Read through our workshop options and please sign-up for your selections.

Please note:
We offer two workshop series, and we encourage participants to register for all sessions in the series they choose.
Series offered:
• Strike Preparedness Series (3 parts)
• First Aid for Direct Action and Direct Care Series (2 parts)

Thursday, March 19, 2026: Workshops from 1:15pm – 2:30pm

1. Labor and the Law: The Legal Rights and Responsibilities Union Site Representatives

Participants will discuss and practice exercising the legal rights and responsibilities of union representatives. Participants will be introduced to the concept of Just Cause, Duty of Fair Representation, Weingarten Rights & role of worksite leaders.

Trainers: Jason Elias, Field Representative and Ed Wang, Field Representative

Room: Catalina 2

2. Managing Through Anxiety and Fear

This workshop is ideal for anyone looking to enhance their emotional intelligence,
improve mental health, and cultivate a more balanced approach to challenges.

Trainer: Leven “Chuck” Wilson, Assistant Director of Health and Safety, AFT

Room: Catalina 3

3. Turning Talk Into Action and 1-1 Conversations

Want to develop the skills to activate/sign up your coworkers and build solidarity in your local? We’ll focus on and practice having 1-on-1 conversations to help build collective strength, foster meaningful dialogue, and move colleagues to action.

Trainers: Jon Coelho, Senior Project Organizer and Grant Stover, Organizer

Room: Catalina 4

4. Social Media Strategies for Educators

From threats to doxing and more, the last year has seen numerous attacks and intimidation of educators via their social media accounts. This session will cover ways that you can take charge of your social media accounts with proven strategies and best practices. We will use real world case studies to explore the balance between speaking out and staying safe online and will guide you through safety settings and tools on popular social media platforms that you can use to defend against harassment, tighten your security, and protect your privacy. Participants will receive resources and tips for sharing this guidance with their colleagues and unit members. Bring your laptop and/or phone to follow along.

Trainer: Beck Haberstroh, Program Manager, Digital Safety Training and Resources at PEN America

Room: Catalina 5

5. Nonviolent Direct Action Training

This workshop will explore: Intro to Nonviolent Direct Action Training; Introductions at the tables about their own interest in NVDA; role plays; General Know Your Rights if ICE approaches; How to conduct yourself and encourage others if a heckler in a protest escalates toward violence and a debrief.

Trainers: Susan Minato, Co-president HERE local 11 and Emely Rauda, Community Education Specialist, UCLA Labor Center

Room: Catalina 6

6. Government Relations 101

Ask us Anything. Join the CFT legislative team, members can come and go and ask any questions on legislative and policy issues. Learn how to schedule meetings, what topics to cover, and how to integrate with the CFT Legislative Department.

Trainers: Tristan Brown, Legislative Director, Tiffany Mok, Legislative Representative & Mitch Steiger, Legislative Representative

Room: Catalina 7

Thursday, March 19, 2026: Workshops from 2:45pm – 4:00pm

1. Data Hygiene and AFT Connect

The workshop will walk folks through the basics and importance of data hygiene and how that information is used to provide actionable insights into your membership. Participants will then be walked through using AFT Connects basic and intermediate features that allow users to enter and update membership and local information. Additionally, members will be shown how they can download customized membership lists for use in mail merges, phonebanks, or email blasts.

Trainers: Amir Arman, Data Management Director and Alex Gomez, Administrative Assistant for Technology

Room: Catalina 2

2. Strike Readiness Series: Part 1 of 3
   Contract Campaigns

This workshop on Contract Campaigns and Organizing is designed to equip members with the basic strategies, best practices, and skills needed to successfully organize and negotiate the best possible contract for their local. Topics covered include: Reviewing the phases and steps of a successful, escalating contract campaign; Learning the importance of structure-based organizing and how to make strategic decisions based on that structure; Contract Action Teams (CAT): Understanding what a CAT is and how to develop one; Explaining the overall role of the union, the purpose of organizing members, and describing the role of worksite leaders in strengthening the union’s effort to win a great contract.

Trainers: Charlotte Bowman, Organizing Director & Cassondra Curiel, President, UESF

Room: Catalina 3

3. Doxing Defense: Clean Up Your Digital Footprint

Learn to better protect yourself from online attacks by cleaning up your digital footprint. In this interactive workshop, we will ‘think like doxers’ to discover what private information about us is available online and what we can do to remove it or reduce its visibility. We’ll talk about data brokers, data breaches, password hygiene and more. Participants will leave with their own digital safety action plan and tools for sharing this guidance with their colleagues and unit members. Bring your laptop and/or phone to follow along.

Trainer: Beck Haberstroh, Program Manager, Digital Safety Training and Resources at PEN America

Room: Catalina 4

4. Know Your Rights: State and Federal Policy for LGBTQ+ Students and Teachers

This workshop will provide an overview of existing California policies protecting LGBTQ+ students and educators as well as current proposed legislation in Sacramento and Washington DC. The workshop will also include a collaborative working session to generate strategies for supporting LGBTQ+ students in the classroom and on campus.

Trainer: Erin Arendse, EQCA, Program Director

Room: Catalina 5

5. Comms to Win: Building Strength and Projecting Power

Strong and strategic communications are a cornerstone of successful organizing. Learn how you can better communicate to build power and win for your union and your students.

Trainers: Mathew Hardy, Communications Director and Nason McCarthy, Communications Specialist

Room: Catalina 6

6. Bringing Resources to the Immigrant Community by Empowering Our Members

In this workshop, we will present how the citizenship clinics have helped us build trust, by getting to know our parents, students, and community by providing free immigration services to Communities. We are all interconnected, we can’t afford to ignore the challenges of parents and students. We need to make a positive impact and affect the stability and success of our students and the future of our cities.

Trainer: Rafael Moratoya, AFT Community Coordinator for the Western Region
Human Rights and Community Relationship

Room: Catalina 7

Friday, March 20, 2026: Workshops from 10:15am – 11:30am

1. Treasurer’s Training

The goal of the treasurers training is to provide you with practical tools to effectively carry out your role and responsibilities as a local union treasurer. Presidents and formula funded staff are also welcome and encouraged to attend.

A brief overview of the following topics will be presented with an opportunity for in-depth coverage of these topics at later dedicated treasurers trainings at the Summer School in June. Duties and Responsibilities as Fiduciaries, Per Capita, Budget, COPE, Financial, Audits and Taxes.

Trainers: Lacy Barnes, CFT Secretary-Treasurer, Leticia Castro, Director of Administrative Services and Jessica Ulstad, Political Director

Room: Catalina 2

2. Strike Readiness Series: Part 2 of 3 
   Negotiations: Mediation through the Strike Vote

This session is a comprehensive review of the negotiation process, including in-depth analysis of key stages such as Mediation, Impasse, Fact Finding, and Strike. This section will explore the importance, risks, and rewards associated with each of these actions. A review of all critical aspects of the process to ensure participants understand their rights and responsibilities. This training focuses on CFT public sector locals.

Trainers: Sarah Henne, Field Manager and Nelly Vaquera, Field Representative

Room: Catalina 3

3. Leading Across Differences: Integrating DiSC and Equity for Inclusive Union Leadership

Strong unions are built on relationships — and relationships are shaped by how we communicate, how we navigate power, and how we lead across differences. This interactive 90-minute session integrates the DiSC behavioral framework with an equity lens to help union leaders deepen self-awareness and strengthen inclusive leadership practices.

Trainer: Tamika Childs, Assistant Director, AFT

Room: Catalina 4

4. First Aid Direct Action and Direct Care Series: Part 1 of 2

In moments of collective action, whether at protests, marches, or acts of nonviolent direct action, ensuring the health and safety of participants is crucial. Direct Action, Direct Care is a hands-on workshop designed to equip activists, organizers, and street medics with the essential skills to provide emergency medical care in high-stress environments. This class will be be capped at 30 participants.

Trainer: Keith Wrightson, Assistant Director of Health and Safety, AFT

Room: Catalina 5

5. AFT Member Benefits for You and Your Local Union

The AFT+ Member Benefits programs enhance union membership both on and off the job. From free therapy after a traumatic incident to exclusive travel savings, these benefits provide valuable support for members. This workshop will offer a clear overview of the available programs, guide you on accessing additional resources, and inspire ideas for integrating these benefits into your local.

Trainer: LaTia Scott, Senior Associate, AFT

Room: Catalina 6

6. Public Sector New Hire Orientations & AB 119: Rights, Strategy, and Power-Building

This workshop is designed for public sector union leaders, by union leaders — grounded in the reality of what it takes to build strength from day one. Together, we’ll break down AB 119 and the rights it guarantees our locals, including mandatory access to new-employee orientations and employer obligations regarding timely new-hire information. Participants will explore the frameworks for both in-person and virtual sessions, including the legal timelines for providing new-hire contact data and the standard 15–30-minute presentation windows. This is a hands-on, strategy-focused workshop designed to leave you better prepared, more confident, and ready to leverage every new hire opportunity to grow your union’s power.

Trainers: Kassi Harris, Field Representative and Martha Figueroa, Field Representative

Room: Catalina 7

Friday, March 20, 2026: Workshops from 12:45pm - 2:00pm

1. Tools for Taking Action: Gripes or Grievances

Participants will discuss ways we can solve problems on the job by engaging members in coordinated actions and using the grievance procedure. This workshop introduces participants to basic grievance handling. We will cover the definition of a grievance, how to write an effective grievance, how to process and investigate a grievance, tips for meeting with management, and various other problem-solving scenarios.

Trainers: Erica Williams, Field Representative and Anthony Solis, Field Representative

Room: Catalina 2

2. Strike Readiness Series: Part 3 of 3
   Keeping the Momentum After the Strike Vote

This session focuses on the advanced and critical stage of the strike. Participants will learn the concrete steps and strategic organizing necessary to successfully execute a work stoppage and maximize pressure for a contract victory. Key topics include: Post-Strike Vote Strategy: Detailing immediate actions required to maintain and escalate pressure; Strike Operations: A comprehensive overview of running an effective strike, including logistics, legal requirements, picket line protocol, and maintaining discipline and morale; Sustaining Momentum: Understanding the continued actions needed to ensure a successful outcome; Structure-Based Organizing: reinforcing its importance for making strategic decisions during this high-stakes period of the contract campaign.

Trainers: Cassondra Curiel and Brian Mcnamara, UTLA, Director of Organizing

Room: Catalina 3

3. Healthcare and the Fight for Single Payer

Education unions are on the front lines in the struggle to ensure that Californians get the healthcare we need. This workshop will engage participants in how the struggle to maintain health benefits impacts collective bargaining and what it would mean to take health benefits off the table through a public system of universal, guaranteed healthcare. We will learn about the elements of that system and political paths to get there.

Trainer: Michael Lighty, President, Healthy California Now

Room: Catalina 4

4. First Aid Direct Action and Direct Care Series: Part 2 of 2

In moments of collective action, whether at protests, marches, or acts of nonviolent direct action, ensuring the health and safety of participants is crucial. Direct Action, Direct Care is a hands-on workshop designed to equip activists, organizers, and street medics with the essential skills to provide emergency medical care in high-stress environments. This class will be be capped at 30 participants.

Trainer: Keith Wrightson, Assistant Director of Health and Safety, AFT

Room: Catalina 5

5. The Use of AI in our Workplaces: Minimizing Risk to Union Members

Union members day-to-day work is often threatened by unregulated new technologies – workers can be subject to constant monitoring or their personal data sold and traded to outside vendors. Our employers introduce new technology that hasn’t been vetted by the workers who perform the job, and, when it fails, public resources are squandered. Minimizing risk to our members includes advancing smart public policies and negotiating contract language to anticipate the constantly changing workplace. We can protect ourselves and our work.

Trainer: AFT, Jennifer Porcari, Director, AFT Public Employees

Room: Catalina 6

6. My Retirement Benefits: CALSTRS

Find out more in-depth information about your CalSTRS benefits, the difference between earned and purchased service credit, and ways to bridge the gap between your CalSTRS benefit and your retirement income goal.

Trainers: Sharon Hendricks, Treasurer & Co-Retirement Liaison, AFT 1521 and Jennifer Helfend-Gomez Stakeholder Engagement Manager

Room: Catalina 7