For the last month, a group of roughly fifteen healthcare workers have been gathering every Monday at University of Miami Hospital to learn new computer skills thanks to the Education and Training Fund benefit they secured in their union contract.



Rhonda Tai, an 1199SEIU delegate who works in food and nutrition services at UMH, has found the computer classes invaluable and was one of the first to sign up. Tai and her classmates have been brushing up on their basic computer skills and learning more about the Windows operating system.



“I was the first one to put my name on the paper because I really wanted to learn about computers,” said Tai. “I love this class. I’m learning a lot.”



Tai saw a great opportunity to learn how to better use e-mail so that she can keep track of work-related meetings and Labor-Management Committee meetings at the hospital. “The hospital gives us email so that we can know what’s going on at the hospital,” said Tai. “I’ve never gone in mine since we’ve had it because I don’t know how to, and I lose track of a lot of meetings like that. With this class, hopefully I’m going to learn how to do it. It’s going to help me here at the hospital.”



Amparo Miyares, an 1199SEIU delegate who also works in food and nutrition services, highlighted the importance of being able to take classes at the hospital, especially for employees who work long hours or can’t easily get to a class somewhere else.



“You don’t have to go on your own. [The hospital] gives us the opportunity to have the time to come to the class,” said Miyares.



In addition to providing adult education classes like the computer class, the fund provides tuition assistance to workers who are interested in furthering their education and gives them opportunities to earn continuing education units.



“That was a great idea to include [education and training benefits] in the contract because I was thinking to myself about learning the computer, and I was thinking about the young person who wants to be a nurse who is working in the kitchen, and they can go to school to learn to be a nurse’s aide,” said Miyares. “I tell [my young co-workers] they have the best opportunity now to go up a level. They have the opportunity to go up [in their career].”



Tai and Miyares have received a tremendous amount of encouragement from their family members who are just as excited about them learning how to better use a computer as they are.



Miyares recounted her daughter saying “Wow, mom, it’s amazing that you learned how to work on the computer!”



Added Tai, “My grandsons are really excited because every time I go to their house and go on the computer, I’m always asking them ‘how do you do this?’ They would always tell me, ‘oh grandma you need to learn’, and now that I told them I am taking up computer classes, they said ‘alright, grandma, yay!”



Tai jokingly added that pretty soon she’ll be e-mailing them “Look at me now!”



“They are excited too because they get tired of me bugging them every minute.”