Main sessions at the Labor Notes conference are a change for all conference attendees to come together and hear stories of recent labor victories, ideas for building a stronger movement, and accounts of labor struggles from around the world. The speakers list is still in formation. But the main session speakers are expected to include:

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  Lucas Benitez, of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, emigrated from Mexico to work in the tomato fields in Southern Florida. There, he helped organize the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the farmworker-led organization that recently claimed victory in their four year boycott of Taco Bell.

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  Tom Leedham, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamster Local 206 in Oregon, is running for Teamsters General President in 2006. A longtime Teamster reformer at both the local and international levels, Leedham organized a reform campaign at his own local and running for Teamsters president on the "Strong Contracts, Good Pensions" reform slate.

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  Listen to the talk [1].
  Download a transcript [2].

  Gregg Shotwell, a Michigan Delphi worker and member of UAW Local 2151, is also an agitator in his Live Bait & Ammo columns. When Delphi threatened major concessions and bankruptcy, Gregg became a central activist with Soldiers of Solidarity, a rank-and-file group of auto workers protesting the cuts. The title of his talk: "Workers Will Rule When They Work To Rule."

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  Nancy Wohlforth, Secretary Treasurer of OPEIU, is also a national Co-Convenor of U.S. Labor Against the War, an AFL-CIO Executive Council member, and Co-President of Pride at Work, an organization that fights for the rights of gay and lesbian workers.




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  Alejandro Sosa, President, UE Local 1110, Chicago, works at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago. In 2004 he led a campaign to organize his plant into UE and helped lead negotiations for one of the best first contracts in the Chicago manufacturing sector seen in decades. Originally from Peru, Alejandro is involved in efforts to unite immigrant workers in Chicago.

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  Deborah Bourque, President, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, is the first woman president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. CUPW is a leader in resisting the threats to public services posed by globalization and to preserving universal, public postal services. Deborah will talk about CUPW's plans to fight back against government attempts to limit and privatize Canada's postal service.

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  Download a transcript [3].

  Julie Washington, Vice-President, United Teachers-Los Angeles, was elected Vice-President of United Teachers-Los Angeles, during a reform movement that swept through the country's second largest teachers union local. Julie has been active in the fight against the high-stakes testing in Los Angeles and a staunch defender of public education.

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  Listen to the talk [4].
  Download a transcript [5].

  Marsha Niemeijer, the conference organizer, was a graduate student in Political Science at York University, Toronto, as well as an editorial assistant for an academic publication. As an active member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, she served on the executive board during her Local's 11 week strike in the Fall/Winter of 2000. She has been working with TIE since 1995, and coordinates the TIE international and cross-border programs with Teofilo Reyes (the former co-director of Labor Notes). Marsha covers longshore workers (ILA/ILWU), UE, telecom/CWA, the Canadian auto industry, Canadian and European labor, as well as international economic issues.

Labor Notes conference workshops range from nuts & bolts trainings to discussions about "big picture" political issues. Below is the list of conference workshops:

Assertive Grievance Handling
Building Community Alliances
Confronting "Blame the Worker" Health and Safety Programs
Contract Campaigns

Corporate Campaigns
Creating Flyers and Newsletters
Creative Action
Dealing with Generational Leadership Transition
Dealing with the Media
Different Approaches to Labor's Revitalization
Fighting Concessions
Fighting for Health Care Reform
Fighting No-Match Letters

Fighting Outsourcing and Subcontracting
Fighting Privatization
Fighting Racism
Health and Safety for Immigrant Workers
Immigrant Rights/Reform
Immigrant Worker Leadership Development
International Solidarity
Introduction to Continuous Bargaining
Labor and LGBT Issues

Labor and the War
Labor History
Labor Photography
Learning from Defeats
Lessons from Recent Strikes
Local Officers: After You Get Elected
Local Union Strategy Planning
Organizing Immigrant Workers
Organizing New Members 101

Organizing New Members 201
Organizing Online
Organizing Outside of the NLRB
Organizing Victories
Pension Crisis 101
Public Sector Fightbacks
Researching Your Employer
Running for Office
Strike Strategy

Surviving Bankruptcy
Union Programs that get Members Involved
Unions and Political Action
Wal-Mart and the Global Supply Chain
Women's Leadership Development
Working to Rule
Workplace Restructuring and Solidarity....

and various workshops for and about workers center and non-majority union activists.

Note: Some workshops will be grouped into "tracks," according to a particular topic or focus. If there's a particular type of workshop you're interested in attending, look for a track in that area. Tracks will include Basic Skills, Immigrant Workers, and Organizing.

I'll Be There "I'll be there to join other activists who want to renew our movement to become a real force for social justice." Carol Wall Public Service Alliance of Canada "I am bringing leaders from around the state to help strengthen our organizing at all 10 of the University of California campuses through training, education, and skills building. We will be there!" LaKesha Harrison President AFSCME 3299 Oakland, CA "The Labor Notes conference is a great opportunity to get together with everyone who is committed to putting the 'move' back in the movement." Vermont Workers Center/Jobs With Justice "You can help ensure that your community and unions will get a chance to get fueled up, fed with knowledge, and ready to come back home for another two years of fighting back. Organize a bus or vans to the 2006 Labor Notes conference from your area." Ron Kaminkow Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen Division #27 Railroad Operating Crafts United "I'll be there because a pre-conference dedicated to airline labor is a step in the right direction to bring labor back to a focused, unified front." Richard Turk Communications Officer AMFA Local 9 "I'll be at the Labor Notes Conference to consult with other workers locked in struggle from the New York transit to Brazilian Delphi. I always return from the Labor Notes conference feeling re-energized and armed with new ideas." Gregg Shotwell UAW Local 2151 Delphi Soldiers of Solidarity