‘Commentary’ Archives
Networking: The Mother of All Mixed Blessings
from the series Peace House Community Journal... By MARTI MALTBY Marti Maltby I recently traveled to Breezy Point, in northern Minnesota, to speak at a conference. Since the trip involved five hours of driving, I made sure I had some audiobooks to pass the time. I started listening to Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections That Count by Karen Wickre, and within an hour I had an idea for the next presentation I wanted to give at a conference.As an introvert, the idea of networking doesn’t appeal to me. Imagining myself walking up to strangers at a party to convince them to do something for me makes my skin crawl. Fortunately, the audiobook helped me reframe my thinking, pointing out that “networking” doesn’t just mean convincing others that they want to help you. It can be as simple as asking a friend if they know any good restaurants. In other words, my view of networking was far too narrow.I should have realized this earlier, [...]
UNITED WE RISE, DIVIDED WE FALL
from the series Raise Your Voice... By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Most of our neighbors are familiar with the 11th Avenue bridge as a way of crossing Interstate 94 to access Elliot Park. However, most are likely unfamiliar with the zigzag required to locate 620 12th Avenue South, the headquarters of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 563. LIUNA represents workers who build roads and bridges, schools, hospitals and energy systems. They also played host to a race and labor history training with the caption: UNITED WE RISE, DIVIDED WE FALL.The Workers Confluence Fund spawned the event via the Minneapolis Labor Center. Justice educator from Seattle Mark McDermott presented slides and commentary, which induced round table discussions between an array of union members and folks from community organizations. Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha (CTUL) was present. The English/Spanish translation was excellent.According to plan, the round tables [...]
