{"id":1408,"date":"2019-05-07T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T09:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=1408"},"modified":"2019-05-07T08:12:10","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T08:12:10","slug":"unions-mentor-young-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/unions-mentor-young-members","title":{"rendered":"How Unions Can Mentor Young Members to Be Future Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ken Green
\nCEO\/Founder
\nUnionTrack, Inc.<\/a><\/p>\n

For unions to be strong and effective, they need strong leaders. <\/p>\n

As an aging workforce starts to retire, unions have to be prepared to pass the torch to the next generation<\/a>. Those new leaders must be capable of carrying on the work of the union itself as well as the greater labor movement. That is why it is so crucial for current leaders to take the younger generation under their wings and mentor them.<\/p>\n

Not everyone can just jump into a leadership position. A truly good leader has been taught how to both lead and follow, listen and speak. DeLynn Senna<\/a>, executive director of Robert Half Finance & Accounting, writes that the younger generation of workers \u201cdeserve to be\u2014and need to be\u2014cultivated as leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

An important aspect of cultivating leaders is mentoring people who demonstrate an aptitude for and interest in leadership. \u201cMentorship is one way to create a respectful and deliberate way to share information, support each other, develop leadership and confidence,\u201d says Lisa Worobec<\/a>, former co-chair of the Canadian Union of Public Employees National Young Workers\u2019 Committee. <\/p>\n

Here, we will explore what it means for union leaders to share their knowledge with younger members, and how they can pass down the tools that the next generation will need to succeed.<\/p>\n

Mentoring Strengthens Both Individuals and the Organization<\/h2>\n

As the UNI Global Union<\/a> notes in its mentoring handbook, mentorship programs encourage more engagement from younger generations, which strengthens unions at an organizational level. <\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s largest private sector union, Unifor<\/a>, describes how the older generation, the younger generation and the union as a whole all benefit from mentoring programs:<\/p>\n