Worker Power Leadership School – Field Notes Vol. 4

We have a final FIELD NOTES update from Worker Power, where we recently funded a student so they could attend the Worker Power Leadership School.  It looks like Worker Power will be sharing their weekly newsletter with us over the 4 weeks of Leadership School.  This is the second I have received.

Can this be a helpful reminder to all of us that good things are happening, which will not only pay off in the fall but also in the years ahead?

You guys said you are interested in these, so here you go!

Reminder:  One of the students from this year’s school will be leading the team we will funding for 3 weeks in the fall.  We don’t know who our team leader will be in the fall, but won’t it be fun if it turns out to be one of the students that is featured here?

Excerpts from the newletter

Welcome to Field Notes, our newsletter highlighting students and faculty of the second Worker Power Leadership School, a month-long program dedicated to training the next generation of progressive leaders who will run winning campaigns for working people.

In this final volume of our Leadership School Field Notes, we have a faculty spotlight on Josh Lappen, who connected the environmental movement and climate change issues to the modern-day labor movement, and a student spotlight on Deion Robertson, who came to the program through our partner organization, Seed the Vote. Finally, Manny Cabrera, Leadership School student and rank-and-file hotel organizer from Downtown Los Angeles shares his motivation to knock on doors and carry on the fight for economic and social justice.

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Faculty Spotlight: Joshua Lappen

Joshua Lappen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Notre Dame, offered our students a comprehensive look at the climate crisis, solutions to that crisis, and connections between unions and the climate crisis.

“We often view these as two distinct movements: one solely dedicated to environmental threats and the other to combating the power of corporations that exploit working people. However, in reality, they are part of the same battle, demanding similar emotional resources from us as organizers,” Josh emphasizes.
Students in Josh’s class gained a deep understanding of climate change and how advocacy tactics honed in labor organizing can have an impact on climate issues.

“Organizing in these movements is both a marathon and a sprint. On the one hand, there’s a lot of urgency, and we need to make changes right now. On the other hand, these fights will be long, and we may not see victory in our lifetimes,” explains Josh. “To engage in this struggle is to lean into hope, resilience, and determination. That’s the only way we’ll be able to keep fighting.”

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Student Spotlight: Deion Robertson

Deion Robertson’s journey to Worker Power Leadership School is a long one. “I originally had wanted to come out with the 2022 class,” says Deion, “but I had to stay in the political fight in Philly that summer. So when Seed the Vote offered me the opportunity to come out this year, I jumped at the chance.”

Seed the Vote recruits, trains, and mobilizes thousands of volunteers from across the United States. They then partner with organizations rooted in working-class communities and communities of color to grow people-powered movements for the long term. Building on the work of previous election cycles, Seed the Vote and Worker Power are teaming up this year to mobilize volunteers who will make a difference in Arizona, where they will join campaigns alongside Worker Power canvassers.

Deion is taking his newfound leadership skills back to Philly, where he’ll be joining a team with 100 canvassers and putting all he learned to the test.

“I’m excited for the challenge,” says Deion. “I stay in the fight because I have the most supportive partner, Frida, and she has two little brothers. I want to be part of building a better world for the people I care about.”

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Voices from the Doors: Manny Cabrera

“Taking classes on labor history has been meaningful for me because our struggle was once other people’s struggle. Their fights are now our fights. We need to pick up where they left off because going backward isn’t an option.

It doesn’t matter if it’s hard or hot or you’re feeling challenged. I want to stay out here through the November election, use what I learned in Leadership School, and make a change in Arizona. This is my fight, and I’m all in.”
– Manny Cabrera

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As I said last week, the work we do on Balloon Juice with our fundraising efforts – supporting great groups like this who share our goals for the future – is a big part of what helps keep me grounded when the road gets rocky.  I hope I’m not alone in that.

You can find this post and other reports from our organizations and even some of our BJ peeps in Reports from the Field at this link or by clicking on 2024 Activism in the top menu bar of Balloon Juice.

Open Thread.