Some Things to Expect at your First UALE Summer School Experience- From Gail Rodgers

For new sisters attending the UALE Summer School for the first time: here are some helpful hints from alumna Gail Rogers. She was the Secretary-Treasurer of Local 1-S, RWDSU-UFCW, which represents the employees of Macy's in Herald Square, Parkchester, Queens and White Plains. She was involved in her union for 35 years as a shop steward, Executive Board Member, Business Agent, and an Officer. She first attended Summer School in 2002 at the invite of Ida Torres, a teacher at summer school and the President of Local 3, a sister union, and has attended several other UALE Summer schools with other members of her union.
"[The UALE Summer School] was a wonderful experience. I met some wonderful women and made some lifelong friends. What I discovered over those years was that when I first attended most of the women were staff or business agents in their union, There were very few officers. In the last year I attended the amount of women officers had increased quite a bit. That was great progress. I believe that summer school gave the women the confidence and knowledge to realize that they had a lot to offer their unions and that they could hold officer positions. Summer School gave these women the opportunity to meet other women who shared their problems and concerns and the ability to discuss possible solutions. For most, the nervousness of meeting new people and of the unknown only lasts a short time. Everyone there is there to learn and obtain new skills to do their jobs better. There is a bonding that takes place. The teachers make everyone feel comfortable, It is an experience that I wish more women had the opportunity to take part in. I am quite pleased at the amount of communication and promotion that has gone into this year’s Summer School. Hope it is well attended and successful. How can it not, It is run by Women." Gail sends the 130+ sisters attending the school this year her best regards.

Building Excitement for the 2015 UALE Northeast Summer School (The 40th One!)

Fellow bloggers and sisters,

Many of you have heard from me via email and or Facebook, but once again I'd like to throw this message out onto the world wide web in the hopes of reaching our summer school alumna and our new sisters, too! As the date of our 40th Summer School approaches, (July 26th) we're really hoping to build excitement for the event and maybe even get some new recruits by sharing stories of past schools that sisters have attended or bios of new students who are passionate about labor. As you all know, it is so imperative to share our enthusiasm for labor with others if we want to expand as a force. Please, if you feel that you can contribute by answering any or a few of these questions and allowing your answers to be featured here and on our Facebook page, contact me, Jodi Rafalko, Intern of the Penn State School of Labor and Employment Relations at jlr5979@psu.edu. Your input would be incredibly valuable to other sisters who might not know what's in store for them at our the UALE Summer School this July.

Thank you in advance for your help! See you soon!!

In Solidarity.......
Jodi Rafalko