March 26, 2024
Sign Up For LUCA Today- LUCA Conference is April 28-May 3
Education is the key to an engaged membership, with the local union communication being the key to an educated membership. The Local Union Communication Association (LUCA) understands this more than anyone.
LUCA
LUCA has been around since the 1970s, first falling under CAP and then being moved to the PR Department in the 1980s. LUCA’s purpose is to support and educate local union communicators across the UAW. The International Executive Board (IEB) supports local union communication with their support of LUCA. “LUCA is overseen by the LUCA Advisory Council, which is appointed by the regional directors,” states Region 8 Director Tim Smith. “The council contains one representative from each region, appointed by the director. Region 8 is represented by Local 2195 member John Davis on the council and serves as the chair.”
Membership in LUCA is free to all local unions. To join, a local union president simply goes to the LUCA page on the UAW website and applies for membership. If your local does not belong to LUCA, simply follow this link to apply for your membership. https://uawsolidweb.org/luca
2024 LUCA Conference
LUCA provides information for local union communicators, as well as education and instruction. The yearly LUCA Conference held at the Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center at Black Lake. The 2024 LUCA Conference is scheduled for April 28-May 3, 2024. To send delegates to the conference a local must be an official LUCA member and attendees must be listed as a LUCA representative for their local union. Deadline for registration is coming soon, so make plans today to send your delegates.
Importance Of Local Union Communication
“Local union communication is the backbone of education and inspiration for a local union” states Region 8 LUCA Advisory Council Representative and Council Chairperson John Davis. “Today local unions have an  endless number of ways to communicate with their membership. Newsletters, websites, social media, video, podcast, apps and email blast all provide local union leaderships with an opportunity to share information with our members. We often assume our members understand all the issues we face at the bargaining table and in the halls of government. Our enemies are busy feeding misinformation to our members. Local unions must be proactive in our education of the membership. We simply cannot afford to stand on the sidelines- we must take the steps to insure we are doing everything we can to provide our membership with the information they need.”
If your local currently doesn’t have local union communication, now is the time to start. If your local  participates in local union communication but doesn’t belong to LUCA, we encourage you to follow the link to sign up today. The resources LUCA provides can provide your local union communicators with the education and support they need to create and distribute content to your members that will make a difference.
Advantages Of LUCA Membership
One of the advantages of LUCA is access to Solidweb, the International Union’s system to help provide websites for local unions. “Web design is not easy and it requires a certain skill set to build and maintain a local union website,” adds John Davis. “Solidweb is a online, form based system that makes it much easier to build and maintain a local union website. The service is absolutely free and easy to use. There is no programming required, you simply can type in your word processor and copy and paste information in boxes provided in the system. No special software is required and the learning curve is quite easy. Online training sessions are held to assist those getting started with it. A local union president simply has to email Chris Skelly at the UAW Digital Department to ask for access and to have a page created for their local union. Email Chris at cskelly@uaw.net
For more information about LUCA, you can contact John Davis at jtdavis@ardmore.net or the LUCA Coordinator at the UAW PR Department Roy Escandon at rescandon@uaw.net.
Region 8 Encourages LUCA Membership
“We strongly urge every local in Region 8 to join LUCA today,” adds UAW Region 8 Assistant Director George Palmer. “We have 17 states in Region 8, and reaching our members across that broad of an area can be a challenge. However, through our Region 8 website and social media, we have been able to lessen the miles between us through our shared experiences and news. If your local does not belong to LUCA, please take the time today to sign up.”
Remember, the deadline for registration for the 2024 LUCA Conference is fast approaching. Act today to make sure your local is taking advantage of this free service from the International Union. Local union presidents must make the application at https://uawsolidweb.org/luca |
