AUD started the Union Democracy Worker Education Project in 1999, in response to demand from union members and activists for information, skills, and ideas they need to organize for democracy and power on the job and in the union.

The Union Democracy Worker Education Project helps rank and file union members become better activists and organizers, by providing education in legal rights and organizing methods and techniques. We offer workshops, conferences, classes and publications for union members and union representatives and officers who want to build a strong and democratic union movement.

The Union Democracy Worker Education Project is an independent alternative to the union and union-connected worker education programs that teach skills but discourage discussion of internal union problems or strategies that might challenge the labor officialdom.

Workshops

We can work with you to design an educational workshop that meets the needs of your group. Short sessions are good for learning the basics, or for tackling a specific problem or question. Longer, or multi-session, workshops give you time to cover more in-depth material.

The workshops are hands on, with valuable handouts and materials, and offer honest dialogue with experienced union reform activists from groups like Teamsters for a Democratic Union, and New Directions in the Transport Workers Union.

Some workshop themes:

• Know your Rights, on Paper and in the Real World
• Rights and resources for rank and filers.
• Standing up for your rights, and surviving.
• Your rights in contract negotiations.
• Defending yourself from union charges.
• Actions you can take to enforce and increase your rights.
• Build Unity and Participation
• Reaching out to co-workers and building your group.
• Organizing across race and gender lines.
• Using a member to member network to organize from the bottom up.
• Organizing with newsletters, flyers, and the Web.
• Strategic thinking for union reformers.
• Make the Union Work for You
• Problem-solving on the job.
• Using grievances to organize for power.
• Running for union office.
• Participating in union meetings.
• Making sense of Robert’s Rules.
• Taking office and building democracy.

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Conferences

AUD organizes conferences for large groups who want to bring members together on a large scale. We work with you to create an agenda that mixes educational workshops and discussions with whole group meetings and strategy sessions. Past AUD conferences have helped activists get the running start they needed to form reform groups in their unions.

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Classes

UDWEP offers regular classes in Brooklyn, New York designed to teach union members to become union democracy organizers. The classes are based on the needs and concerns of the participants and help them find real world solutions to the problems they face in their organizing. The classes bring workers into contact with AUD's extensive network of experienced activists, leaders, and teachers--the best the union democracy movement has to offer.

We teach the principles of democratic unionism and the tools to make it real: legal rights, an organizing approach to grievances and other daily union activity, running for office, member to member organizing, participating in union meetings, and using   newsletters and the web to build participation and power.

Contact us for registration and schedule information.

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Specialized Programs

AUD can work with you to design a training program that meets the needs of your group. Call us to discuss what would work best for you. Short sessions are good for learning the basics, or for tackling a specific problem or question. Multi-session workshops can cover more in-depth material. We train stewards, newly elected officers, activists in existing reform groups, and teach activists to become teachers of union democracy and organizing.

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Educational Materials

The Union Democracy Worker Education Project provides materials to help unionists organize for democracy and power. In addition to the many books and pamphlets described on our publications list, and the educational materials available on this website, we are at work on a resource guide for union activists who want to run their own educational workshops.

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Talleres, Cursos, y Materiales en Español

Corrupción, debilidad frente a los dueños, falta de democracia. Todo los miembros de la unión sufren cuando su unión es amarilla o no democratica, pero sufren mas aún los/las trabajadores/as que, por no hablar el ingles, no tienen acceso a la información mas importante. AUD ofrece clases y talleres en español para trabajadores/as que quieren conocer sus derechos en el trabajo y en la unión, y buscan organizarse para defenderse y hacer su unión mas fuerte, mas democratica, y mas abierta. Con educación y organización, sí, se puede.

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