Merger of UCLEA & WEL #189

Unity Statement    Constitution  Membership

September 20, 1998, Pittsburgh

Representatives (listed below) of the University and College Labor Education Association (UCLEA) and Workers' Education Local 189, CWA (WEL 189) met in Pittsburgh, PA on Sunday, September 20, 1998. The lively, open discussion focused on envisioning a single American labor education organization, the benefits of merging our two organizations, some of the barriers to merger, and the next steps needed prior to both organizations conducting merger referendum votes.

        VISION

It was agreed that before a merger could be considered, a consolidated vision for a new organization needed to be discussed among members. It was felt the following statements might be appropriate ways to describe such a vision of a new unified American labor education organization's key attributes, characteristics and purposes.

• The new merged labor education organization will serve as a single unified voice for the field of labor education in North America. Our new organization will serve to advance labor education as a craft, and it will define labor education to include labor and workers' education, credit and non-credit education, the fields of labor studies and labor research, and will seek to advance knowledge and learning about and by workers and unions.

• Our new united organization will have a university component, a union component and a professional association, and it will be open to all who do, or want to do, workers' education. It will conduct an annual conference and an annual meeting, professional development activities, and publish a refereed, academic journal. And it will provide regular mailings and other communications to members including through use of new computer and telecommunication technologies.
  
• Our organization will seek to advance the American labor movement and workers interests, and strengthen the role of the labor movement in a democratic society. It will seek to promote open, honest dialogue, debate and criticism to advance knowledge and action, enhance democracy, and build a broader social movement. And it will work to strengthen cross border solidarity among labor educators.
  
• Our unified organization will also work to expand labor education activities and opportunities in unions, universities, and the community. It will reach out and promote women, people of color, and young people within the field of labor education. It will seek to provide scholarships, mentoring, and opportunities within our publications and at our conferences for women, people of color, and young people. And the organization will seek to have diversity in our leadership.

It was felt that a new united, union and college, labor education organization might provide the following benefits to the members and to the field as defined above.

• Elevation of the field of labor education, with a united "image" and a more unified profession, and an improved external recognition of the one unified organization which represents the field and all American worker and labor educators. The existence of a unified organization should facilitate better relations with unions including the AFL-CIO, with universities and their associations, and with relevant government and community organizations.
  
• Improved effectiveness of a unified organization itself, after the two historic organizations consolidate resources, such as improved finances, improved meetings and attendance, and better communications including newsletters and publications, as noted above.
  
• Potential post-merger membership growth of the field, "cross fertilization," improved dialogue and exchange among the membership, and the elimination of current dual membership costs for many. A unified organization should address many of the resource limitation problems of the current two organizations for both leaders and members.

• Insurance that labor education is not marginalized as the American labor movement engages in a period of potentially great fluctuation, and ensuring labor educators "capture the moment" in relation to these changes in the labor movement. A unified organization should also strengthen academic-activist connections and across-border solidarity among labor educators.

MERGER BARRIERS

It was also agreed there existed some "barriers to merger" that must be discussed by the members of the UCLEA and WEL 189. While some of these might be "myths" or less significant than others, it was agreed discussions should be held to address potential problems, concerns and questions prior to an effective and seamless merger.

• Would the new unified organization be more academic, professional or more union in the face and images it shows the world? And how would it ensure that one tendency within or external image didn't become overly or negatively dominant?
  
• Would a new unified organization be more externally influenced and impacted by universities or unions? Would it be more or less structural dependent on universities or the AFL-CIO? If these are problems, how best might they be addressed?
  
• How best should the new organizational chart and dues be structured and crafted?
  
• How might one address UCLEA institutional directors' concerns about the needs for clarity concerning the new organization's professional/academic focus, its finances and about institutional control? And is it a problem that there would be fewer leadership positions available for service by university labor educators?
  
• How might one ensure there would be a place in the new organization for "independents" who are not affiliated with either a union or a college?
  
• How would each organization continue to serve its members if the merger of the two national organizations took considerable time and effort? And how should UCLEA pursue both a merger and its recently agreed need to address race, gender and activism concerns?

Of these, the major barriers identified for discussion by members of the UCLEA and WEL 189 were:

• Union Affiliation - Will it be possible for the merged organization's members to have an option of associate membership affiliation with the CWA or another AFL-CIO union?
  
• UCLEA Institutional Influence and the Role of Labor Center Directors - While UCLEA is already discussing the need to collapse its institutional and professional councils, how best can the unified organization be structured to incorporate both institutional and professional concerns?
  
• Need for Professional and Academic Association - How would the unified post-merger organization be structured to best accommodate the professional and academic needs of university labor center faculty?

NEXT STEPS

• The representatives, noted below, resolved that the following next steps would be taken:
  

• We will use the minutes of the meeting to develop a [unity] statement to be signed by the participants in support of the merger process.
  

• We will continue to promote dialogue on merger within WEL 189 and UCLEA publications and mailings.
  

• Two unity committees will be established. One is responsible for reviewing issues of organizational structure and constitution and the initial committee members are Charlie Micallef, Kent Wong, Tom Juravich, and John Revitte. The second committee is to look at organizational finances, revenues and dues, and is comprised of Howard Harris and Don Spatz.
  

• We will submit a "merger proposal" to both organizations for consideration at their April, 1999 annual meetings. If both organizations agree to proceed with merger, we will designate a joint committee to draft formal merger papers, and submit such to written ratification votes in the fall of 1999. If this merger is ratified, we will schedule a joint Founding Conference in spring, 2000.

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