Dear fellow UALE Members, I've been working to connect with Labor Educators to learn from others' experiences and explore what it means to be a Labor Educator working for a Labor Union. I often find that folks in positions like mine (I'm in the Education Department at the USW) are happy to speak informally about the work we do. I personally have benefitted tremendously by exchanging ideas and discussing common challenges with folks I've met through UALE and elsewhere. I'm wondering if there's interest in a regular monthly opportunity where we can get together casually on Zoom to talk. No specific agenda, no expectation to stay on for a whole hour, just a chance to connect and share what we have going on and learn about the work of our colleagues who also work for unions, contract for unions, or have worked for unions in the past. Clayton Sinyai, who works for LECET and I have tentatively set up such a meeting on October 8 at 1pm ET, and I invite you to join us! You can register using the link below: https://liuna.zoom.us/meeting/register/cP0xcYYhTBa-svqWnocZ7w If this works out and people are interested in the idea, we'll get together the second Thursday of every month at 1pm ET. Also, if you're keen on the idea but can't make Oct. 8, shoot me an email . Solidarity, Jeff Cech Education and Membership Development United Steelworkers p. 412-736-2604 "Education as the practice of freedom enables us to confront reality even as we imagine ways to move beyond it." - bell hooks