The UWUA Human Rights Committee was formed in 1971 and is dedicated to its mission statement: “To provide advocacy, training and support to UWUA local unions and committee members in the areas of human rights, civil rights, and matters of discrimination in the workplace. The committee’s priority is to help ensure and support diversity and inclusion in union representation, and diversity and inclusion in energy jobs.”
The committee’s priority is to help ensure and support diversity and inclusion in union representation, and diversity and inclusion in energy jobs.
At each regional conference, members of the Human Rights Committee present information geared toward building understanding among the increasingly diverse UWUA membership and, by so doing, building the power of the union.
Given how the presidential campaign is shaping up, there is no better time to educate, agitate, and mobilize members to defend their hard-fought gains from those who would like to divide and conquer workers and their unions.
The Human Rights Committee members’ presentations are interactive, requiring conference participants to take the time to consider a number of things that are often not addressed in the hustle and bustle of daily life.
…there is no better time to educate, agitate, and mobilize members to defend their hard-fought gains from those who would like to divide and conquer workers and their unions.
For example, they ask:
- Your Power: are you exercising it?
- Workplace Power: Are members united to work for better working conditions?
- Community Power: Is your local involved in your community, and is your local aware of how you are involved in your community?
- Political Power: Is your local regularly communicating with your elected officials?
- Are you aware which elected officials represent your members?
- Are members contributing to COPE?
- Are you working for Solidarity?
- What actions are you taking to limit splintering your local?
- How well do the officers in your local work together?
- How much support do you provide your local?
- Are you choosing to participate, or not, based solely on selfish reasons?
Chair, Human Rights
Committee
These questions are all very much worth considering.
Human Rights Committee members are available to work with locals to help maximize the union’s power. Here is a sample of what they can provide:
- Design, customize and implement skills building workshops for large and small locals.
- Provide threat assessment support for local officers. (Leaders don’t often know what threatens their local. Committee members help evaluate negative situations and provide solutionbased advice.)
- Help develop a local human rights person or committee.
- Provide diversity and/or communications training for officers and the local.
- Assist with organizing.
For further information, do not hesitate to contact the Human Rights Committee member in your region, or the National Union
UWUA Human Rights Committee Members
Clinton Carson, Chair and Region II Advisor, Local 102-G, Pennsylvania
Milagros Valentin-Grantham, Region I Advisor, Local 1-2, New York
Matthew Marfione, Region I Advisor, Local 369, Massachusetts
Murphy Ball, Region III Advisor, Local 270, Ohio
Nate Waters, Region IV Advisor, Local 105, Michigan
Robert Howard, Region V Advisor, Local 246, California
Kelli Lacy, Region V Advisor, Local 483, California