A version of this article appeared in the Learning Solutions, June 25, 2007.

 

E-Learning and Unions

 

Greg Kearsley

 

Education and training for members and the public has always been a major thrust of labor unions and employee associations. However, instruction has always taken the form of classroom delivery, which limits the availability and distribution options. Locals and chapters have tended to take responsibility for their own training activities, relying on their members to develop and conduct classes.

 

E-learning is changing that tradition. By offering online courses, the national offices of unions and associations can provide training and educational opportunities to their entire membership without having to depend upon local initiatives. While much training will likely take place at the local level (particularly if it involves hands-on skills or apprenticeship), online learning courses provide some important new benefits for union education (see Table 1).

 

This article provides a brief overview of what unions in the U.S. and Canada are currently doing in the e-learning domain along with a discussion of the practical issues involved.

 

Benefits for All

 

E-learning is a win-win for both the union and its members. For the union, the major benefits are consistency and accountability of training. By virtue of the fact that everyone takes the same course, there are no variations due to differences in who taught the course or when/where it was taken. Assuming that the course includes tests or exams which must be passed for satisfactory completion, online courses provide a measure of accountability. This factor is particularly important if the training is of a compliance nature (e.g., safety procedures, sexual harassment policy, HIPPA, ADA, etc.) and it’s important to be sure that the training was completed and mastered.

 

Table 1. Benefits of Online Learning
Consistency	Can be sure that all members receive the same training
Accountability	Can be sure that training was completed and content mastered (if tests/exams used)
Personalization	Each person can learn at their own pace and manner (depending upon the media options)
Convenience	Learning is available anytime, anyplace (depending upon type of e-learning and computer/network availability)

 

From the employees’ perspective, the fact that online courses provide a personalized learning experience is a big plus. Being able to go through material at their own pace and in the sequence of their choosing, is important to adult learners who usually have some background knowledge and want to pursue certain topics in more detail than others. Even more valuable is the convenience afforded by being able to take courses anytime and anyplace, provided there is a computer with a network connection. Of course, if the e-learning involves web conferences and is synchronous in nature, it will be scheduled, but even then, there is still a time savings since no travel time is needed to get to a meeting location.

 

In general, it is advantageous for a union to offer as many education and training opportunities as possible to its members since this provides better membership value. If online learning allows a union to do this more cost-effectively than via traditional means, then it will be seen as a strong benefit to union leadership. More importantly, e-learning permits a union to offer specialized technical courses to its members that allow them to retrain for new jobs and hence stay employable – one of the key functions of union training.

 

Example Programs

 

There considerable variety in the nature of the e-learning initiatives that unions have developed. Table 2 lists some examples. The Air Safety Foundation of the AOPA provides more than a dozen courses related to flying which are open to anyone who wants to take them; courses are on topics such as weather, air safety regulations, use of GPS for IRF/VFR, and flight procedures, that would be of interest to private pilots. The CWA has established a partnership with Cisco Systems and Stanly Community College to offer technical courses for credit to its membership; they currently offer more than 50 courses focused on network and telecommunication topics.

 

Table 2. Examples of Union Online Learning Programs
Airline Operators and Pilots Assoc (AOPA) – Air Safety Foundation	http://www.aopa.org/asf/online_courses/
Communication Workers America (CWA) - NETT	http://www.cwanett.org/
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)	http://www.iaff.org/ET/Modules
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)	http://www.seiu.org/mbe/online_learning_center/index.cfm
United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW – Canada)	http://www.ufcwfoodsafe.com/
United Steel Workers (USW) - ICD	http://www.icd-uswasteelco.org/

 

The IAFF makes many of the courses it has developed for firefighters freely available on its website, while some are restricted to members. IAFF online courses include topics such as: first responder procedures, emergency response standards, protective equipment, decontamination, as well as human relations committees, contract costing and collective bargaining. The SEIU currently has three courses available on the topics of Rights at Work, Contract Closing, and Secretary-Treasurer training. The UFCW in Canada has developed an online course in safe food handling that is freely available. The USW/Institute for Career Development provides its members with access to a large library of courses from a online training vendor, as well as the option to complete a degree via online coursework from the National Labor College.

 

Besides these initiatives by individual unions, there are a number of union-industry-academia partnerships to provide online education. For example, the National Coalition for Telecommunications Education and Training (http://www.nactel.com/) includes: AT&T, Qwest, Verizon, the CWA, the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Pace University, and the New England College of Finance and offers degree and certificate programs in telecommunications and finance. The Energy Providers Coalition for Education (http://www.epceonline.org/) is another partnership established to provide online learning opportunities to workers in the electrical power industry. Partners include many utility companies and regional associations, the IBEW, the UWUA (Utility Workers Union of America), Bismark State College, Thomas Edison State College, and Excelsior College.

 

CWA/NETT Profile -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The Communications Workers of America has a membership of over 700,000. One of the biggest issues for CWA is retraining to meet the changing technical demands of communications industry. The NETT (National Education and Training Trust) program was set up in 2000 as a non-profit foundation to provide skills training to CWA members, their family,  and active military or veterans making the transition to civilian employment. It consists of a partnership with the Cisco Training Academy which provided the initial courses, and Stanly Community College, who provide faculty and manage the courses. The NETT program involves a blended model with online courses, classroom instruction, and use of multimedia (DVD). Existing courses can be taken in three ways: as part of an Associate degree program, as part of a certificate program, or individually for CEU credit.

 

The program has evolved in a number of ways since it began 6 years ago according to its director, Kevin Celata. One change is the scope of the courses offered which goes well beyond the initial computer and network skills to include subjects such as Fiber Optics, AutoCAD, digital photography, videography, psychology, and labor relations history. In fact, a new element of the program has been added recently called the “Stewards Army” with the intent of offering courses related to fundamental concerns of working families. Another change anticipated by Celata is increased demand for the program from non-CWA members as the reputation and awareness of the program increases.

 

Decision Factors

 

Unions and associations interested in offering online learning courses have a number of options to consider:

1. What kind of courses to offer? There are at least four different types of courses that can be offered: (1) technical content related to job skills and knowledge, (2) union-related topics such as bargaining strategies, grievance procedures, or understanding pension benefits, and (3) personal interest or professional development topics such as writing or speaking skills or career planning, and (4) general topics related to the industry served that provide background or trends. The last category would be intended more for the public rather than members, although they may be useful for recruiting or orientation.
2. What kind of e-learning to offer? The major decision here is whether to offer asynchronous (self-paced) or synchronous (live) courses, or some combination of the two. Most organizations will opt for asynchronous since it offers maximum convenience to members in terms of any time learning. However, synchronous (normally done via web conferencing) offers many benefits that include the opportunity for immediate interaction among members and experts, and the fact that such sessions are easy to prepare and conduct. Another consideration is whether you use a blended model that integrates classroom sessions with online activities, or to employ multimedia (such as digital video clips) in the form of DVDs. Even if the decision is made to go with a strictly asynchronous format, it is still possible to allow interaction among participants and with expert instructors via the use of discussion forums, blogs or email.
3. Buy or Make Courses? With any type of e-learning, the decision needs to be made whether the courses will be bought or developed. If the content is technical in nature, it will probably not exist off-the-shelf and hence will have to be developed. On the other hand, a huge selection of courses are available from vendors for computer, safety, business, health, human resource and sales area and these can be customized to the specific requirements of an organization. In the case of synchronous e-learning, the content usually takes the form of Powerpoint slides that are made up by the presenter, perhaps with assistance of an instructional/media designer. For asynchronous courses that are to be developed, this will require the expertise of an e-learning developer/programmer working with a subject matter expert – either of which may be on staff or hired as a consultant. Another alternative is to partner with a college or company that already has suitable courses or is willing to co-develop them.
4. Internal or External Hosting? Related to choices about what kind of e-learning is offered, and to make or buy courses, is the decision to host the system internally or externally. Almost all vendors of e-learning systems offer external hosting and this is the easiest and quickest way to implement a system (although not necessarily the most cost-effective). In large organizations that have extensive IT resources, internal hosting may make the most sense. This decision impacts staffing and financial requirements.
5. Credit or Non-credit? An important decision to be made is whether courses will be offered for credit as part of a degree or diploma program, for continuing education credits (CEUs), or as part of a certificate/certification program. Course completion may be linked to employment requirements or recognition programs, or preparation for licensing. Some organizations require that employees complete a certain number of hours of training per year, allowing employees to select what courses or learning activities they take.
6. Revenue Generation? Courses may be offered free to members (or the public) or there may be a tuition fee involved (which is often the case if the courses are part of a credit granting program). In some cases, e-learning is funded from membership dues while in other cases it is offered through a foundation and funded externally via grants or industry contributions.
7. Staffing Needs? Running any e-learning program requires staff – even if it is a staff of one. Someone needs to administer the day-to-day operations of a program. If courses are to be developed, instruction/media designers, subject matter experts, and programmers will be needed. If courses are provided by vendors, or development is outsourced, this process still needs to be managed. There are also needs for publicity, customer service, trouble-shooting, assessment, and planning.
8. Scope of the Effort? Tied into all of the above factors is an overall decision about how extensive or limited the e-learning effort is to be. Questions to be asked include: (1) how well do current education/training efforts meet the needs of membership? (2) is online learning a good strategy for some or most members? and (3) do we have the resources/capability to offer and support the desired level/kind of  e-learning?

 

 

IAFF Profile --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has been offering online courses for more than 5 years according to Instructional Designer, Kate Schmitigal. The e-learning group consists of instructional designer, who designs the courses, and an Education Technology Specialist who implements them using the Dreamweaver authoring tool. There are two types of online courses: technical topics such as First Responder Operations, Toxins, Decontamination, Fitness Requirements, and union-related topics such as retirement plan options, collective bargaining negotiation, and compensation calculations. Most of the courses are open to anyone, but some of the union-specific courses are limited to IAFF members.

The online learning program was initiated by IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger with the idea that it would supplement on-site classes and possibly attract more members to take training courses. Considering that most fire departments have computers with internet connections and there is a lot of downtime, online learning makes sense for many IAFF members. In fact, one of the dilemmas is that members want more than a two-person e-learning group can provide. Another issue is that as the number of courses increases, so does the size of the maintenance task…courses have to be revised periodically as the content changes. So offering more and better online courses with limited resources is a challenge for the IAFE, as it is for many small e-learning groups.

 

 

The Many Facets of Union Education

 

To fully understand the potential of e-learning for unions, it’s valuable to look at it from the perspective of members. Of course, each union membership has its own particular nature and pressing concerns with respect to training and education, so the following profiles would not necessarily be typical of all union members.

 

Consider the following three individuals:

 

1. Hugo is a middle-aged machinist who has worked in a manufacturing facility for 10 years and was recently elected the local union steward. Although he is familiar with the duties of a steward, he would like more training on how to handle grievances and interpret the current bargaining agreement. In terms of his career development, he sees that the company is moving towards CAD/CAM in all its operations and he would like to learn more about it, perhaps even obtain a diploma if it doesn’t interfere with his work and family life.
2. Suzanne works for a large retail chain and was promoted to a supervisory position a few months ago. The company is represented by two different unions and she belongs to one of them. She has never been that active in the union but realizes that she now needs to understand union procedures better in order to fulfill her new position which places her between management and her co-workers. Also, she would like to improve her supervisory skills in areas such as employee evaluations, leadership, motivating others, etc. Unfortunately, her company doesn’t offer this kind of training.
3. Pat was forced into early retirement from his delivery job with a large transportation company due to back problems that make it impossible for him to drive for sustained periods. He has been offered “desk” jobs but he is not very interested in those. He is getting disability benefits and his pension from the union. He would like to start a business venture on the internet, but has no training in business and would like to learn more about online marketing and ecommerce before proceeding.

 

These profiles immediately raise the last question in the preceding section concerning the scope of online learning offered by unions. Clearly, the needs of Hugo and Pat to better understand union practices seem legitimate topics for online training. So then the question is whether a particular union has the resources to offer this training online, and if so, in what form, and how can it be developed.

 

The need to offer technical training is a less clear-cut case. It makes sense for unions for develop (in collaboration with colleges or industry) specialized courses for technical skills or knowledge that are specific to their work domain. On the other hand, in the case of Hugo who is interested in acquiring an understanding of CAD/CAM, it seems like this would be best addressed through an existing program at a technical college. However, few such programs exist in online form which means that on-campus attendance is required and this is often not feasible for people with full time jobs and family responsibilities. A valuable role that unions can play in this context is to encourage colleges to offer their programs online, with the enticement of enrollments from their membership.

 

In the case of the supervisory training that Suzanne desires, this seems like something that employers should provide rather than unions. Indeed this could well be an item for inclusion in collective bargaining agreements (e.g., educational tuition reimbursement). This happens to be a skill area that is widely available in online course offerings from e-learning vendors, so it would not be a difficult need to meet. This seems like another example of an online learning domain that unions could facilitate through their influence rather than attempt to offer directly.

 

Finally, we have the situation of Pat who wants to learn more about ecommerce. Considering that a number of business colleges offer online programs in this area, it doesn’t seem like there is any need for a union to venture there. What makes more sense is for unions to encourage their members to enroll in existing online programs via tuition assistance or scholarships. A valuable role that unions can play here is being knowledgeable about what programs exist and being able to counsel members about program requirements. Indeed, many (most?) members will need help deciding whether online learning is suitable for them, if they have no first-hand experience with it.

 

As these examples illustrate, it is difficult for a union to determine how to use e-learning to meet the training and educational needs of its members. It’s not a question of whether such needs can be satisfied by online learning (although that will be a question in some cases), but an issue of whether this is an appropriate need for a union to meet relative to some other provider of online education. Paying for e-learning programs can be problematic for unions since they typically have very limited budgets. This is the reason why many have created separate non-profit foundations for their e-learning programs with funding coming from grants or industry contributions.

 

National Labor College Profile ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The National Labor College (NLC) was created in 1974 as an initiative of the AFL-CIO and has been accredited to offer undergraduate degrees since 1997. It is the only accredited college in the world that is solely devoted to educating union members, leaders, activists and staff. Recently, NLC began to offer an online program for a Bachelor of Technical/Professional Studies degree with five specialization options: Leadership, Communications and Technology, Instructional Technology, Music and Arts, or Occupational Safety and Health. The NLC has also begun to offer free online open learning courses which include: Labor and Art, Leaders and Landmarks (Labor History), Collective Bargaining, and Taft Hartley Funding. Note that attendance at NLC is open to members of any union, although AFL/CIO members pay lower tuition fees.
See http://www.nlc.edu/

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Conclusion

 

Until recently, online training was offered primarily by large corporations to their employees to meet their goals and business needs. In recent years, unions have become involved with online education, offering courses to their members to meet needs from their perspective. There is no doubt that this development will result in increased popularity and growing acceptance for e-learning as a mainstream form of training and education.

 

Historically unions have focused on the improvement of the working conditions and wages of their members. While these are always going to remain core concerns, the provision of education and training is likely to become increasingly important since it determines the viability of an employee in today’s rapidly changing workplaces. Furthermore, more training is something that all parties involved (employee and employer) want.

 

Many of the decision factors and issues associated with e-learning that unions face, are shared by shared by any organization or educational institution that wants to offer online learning. For that reason, unions and associations who are just getting started with online learning can benefit from the considerable knowledge and guidance that is available from the E-learning Guild.

 

 

About the Author

 

Greg Kearsley, PhD, is an independent consultant who has been designing, developing and evaluating technology-based learning programs for more than 25 years. He can be reached at gkearsley@sprynet.com