Mary McDonald and Alida Graham, from the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC), engaged the participants in a session on progressive union leadership.  This session was an overview of the CEC Comprehensive Union Leadership Training Series that they are implementing in Illinois as well as in the Great Lakes TURN region.   Teams, made up TURN locals, were led in a card activity that gave union members an opportunity to identify the values and needs of their local organization through the lens of the Three Frames of Comprehensive Unionism.  

The Three Frames of Comprehensive Unionism was originally developed for the Mooney Institute for Teacher Union Leadership (MITUL) in 2006 and adapted by CEC for this initiative. 

The Three Frames activity is used to identify how locals spend their time and resources in the areas of Industrial Unionism, Professional Unionism, and Social Justice Unionism.

Another key component of the Great Lakes TURN Compact for Union Leadership is the CEC union system assessment.  The system assessment process is based on the practices of high performing organizations and includes a self-assessment instrument.  Each participating local has a site visit by a team of peers.  At the conclusion of the site visit, the team provides the local with a detailed feedback report that is descriptive, not prescriptive.  

With funding from the Wallace and Joyce Foundations, this initiative is gaining interest and participation.