School and Workshop Update Winter 2021

The past eleven months have zoomed by, literally, we have spent countless hours preparing and hosting zoom workshops and classes. Following a successful set of summer workshops focused on responding to the COVID pandemic, we held a full semester of classes on zoom. We are thankful for our many talented faculty members who gave their time to not only teach, but also learn to teach in a digital space.  

We are also pleased to announce another round of workshops this February. Mike Raysson, Author of The Art of Organizing: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts Union Drive, and former Labor Guild Student will present on his experiences in labor education and at the MFA. The teachers this year have stepped up as leaders demanding safe reopening, and we are pleased to welcome, Ashley Adams from the Massachusetts Teachers Association will present on how to prepare membership for a campaign. Our good friends at the Massachusetts Nurses Association are helping us with two upcoming workshops. The first workshop, taught by Charlene Verga, will cover how we can respond to the opioid epidemic with knowledge and resources. Chris Pontus and Dr. Kevin Kavanaugh will be leading us in a workshop the explains the Covid-19 Vaccine. These workshops will all take place on zoom.  

In March we will begin our Spring Semester of Labor School. Starting March 8th we will run one course each night Monday through Thursday. These four courses will continue for five weeks when a new set of courses will begin. Paul McCarthy is offering his popular negotiations course which will run over the first and second set of classes. Jim Cooper will be teaching Agency Allstars, which will introduce students to leaders of relevant government agencies. We will also have Deb Sulivan teaching a course on social justice, a central issue that all students can engage with. Howard Lenow will teach a course on public sector law. Board member Frank Callahan and Rich Marlin with help from former Boyle Fellow Dan McNulty will teach a course on impacting the legislative agenda.  A class that pairs well, is our municipal finance course which will prepare students to read and influence municipal budgets.  Finally, our ever-popular course on Stewards Training will be taught by Tom Breslin.