9 Young Workers elected to AFSCME Council 5 executive board

AFSCME’s Next Wave young worker groups bring energy, fresh ideas and tech savviness to renew the labor movement

By Rich Popsichal and Michael Hartel, AFSCME Next Wave & Council 5 executive board members

Our 2012 AFSCME Council 5 convention opens a new chapter and hope for the future as we elected 9 Next Wavers to our 43 seat council executive board this past fall. We are excited to be part of the team and bring fresh ideas. Our union in Minnesota is strong, dedicated and hardworking and we are proud to be a part of it.  

Young union leadership is a key component of the survival and growth of unions. Many experienced union members will be retiring in the next 10 years which will leave a huge gap of knowledge if we do not strategically plan for this in the next several years. Young leaders have stepped up around the country urging experienced members to assist them through mentorship to make the unions strong and functional.

Electing young leaders to local and council Executive Boards provides an opportunity for the young and the experienced members to learn from each other. The more experienced members share the skills and events which have helped shape our union and the young members provide new ideas and skills to assist during the changing times. Many mobilizing techniques have changed over the years and the young members can offer creative ideas for mobilizing new and younger members. They also relate to the needs of the younger members, who are an increasing percentage of our union membership.

Our work environment and world is evolving at a rate unparalleled in history. That’s why it is imperative to maintain the highest quality of leadership in our unions. The wisdom and experience of our experienced members coupled with the fresh ideas, tech savvy and energy of our Next Wavers provides the mixture which gives us high quality leadership today and assures that it will continue into the future. After all, the future of the labor movement will be in the hands of the young membership. It will be up to us to learn from those who have been there fighting for what we have year after year.  We want to leave this movement just a little better than we found it.