CLEVELAND, December 17 — The BLET Education & Training Department, in conjunction with the National Legislative Office and the National Association of State Legislative Board Chairmen (NASLBC), will conduct a workshop for BLET Division Legislative Representatives in Washington, D.C., from February 13-17, 2010.
The workshop will take place at Teamster headquarters with classroom training beginning the evening of Sunday, February 13. All-day classroom training will follow on February 14, 15 and 16.
The workshop will cover the following topics:
* Computer skills (principles of letter writing and database management);
*Regulatory affairs (reporting and documenting important issues);
* Political affairs (the anatomy of elections, how a bill becomes a law, communications skills, and writing to politicians); and
* Understanding individual State Legislative Board bylaws.
After completion of the classroom training, attendees will participate in a full day of lobbying on February 17. February 18 is scheduled for travel home.
Participation in the workshop is limited to the first 20 who register, with a limit of two representatives from each state.
Those who successfully complete the classroom portion of the workshop will be eligible for a stipend of $123 per day from the North American Railway Foundation (NARF). The stipends will be paid directly to the State Legislative Board or Division Secretary-Treasurer.
NARF is a non-profit operating foundation formed by the Brotherhood’s Relief and Compensation Fund (BR&CF) to support rail history, education, safety, and technology in the United States and Canada. With initial funding and continued Board of Directors stewardship coming from the BR&CF, NARF has supported many non-political projects throughout the United States and Canada over the past 10 years. The primary focus of these efforts has been in support of organized rail labor — giving back to all of the men and women of the railroad community across North America.
Register for the class at https://www.ble-t.org/lr.
After registering for the workshop, workshop attendees will receive an e-mail confirmation that will include hotel registration information. Attendees are responsible for their transportation costs, along with the cost of room and board.
For more information, please contact Ken Kroeger, Coordinator of the BLET Education & Training Dept. at (216) 272-0986 or kroeger@ble-t.org.