Education Is Power: Building the Leadership Workers Need Now
At our Black Men in Unions Institute last month, I was reminded of something that doesn’t get said enough: many of the strongest leaders in the labor movement didn’t start out thinking of themselves as leaders.
They became leaders because someone invited them in, mentored them, challenged them, and helped them see their own power.
That moment stuck with me because we are living through a pivotal time for workers.
Across the country and here in Michigan, workers are organizing again. People are standing up in their workplaces, taking risks, and demanding a real say in the future of their jobs and communities. At the same time, economic inequality is widening, communities are facing threats from immigration enforcement, democratic institutions are under attack, and many of the systems workers rely on are under strain.
In moments like this, the labor movement has to do more than react.
Workers need to lead.
But leadership doesn’t appear overnight. It has to be built.
That’s what labor education is for.
Leadership development is not a luxury for the labor movement. It is movement infrastructure. And right now, we don’t have enough of it.
We need more workers who know how to organize conversations in their workplaces, understand how contracts actually work, and are ready to mentor younger members and step into leadership when the moment calls for it. If the labor movement is going to meet this moment, we need thousands more confident, prepared leaders across our unions and communities.
But leadership doesn’t grow out of just any kind of education. It grows through the kinds of learning spaces where workers practice organizing skills, analyze problems together, and build relationships across unions and communities. In those spaces workers are not just absorbing information. They are developing the confidence, strategy, and solidarity that make collective action possible.
Strong unions don’t just depend on good contracts. They depend on workers who understand how power works and know how to organize together.
That’s why spaces like the Center for Labor and Community Studies matter.
For nearly seventy years, the Center has helped build the leadership infrastructure the labor movement depends on by opening labor education to workers who have too often been excluded from traditional leadership pipelines. Programs like the Black Men in Unions Institute and the Latina/o Workers Leadership Institute bring workers together across industries, generations, and communities to deepen their leadership, strengthen solidarity, and ensure that the people most affected by workplace injustice are helping lead the fight for change.
None of this work happens automatically. It happens because workers decide to show up, learn together, and invest in each other’s leadership.
If the labor movement is going to lead in this moment — and it must — then we need more workers stepping into spaces like these.
Education isn’t separate from organizing.
It’s how movements prepare for what comes next.
Upcoming Opportunities to Learn and Lead
THIS WEEKEND: Disability and Workers’ Compensation Symposium
Navigating disability and workers’ compensation systems can be incredibly difficult for workers and their families. This symposium will help workers better understand the system and support one another in advocating for themselves and their coworkers.
NEXT MONTH: Michigan School for Women Workers
For decades, the Michigan School for Women Workers has helped women and workers of all gender identities step into leadership roles in their unions and workplaces. Participants join workshops, strategy discussions, and cross-union conversations that sharpen organizing skills and build lasting relationships across the labor movement.
