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Describe your Capstone Challenge and how you identified it.

My capstone challenge was to enroll 75% of BTU members in EZ-Dues before the start of the 2024-2025 legislative session. This capstone project developed from the threat of anti-labor legislation designed to end paycheck deductions and therefore gut Montana's unions (Artifact #1, #2 p. 6). In states where politicians have successfully ended paycheck deduction of union dues, hundreds of thousands of members lost their workplace protections and rights to collectively bargain fair contracts. EZ-Dues, which is a bank account deduction of union dues, allows unions to get ahead of these attacks and keep union business fully in union hands. 

Describe your diverse stakeholders and how you selected them, such as colleagues, parents, students, association members, community members, state or local partners, etc.

My diverse stakeholders were all the members of BTU. The diversity of our membership spans age, gender, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, job description (i.e, elementary, high school, teacher, clerical), education levels, and political leanings. My state partners and stakeholders were MFPE and other AA unions making the move from paycheck deduction to EZ-Dues around the same time period. 

Why is it important for your diverse stakeholders that the Capstone Challenge be addressed?

We are in an era defined by anti-labor governmental officials who would love to end paycheck deduction for union dues and therefore end unions. Moving our members over to EZ-dues will help us continue to keep our unions functioning and healthy. 

In what ways will addressing the Capstone Challenge promote or support the foundational competencies?

I achieved leadership growth in the competencies through keeping all EZ-Dues and bargaining survey messaging aligned with the mission, values, and vision of our union (Artifact #2, #3), which is a key component of the Group Processes foundational competency. Making the transition to EZ-Dues required organizing and guiding a critical mass of members to invest themselves in EZ-Dues, which fits within the realm of the Communication foundational competency. 

Is it your intention to broaden the existing vision, values and/or culture of the association or to create a cultural shift?  Explain.

This is the secondary priority of my project. My first priority was to move members over to EZ-Dues. My second priority was to get members politically activated around the needs identified in the bargaining survey. This secondary priority fit within BTU's and MFPE's current, existing vision and values (Artifact #2, #3). Through successfully accomplishing this secondary priority, we did accomplish a cultural shift from hesitation to action by enrolling 94% of BTU members in EZ-Dues during our one week-long enrollment window. 

Why might this strategy be a viable solution for your Capstone Challenge?

This strategy was a viable solution for my capstone challenge because, to resolve my capstone challenge, I had to move people to action which was a cultural shift. 

On which two Overarching Competencies will you focus in addressing your Capstone Challenge?  Why are they relevant?  

Overarching Competency #1: Group Processes

This competency is important because I needed to organize and lead meetings (See artifacts in the design tab). Throughout this process, I navigated difficult situations and conversations with members who were hesitant about aspects of our union or of EZ-Dues (See Artifact #4 for one example).

Overarching Competency #1: Communication

This competency was critical to the success of my capstone because my capstone was essentially a communication campaign linking EZ-Dues, union values, and a bargaining survey (see artifacts in the design tab). My end goal was to continue this work once BTU EZ-Dues enrollment was over. I aimed to use the communication competency to continue activating and engaging members around the issues they identified in the bargaining survey. 

Which Leadership Pathway competency will you focus in your Capstone Challenge?  Why is it relevant?  

I focused on the Association Pathway and the Leading with Vision competency. This competency was relevant because my capstone takes place fully within the context of union work. 

With whom will you work in addressing your Capstone Challenge?  Who else might you recruit beyond your own cultural and/or professional identity group? 

I worked with Sam Telling and Morgan Smith at MFPE, Mike Kenison and Krystin Lee from BTU, BTU's building reps, and the Department Heads at Butte High School. This leadership team included members with diverse cultural and professional identities. I recruited people who were already in leadership positions because they already had credibility with BTU members and other stakeholders in our district. 

Which resources (such as, people, money, programs, time and space, etc.) do you have to address in your Capstone Challenge?   What resources will you need?  How will you obtain them?  

I needed to recruit and train all of the people I mentioned above. The leadership team needed money to print and send out mailers about EZ-Dues (which was key to my focus on the communication competency). This money came from MFPE's budget. To incentivize EZ-Dues enrollment, BTU ran a raffle. The money for the raffle prizes came from BTU's budget. MFPE hosted and ran the EZ-Dues enrollment program on their website and the Bank of America hosted the actual program that conducts account deductions. We needed space to host trainings and mass sign-up events. For this, I used common areas at the BSD1 schools, such as libraries or cafeterias, and the meeting space at the Carpenter's Union Hall.