William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies (WBILS) offers open enrollment courses for union members and contract courses for specific local unions, state associations or central labor councils.
While the role of labor unions is often misunderstood, WBILS programming works to educate and empower—one person, one organization at a time. Since its inception in 1980, the William Brennan Institute of Labor Studies (WBILS) has essentially kept its mission intact. WBILS acts as a teaching bridge, offering university resources to Nebraskans and their labor organizations. It’s a natural fit within the College of Public Affairs and Community Service and serves some 2,500 participants annually.
WBILS engages in teaching, service and research activities including:
- Open enrollment non-credit courses for members of labor organizations that engage in collective bargaining.
- Custom-designed contract courses for local unions, state associations or central labor councils.
- Applied research and information requests from organized labor.
- Public education service to organizations inside and outside the labor movement.
- Hosting the annual “Promoting the General Welfare” labor studies conference.
Most programs and training opportunities offered by WBILS last one to two days and are often taught on weekends, but WBILS will contract to meet any scheduling needs. The cost of contract courses is normally less expensive than sending members to one of the open enrollment programs. Contact unowbils@unomaha.edu for more information.
Grievance Handling: The Basics
For newly-elected stewards or experienced officers wanting a refresher, this course teaches the skills needed to represent workers with grievances. Topics include: what is and is not a grievance; proper grievance investigation techniques; arbitrators' standard for determining just cause for discipline; and oral and written grievance presentation skills.
Preparation for Collective Bargaining
This course will increase the effectiveness of union committees in collective bargaining. Topics include the legal framework for collective bargaining; determining what bargaining proposals the union will bring to negotiations; calculating realistic proposal settlement ranges; how to write contract language and basic negotiation strategy and tactics.
Management Rights and the Continuing Duty to Bargain Under the National Labor Relations Act
For union advocates at all levels, this seminar will highlight how to use the offices of the NLRB to win management rights disputes. Arbitrations are presently being lost because arbitrators are still using the "residual rights" theory in their decision making.
How to Effectively "Talk Union"
Labor unions were our nation's first successful anti-poverty program. Wage earners use them to introduce limited democracy into the employment relationship. Employees collectively bargain with employers to increase fairness and justice in the workplace. Nevertheless, a widespread misunderstanding of unions and the American labor movement persists. This class explores how to more effectively explain to members, the general public and the media why unions are needed, what they do and how they do it.
Common Sense Economics
Learn how the economy works and how political decisions influence what happens at the bargaining table and in the community. Topics include:
- Economic Education for Workers
- Standards of Economic Justice
- How Politics Touch Everything we do
Labor History
This history course probes the working and living conditions that gave rise to unions and the opposition to unions that workers faced.
Leadership Training
Increase the effectiveness of union leadership by learning basic management skills. Topics include: analyzing leadership styles; goal setting; problem solving; time management and group decision-making techniques.
Developing Union Leadership Skills
No matter how intelligent or highly skilled you are, you need the support and cooperation of your members to be an effective labor leader. This one-day workshop will teach skills which will strengthen the union through your improved personal effectiveness.
Increasing Your Local Union's Political Effectiveness
Political involvement, which encompasses much more than merely voting, is critical to raising levels of fairness and justice in the workplace and community. Leaders can learn about educating members and others about the political importance of political involvement.
Strategic Planning for Executive Boards
An intensive workshop for local union, central labor council, or state association leaders to help them realistically assess where they are now and plan what they can expect to accomplish during their term of office.
Increasing Political Effectiveness
For elected and appointed union officials and interested members this course will teach strategies for educating and involving members in political activities. Topics include: assessing past union political efforts; the psychology of motivation; labor economics; analyzing union demographics; finding issues that motivate members and the importance of lobbying.
Making Committees Work
This course will teach the skills elected and appointed committee chairs and members need in order to make their meetings more productive. Topics include: psychology of motivation; communicating union values; how to chair; how to lead a discussion; participative decision-making techniques; strategic planning and problem solving for unions.
Parliamentary Procedure
This course will familiarize all union members with a set of rules that can promote cooperation within the union and increase its effectiveness. Participants will learn how rules should be applied and interpreted to permit the majority to accomplish its ultimate purpose within a reasonable length of time, while allowing the minority the opportunity to express its views.
Solidarity Building and Internal Organizing
Learn the causes for member apathy and how union leadership can increase membership involvement. Topics include: psychology of motivation; union and management contributions to member apathy; basic strategic planning techniques and building an action plan for improving solidarity.
Preparing a Grievance to go to Arbitration
Many grievances are won or lost in the early stages of the grievance procedure. The steward must understand how the arbitration process works and what is needed to succeed if a grievance goes all the way to a hearing. Proper preparation will result in a higher winning percentage and make presenting the grievance in the arbitration hearing much easier. This course is designed for those who have completed Grievance Handling and/or Steward Training. Topics include:
- Evidence and proof in arbitration
- Rules of evidence
- Gathering and organizing evidence
- Case analysis and settlement consideration
- Anatomy of the arbitration hearing
- Seven tests of just cause
- How to judge whether the arbitrator's decision runs counter to the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act
Steward Training
Stewards are the backbone of any local union. They play mony important roles in the workplace. They are grievers, educators, leaders, and finding issues that motivate members and the importance of lobbying.
Safety and Health
Nebraska employers, who pay into the state workers compensation fund, are by law mandated to establish joint safety committees to meet periodically to examine safety issues in the workplace. Unions must understand their role in these committees. Safety is a mandatory item of bargaining. When union representatives meet with management to discuss safety issues, they are actually engaging in a form of continuous bargaining.
This class will examine how the union can:
- Use safety and health issues to reduce member apathy
- Identify safety programs that blame the worker rather than identify and reduce the workplace hazards
- Properly prepare to negotiate with management over how to redesign the workplace to fit the health and safety needs of the employees
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
This course will give union members a working knowledge of the FMLA and how it applies in union settings. Topics include:
- Who the Act covers
- Your Rights under the Act
- Legitimate Reasons for Requesting Leave
- Notice and Certification Requirements
- Return to Work Rights
- Using Collective Bargaining to Expand your Rights under the Act
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