the Cushing-Gavin Awards Dinner is in person this year, and currently scheduled for Friday, December 3rd, 2021 at the IBEW Local 103 function hall in Dorchester, MA.

By David Kowalski, Executive Director