Labor Education and   
Research Center

We provide education, training, events, and applied research to   
working people in Washington State.

Youth Leadership

We face a tremendous challenge in unions today – an aging membership and aging leadership.

The ‘old school’ of unionism must embrace upcoming generations of activists and leaders who have different orientations towards the issues, and different skill sets.

How can unions effectively activate their younger members and why should they?

What are the particular challenges of bringing younger workers in to your leadership?

What do you need to teach and what do you need to learn?

What are younger workers interested in and how do they see unions or other kinds of institutional organizations?

Sometimes inter-generational communication can be just as confusing as traveling in a country where you don’t speak the language.

The Labor Center can design and implement training for both experienced and less experienced workers to help bridge some of these gaps and strategically plan for leadership succession in social justice organizations.