LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CRUCIAL TO THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

A PERSPECTIVE

The phenomenal growth of the AFT in the last four decades can be attributed, in large part, to the foresight of its leadership - at all levels of the union - in being able to define the major issues which confront our members and our union. We helped to create an atmosphere that led to laws allowing public employees to bargain collectively and to begin to participate in the decisions which affect the public they serve as well as themselves. Now, at a time when we are larger and stronger than ever, it is ironic that the AFT and its members are faced with a series of major crises of unprecedented proportions. We face, both externally and internally, a whole new set of challenges which threaten the very survival of the institutions in which we work and the union which we cherish. In a rapidly shifting environment - with our society's attitude toward its public service institutions changing as fundamentally and rapidly as is our members' perceptions of their union and their individual needs - the call for development of qualities of leadership at all levels of our union is crucial to the American Federation of Teachers.

THREATS TO OUR BASIC INSTITUTIONS

PUBLIC EDUCATION

For the first time in a century, there are serious threats to the very existence of a public school system in the United States. Voucher schemes continue to proliferate throughout the country. Michigan's decision to eliminate the property tax, (a loss of more than $6 billion dollars in public education funding) without an alternative structure in place at the time is symbolic of the funding crises that are taking place in education throughout our country. Rather than concentrate on the substantive and important need to establish national standards and assessments, critics of the public schools are attempting to convince our citizens that public funding of private schools will, in itself, solve the nation's educational problems.

HEALTH CARE

The debate concerning the creation of a national health care program has focused, in large measure, on whether or not the federal government has an intrinsic role to play in creating a universal health care system. Even the notion of universal access and coverage for all of our citizens is not yet accepted as a basic tenet of our society. The prospect of reform also has accelerated the movement by health care institutions to restructure, consolidate, merge, and shift from inpatient to outpatient services. Unionized facilities are threatened with exclusion from provider networks as insurers and health plan administrators seek to establish and market lower cost systems of managed care. Our union faces new challenges in making certain that employment security for nurses and health professionals, decent and safe staffing ratios, opportunities for professional development, and high quality standards of treatment and care emerge as legacies, rather than the casualties, of health care reform.

HIGHER EDUCATION

American higher education faces growing financial pressures as the result of diminished state funding, mandatory tuition increases and limits on student access. At the same time, continuing criticism of higher education institutions has provoked various calls for reform, including increased "productivity" and "accountability." Consequently, AFT higher education leaders now confront far more complex tasks than ever before.

STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC WORKER SERVICES

State and local public workers have seen their numbers dwindle as more and more states - in an effort to reduce budgets at any and all costs - contract out services. Privatization of public services is becoming acceptable even in traditionally union-based urban areas. The result of these budgetary crises has reduced the quality of service to our citizens, and further exacerbated their criticisms of government service programs.

THE UNION MOVEMENT

Concomitant with the attack on public institutions is an equally pernicious attack on service employee unions. Critics use every opportunity to convince the public that union activity is an impediment to efficient delivery of services. Even though their arguments ring hollow to those of us who see the positive results provided by the democratic institutions built by the free trade union movement, we share a heavy burden in convincing the public that unions are a basic democratic force for good in our country.

THE CHALLENGE

These attacks are representative of a fundamental shift in the public's attitude toward the institutions we serve and the unions in which we participate. One of the major challenges, therefore, facing the current and emerging leadership of the AFT and its affiliates is the need to convince the public that our institutions of government can meet the basic needs of our citizens. What is at stake is not only the survival of the institutions which we serve, but, with them, the very survival of our democratic heritage. Our lives, both professionally and personally, are inextricably linked to the institutions we serve. Accordingly, AFT and its members need to be participants in the movement to improve the services we provide.

IMPLICATIONS OF RAPID MEMBERSHIP TURNOVER

A CHANGING MEMBERSHIP

Funding cuts have wreaked havoc on the public work force and economic stringencies have caused equal strains for our members in the private sector. Early retirement incentives and increased job pressures have convinced many workers to leave their jobs. There is a tremendous turnover in membership in the AFT. More than half of our members have joined the union within the last decade! They come to their jobs with a different perspective on the work they do, and a very different view of unions in general. Those of us who worked through the major decades of growth of our union grew up at a time when unions were generally viewed by workers as a vehicle for solving their problems. Many of today's workers bring to the workplace a view of unions as part of the bureaucracy that stifles them. Whereas in past years many workers only needed to be "approached" in order to join the union, many of today's workers want and need to be "convinced" to join the union and "even more importantly" to participate in the union's activities.

The AFT's future leaders need to find new and invigorating methods to provide workers with the perspective that their union is a vehicle for change and empowerment - a democratic institution that is truly THEIR vehicle for improving their work-place responsibilities and their lives.

NEW LEADERS

One of the reasons for the growth of the AFT has been its stability of leadership. The many years of experience provided by so many AFT leaders has resulted in a continuity and expertise that has made available to AFT members an ever-expanding array of services and accomplishments. We need to recognize, however, that this maturing leadership is nearing retirement in increasing numbers. The need to prepare a whole new cadre of leaders is more important than ever. These new leaders, too, will face problems of a whole new dimension. Although some must still fight for the right to basic union recognition and collective bargaining, ALL new leaders will be faced with a new struggle to maintain the viability of our public institutions.

The need for leadership has never been more urgent; therefore, this task force offers the following observations and recommendations:

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

A DEFINING MOMENT

Although virtually all AFT leaders - at the national, state and local level - stress the need for leadership development, the very notion of the skills needed to lead are undergoing significant change. At one time, the major thrust of the union's work was to organize locals, negotiate contracts and maintain the benefits of those contracts. Specific training programs were developed to teach very specific skills to accomplish the aforementioned tasks. Although such programs are still necessary, the leaders of the future are facing problems of a more prodigious nature. Consequently, the whole notion of leadership development needs to be addressed as an important ADDITION to our training programs. Leadership needs to be perceived not only in terms of how leaders affect their members, but how leaders involve their members in union deliberations.

THE TASK

A distinction needs to be made between the methodology of training for traditional union skills and developing leadership qualities. Leadership is not the application of techniques. Rather, it is being able to perceive the major problems that face the union, to articulate them to the membership and provide reasonable and do-able strategies to overcome those problems. Leaders need to constantly rethink issues - to assess, to motivate. They need the courage and knowledge base necessary to challenge traditional attitudes toward the major issues of the day. Programs such as ULI's Local Development Program and the Educational Research and Dissemination Programs are steps in the right direction and need to be expanded.

Recommendation: The Task Force recommends the creation of regularly scheduled discussion groups at the national, state, local and divisional levels in order to create opportunities for our unions to collectively seek insights into the complex nature of the problems our members face. Ideally local leaders will also initiate such regular discussions within their locals. The goal of such discussions will be to create a base of knowledge concerning each of the myriad problems before us; an opportunity to explore creative methods of solving those problems; and the development of practical methods of resolution. These activities should also be integrated into the conferences, workshops and other regular meetings of the AFT and its affiliates.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT "A TOOL FOR DEMOCRATIC UNIONISM"

Since its inception, AFT's slogan has been "Education for Democracy/Democracy in Education." One of our underlying strengths has been our ability to understand social and political trends through the prism of a steadfast commitment to democratic ideals. Thus, AFT's positions on such issues as racism, anti-Semitism, fascism, communism, public education and trade unionism have never wavered. With the destruction of the last totalitarian superpower, it may be much more difficult to perceive threats to our basic democratic institutions. Historically, AFT leaders have been committed to democracy and a Jeffersonian concept of public education. This underlying philosophy has contributed much to the strength and stature of the AFT.

Recommendation: The Task Force recommends that AFT leadership development include the study and debate of the great ideals of our heritage and the development of democratic processes as part of our quest to enhance democratic traditions in our union’s structure.

OUR MEMBERS' NEEDS

THE CHANGING SCENE

AFT members want to be a part of the decision-making process that affects the people they serve and the work they do. The support of our union for employee involvement in professional matters in the workplace has invigorated a whole new segment of our membership that heretofore was not active in union affairs.

Recommendation: The Task Force recommends that the heightened activity of the AFT's members in professional matters be integrated with the union's traditional union activities in a manner which will allow both functions to complement each other. Toward that end, we recommend that a staff study group makes recommendations to the council on how to best ensure that professional development and traditional union management functions may complement each other.

MEMBERSHIP FEEDBACK

Newer members of our union come to the workplace with a very different set of experiences. On the personal level, they are more likely to come from households where both adults work full-time or they head one-adult families. The increased needs for day care supervision on the one hand, and help for an increasingly elderly family population on the other, places additional strains on our members' personal lives. The increasing number of professional responsibilities that our members are asked to undertake adds further stress to their jobs. Many regularly work at part-time jobs to augment their salary in order to meet normal expenses.

As members' responsibilities change, so do their aspirations. To this end; the AFT Task Force recommends a regular, ongoing method of reaching out to newer as well as more experienced members in order to ensure that AFT is addressing their needs. AFT should expand its use of focus groups and polling in this regard. Affiliates should meet in small, but representative, groups of members on a regular basis in order to "stay in touch" with members' needs. AFT should analyze the approach unions in other countries pursue in the use of worker "study circles" and other such devices.

Because of the very nature of unionism, we tend to spend 90% of this union's time with 10% of the members - those who need urgent and specific help to solve immediate problems. This is natural and expected. Ongoing meetings with members who do not have regular contact with the union, however, is one method of insuring that AFT and its affiliates are directly in touch with the broad base of its membership.

Recommendation: The Task Force recommends that AFT motivate locals and state affiliates to use polling and focus groups for insight into members' attitudes by exploring the possibility of partially funding such activities. Local and state affiliates would, of course, be responsible for a concomitant share of funding.

CREATION OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING AT THE

APEX OF AFT'S ACTIVITIES

LEADERSHIP AS A PRIORITY

The Task Force supports the elevation of leadership development and training as a major priority for AFT. Such a program will include the current activities of our Union Leadership Institute, but it will be much more. The program will be responsible for assisting locals and state affiliates in their quest to activate their own leadership development programs. It will coordinate and assist in analyzing the polling and focus group activities, which AFT determines to partially fund.

THE UNION LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Analysis

It is important to recognize the very significant analysis of traditional programs which has taken place during the past two years. ULI workshops were analyzed, workshop participants as well as instructors and political leaders were asked to critique programs in which they participated, and a general set of recommendations were formulated. The Task Force supports the conclusions of that very lengthy process and includes the six major concerns articulated at previous ULI needs assessment meetings. We recommend the following:

a. Better coordination with other departments.

b. Development of a strong network to plan and deliver state and local programs.

c. More direct involvement of political leadership in program development and analysis.

d. Continual updating of current courses and development of new courses as needs arise and expansion of delivery capacity.

e. Development of means to assure quality of instruction.

f. Development of clear processes for determining which courses to conduct, who should attend, and means to assess long-range effectiveness of programs.

The Process

If there is one remark that has been oft-repeated concerning ULI programs, it is that participants return to their locals invigorated by the ULI program experience, only to realize that there has been no direct connection and "buy-in" by the affiliate's political leadership. Skills and insights developed during the ULI programs are not necessarily used on an ongoing basis at home. It is clear, therefore, that the union will need to develop its program and structure in coordination with the political leadership of AFT's affiliates. Toward that end, The Task Force recommends the following:

a. The AFT needs to engage in a process of discussion and planning with state federation and local political leadership and staff in order to build the political commitment for training and leadership development. We need to ensure that programs are designed and implemented in such a way as to meet the needs of affiliates, and reach appropriate leaderships, members and staff.

b. Coordination and cooperation at national, state, local and divisional levels is required in order for there to be an effective delivery system.

c. Programs must include ongoing evaluative mechanisms to determine the effectiveness of training.

d. All such programs must be designed with the goal of enhancing the union's major priorities, which were established as a result of the process articulated in the Futures Report.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Evaluation and analysis of the AFT's professional development programs (such as ER&D) should be instituted in much the same way that the ULI programs were critiqued. This should be part of an ongoing evaluation of AFT training programs developed in various departments and disciplines.

A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH NEW MEMBERS

With the incredible increase in turnover of our membership, it is imperative that the union assist its new members as quickly as possible. Equally important is the need to make new members immediately aware of the union's resources that are available to them.

To this end, the Task Force recommends: AFT should develop, in conjunction with its affiliates, a model, "AFT welcome program for new members." Such a model will virtually "meet the new member at the door," by providing assistance concerning the myriad problems faced by these members both professionally and personally. Insight into available mentoring programs (whether of the employer and/or the union), the development of on-the-job routines and procedures, and knowledge of union benefit packages are just a few of the many areas of information where union assistance - during a worker's first days - can create the most positive relationship between a new member and his/her union.

THE TECHNOLOGY CONNECTION

AFT members are using telecommunications as never before. This gives AFT a special opportunity to use teleconferencing, electronic mail and other facets of the new technology, in order to not only reach leaders and members faster, but to reach them through the mechanisms which are becoming part of their everyday lives. It is recommended, therefore, that the newly created department of Technology work to enhance the AFT’s ability to communicate more easily and directly with affiliate leaders and members in the development and implementation of the new leadership programs. This should include the development of software packages on the major knowledge bases developed by AFT concerning professional policy issues such as: inclusion, privatization, choice, charter schools, etc.

PUBLICITY AND COMMUNICATIONS

The AFT has provided brochures and special mailings announcing its current training programs. In spite of this activity, it has been found that many affiliates are still not aware of many of AFT's offerings. The Task Force, therefore, recommends that all AFT publications be included in the ongoing process of publicizing its programs. Video and audio cassette tapes, as well as other state-of-the-art mechanisms, should be activated and AFT should consider creating a special central library on leadership skills and needs.

NEEDS IN A DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE

Virtually all of AFT's affiliates are autonomous. Because AFT's decision-making process has historically been driven from the bottom-up, it is clear that affiliates will need to "buy-in" to AFT's Leadership Development and Training programs on an individual basis. Although it may be seen as more efficient to develop our new programs within the context of a "top-down" hierarchy, what some may perceive as a weakness (the need to convince locals of the value of new leadership programs) is really a strength. The democratic process will take longer to implement, but AFT's need to offer a plan that includes the affiliates in the PROCESS of development will result in a program that has the very best chance of being useful to AFT's members, locals and state affiliates. The Task Force, therefore, urges the leaders of AFT’s affiliates to participate fully in the development of the leadership programs and urges AFT to create activities that provide local and state leaders with the opportunity to participate.

The AFT has a unique structure. We are as diverse as any union. The AFT counts among its affiliates the largest local union in the world (130,000 members). We are also comprised of locals with as few as six members! One state affiliate represents 330,000 members and employs more than 300 full-time staff. Other state groups represent hundreds of members and employ no full-time staff. Obviously, the experience levels of full and part-time staffs and political leaders are extremely diverse in these incredibly different situations. The AFT, therefore, will need to adapt its programs with this diversity in mind. Flexibility and adaptability will be crucial components of the new programs.

A FINAL THOUGHT

As the union pursues these matters, we do so with the understanding that if the AFT is to grow and enhance its influence as a player in the great debates before our citizens, we must be perceived as a union which is committed to the vitality of its public institutions as well as its members. One goal is to create a vision of the union as an entity that members look to in order to solve the myriad problems (professional and personal) they face. The other is to create within the public mind a view of the AFT as a vehicle for providing quality services to our citizens. Only by accomplishing these two goals can the AFT be capable of helping to overcome the massive problems we face in America today. And only by developing a vibrant, on-going Leadership Development program can we hope to realize such noble goals.