9th District Partnership Education Program

Duties of the Secretary and Treasurer (4 hours)
Students will gain a better understanding of the role and responsibilities of the secretary, treasurer or the secretary-treasurer as a union officer. Students will also acquire knowledge on maintaining their local’s records, running a meeting, fiduciary responsibilities and common IRS filing mistakes.

Generational Differences (2 hours)
Currently, as many as four generations are employed and working side by side in fire departments throughout the U.S. and Canada. Each generation brings its own individual values and behaviors, and these can be a source of conflict in the workplace. This workshop will examine each of the four generations in a humorous way, providing a better understanding of generational behavior, the value that each generation brings to the workplace, why conflict exists among them and identify communication styles that work for each.

How to Run a Meeting (2 hours)
The manner in which you run your union meetings will affect member attendance and how you are perceived as a leader. A well-run meeting with meaningful and timely agenda items will draw more attendees and help you earn the respect of your membership. In this workshop, you will learn IAFF meeting protocols and etiquette, how to plan for and conduct an efficient and productive meeting and methods for handling conflict. This workshop is ideal for local union officers with limited experience running union meetings.

Introduction to Political Action (2 hours)
Local government officials are ultimately responsible for making decisions that affect the wages and benefits of fire fighters. To secure the best working conditions for your members, it is essential that your local union becomes politically active to ensure that those candidates who support fire fighter issues are elected and remain in office. This workshop provides an overview of the political process and teaches you how to develop a political action plan that is most effective in achieving your goals.

Frontline Union Representative Basics (2 hours)
This workshop addresses the knowledge and skills involved in effectively enforcing contract provisions and representing workers’ rights with your fire service management and jurisdiction. It will introduce and explore the issues and best practices involved in handling grievances, enforcing contract language and handling discipline issues. Additionally, this workshop reviews ways that key union personnel can inform membership on the benefits of union membership and active involvement.

Discipline: Your Rights and Responsibilities as Union Officers (2 hours)
This workshop will provide union leaders with an overview of their rights and responsibilities during the employment disciplinary process. Union leaders will learn how to best represent their members in accordance with their contract, civil service laws and the Weingarten, Loudermill and Garrity decisions. This workshop is applicable to affiliate leaders in both collective bargaining and non-collective bargaining environments.

Understanding Public Pensions (2 hours)
As a union labor leader and a public pension participant, it is vital that you are aware of the various components of public pension plans and how they operate. There is a vested interest to ensure that your public pension plan is adequately funded and prudently invested in order to achieve long-term goals for you and your members. With public pensions under attack, it is important to become involved in the oversight and monitoring of your pension system. This workshop will address how public pensions operate, pitfalls  and questions that should be asked of the pension board, trustees, plan administrators and other stakeholders.

Duty of Fair Representation (2 hours)
As an affiliate leader, you may be subject to a legal standard known as duty of fair representation (DFR) that governs how you represent your members in contract negotiations, grievances and other labor matters. In this workshop, you will study relevant case law to learn what is required of you, how the courts have applied this standard to unions, the consequences of violating the standard and best practices to avoid DFR lawsuits.

IAFF Union Leadership: Leading Organizational Change (2 hours)
This workshop will provide tools to help affiliate leaders become more effective as IAFF locals continue to evolve to meet the serious challenges facing our union and our members in the 21st century. During the workshop, participants will learn how to assess and to prioritize union resources and how to engage in strategic planning to establish and achieve effective organizational goals. This is the second workshop in the IAFF Union Leadership series.