IIU’s Worker-Run Trainings Pick Up Where Management Leaves Off

By Aaron Kraus 

For years, IIU members have voiced frustration over the disconnect between the training programs offered by management and the real-world skills we need to excel in our work. Too often, we’ve been mandated to attend redundant trainings that fail to deepen our expertise—sessions that cover elementary topics, like retrieving camera footage, that we already mastered long ago. Meanwhile, the trainings that could genuinely sharpen our investigative skills are either nonexistent or designed without meaningful input from the workers who actually use them.

Rather than waiting for management to recognize our needs, IIU members have taken matters into our own hands. Under the leadership of IIU President José Cotto, we’ve launched our own worker-driven training program—one that prioritizes the skills and knowledge we need to strengthen our work.

The program kicked off last year with a training led by IIU Vice President Nathan Tempey on how to effectively use freedom of information requests in investigations. Tempey broke down how public records requests can pry loose critical documents, even in cases where our teams lack subpoena power. His presentation went beyond the infrequent, lawyer-oriented trainings offered by Legal Aid, instead providing investigators with practical tools to navigate bureaucratic roadblocks and uncover key evidence—empowering us to be more effective in our cases.

And this is just the beginning. Next up, Delegate Steve Alonso will lead a training to continue expanding our skill set. Moving forward, all IIU members will be encouraged to share their expertise with colleagues, creating a space for collaborative learning that reflects the real demands of our work.

By building a training program run by and for investigators, we are not only improving our individual skills—we are cultivating the collective knowledge and power of our union.