Home > Camp teaches teens about labor unions

Camp teaches teens about labor unions

by Open-Publishing - Monday 28 July 2003

By STEVE ROSEN Columnist

Jul. 27, 2003, The Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/6371619.htm

Youngsters attending the Romeo Corbeil Summer Camp typically play
a game that involves a walk into the woods.

Except there’s a twist.

The point of this game is to show the income disparity between a
corporate chief executive and an everyday laborer. While one
camper marks off a few paces to symbolize the laborer salary,
another camper playing the role of the CEO keeps walking and
walking deep into the woods.

Clearly, this is not your traditional recreational summer camp
where days are filled with canoe trips, pingpong, games of leap-
frog, and even short-sheeting a roommate’s bed.

Camp Corbeil, held annually for the last six years at Lake
Wappapello near Poplar Bluff in southeast Missouri, is considered
the only one in the country where campers join mock labor unions
and examine workplace issues in our society. This summer’s one-
week session starts Aug. 2.

The approximately 15 to 18 campers attending the upcoming session
will ponder the meaning of terms like collective bargaining, shop
stewards and human rights in exercises and classroom-like
discussions. They’ll also learn about the history of the labor
movement and participate in role-playing games to gain a broader
understanding of the world of work.

The camp, modeled after a program in Saskatchewan, Canada, is
named after the late Romeo Corbeil, a French-Canadian and former
secretary-treasurer of the Office and Professional Employees
International Union. The union sponsors the camp along with the
Missouri AFL-CIO, the International Association of Machinists,
and the labor education program of the University of Missouri-
Columbia.

Campers, generally ages 13 to 17, are a diverse group of Canadian
and American boys and girls. They are selected by the Office and
Professional Employees union and the other union sponsors, which
provide camp scholarships and other financial assistance.

Though campers come from families with union ties, not all the
kids have a good understanding of their heritage, said Paul
Rainsberger, camp director and head of the labor education
program at the university.

Rainsberger starts the week with a basic orientation about the
role unions play in society and an overview of union
administration and collective bargaining concepts. Part of the
opening program is aimed at dispelling the notion that unions are
involved only in disruptive strikes and conflicts.

After learning the basics, campers are organized into local
unions and select officers and representatives to serve on
bargaining, education, recreation (yes, there is free time) and
environmental committees.

Rules are negotiated between the campers’ bargaining committee
and the staff — everything from recreational games to mealtimes
and curfews. "The goal is to keep heavy-handed adult rules out,"
Rainsberger said.

If problems arise during the week, the bargaining committee
"works with the staff to assure that a fair and equitable
resolution is achieved," according to a camp brochure.

Instructors cram in exercises throughout the week that deal with
child labor laws, problems that young workers may face, and
strategies for dealing with working excessive hours, sexism,
racism and other human rights issues.

"Some of the kids don’t understand that they do have rights and
can ask questions without being treated poorly or harassed," said
Jan Mammen, a volunteer instructor at the camp and business
manager at Local 320 of the Office and Professional Employees
union in Kansas City.

Campers also receive instruction on deciphering a paycheck and
devise a household budget for a factory worker, Mammen said.

Rainsberger hopes the kids will go away with a better
understanding of "work and the workplace experience."

Another goal of the program, he said, is to instill in the
campers the importance of being role models "in their city, their
neighborhood, their school."

Herb Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the Missouri AFL-CIO, said
the development of the campers in one week is impressive. "They
get just about as good an education in a week that you can ask
for," said Johnson.

Have a question or comment? Call me at (816) 234-4879 or send e-
mail to srosen@kcstar.com.