UTD Stewards as Worksite Leaders

Our mission for 2011-2012

What do we want our United Teachers of Dade to be?

visionary and inspiringissues-driven

member- and workplace-centered open and democratic

proactivehighly visible and engaging

high involvement and prepared for mobilizationPOWERFUL

This demands that we approach organizing as an ongoing activity--not something that has already been done.

Our organizing challenge . . .ENTHUSIASM: Unless we build it, we cannot organize

effectively. Level of enthusiasm is influenced by union environment, our organizational culture, our leadership, our relevance to what people care about, etc.

INVOLVEMENT: Important to translate enthusiasm into actual behavior on the part of members and potential members in order to further develop relationships and personal experiences that lead to . . .

COMMITMENT: True membership commitment to the union (as expressed by actions) is what builds our power.

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Simply defined . . .

• Organizing is . . . The process of turning potential members into members, members into activists, activists into leaders.

• It is most successful . . . When led as a continuous process, primarily at the worksite level, person to person, focused on issues and built on relationships and experiences.

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Organizing is . . .

ENGAGEMENTPerson is given reason to become interested in/pay attention to the union..

II

ACTIVATION / RECRUITMENT & RETENTIONPerson begins voluntary action in support of the union

Person joins and remains a member.II

INDUCTIONPerson is oriented to union/comes to know its history, structure, values, etc.

II

CONTINUAL ACTIVATIONPerson continues voluntary action in support of the union.

II

SECONDARY LEADERSHIPPerson assumes a formal leadership role.

(Building site team, committee and task force work, etc.)II

PRIMARY LEADERSHIPPerson advances to highest levels of union leadership.

(Site rep, area or program coordinator, union officer, etc.)

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EFFECTIVE ORGANIZINGrequires

EFFECTIVE STEWARDS (You!)

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You are the key to overcoming . . .

• Isolation and indifference (not apathy).

• Fear and sense of futility about the future.

• Lack of true understanding about the union and the power of solidarity and collective action.

According to AFT research, ineffective organizing has consequences . . .

• Introduction to union not spoken of as a positive experience. Union not seen as a source of support by new employees.

• Union is “they”—not “we”—and nearly invisible at the worksite.

• Functional view of the union vs. a substantive one.

• Union membership is a passive proposition, more like “buying insurance” than being part of a “community of colleagues united for the common good.”

Consequences (continued)

• Union is to protect people from bad things—not a means to accomplish good things.

• Garfield the cat, the Yeti, a hibernating bear, a salmon swimming upstream and a gnat are among the animals that would describe the union.

• Union involvement? In what? View of it as high stakes, high commitment undertaking rife with negative repercussions.

• Apathy and anti-union sentiment are not the problems. Lack of information and personal connection to the union are!

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Transactional vs. TransformationalOrganizing and Unionism

RationalBenefits, services

PassiveMarketing, sales

Talking, sellingEvent

Union is protectionMembers join the union

Customer

• Psychological• Issues• Active• Relationship, experience• Listening, connecting• Ongoing activity• Union is power• Members take a stand!• Unionist

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SEVEN SUGGESTIONSFOR EFFECTIVE UTD

STEWARDSHIP

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Number 1:

• Your Keys to Success: Visibility, Leadership, Relationships

Your personality is more powerful than your persuasion.

People are hungry for leaders and will respond to those whose motivations are true.

Seek people out and take interest in them as colleagues, as people who want to be the best they can be and do the best that they can do.

Be self aware of makes you effective and use your strengths.

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Number 2:

• Make It Clear: The Union is YOU and Your Co-workers.

Language is important—Don’t third party the union.

Seek to involve all in the union’s work.

Celebrate success and mourn disappointments as result of collective action and resolve (or lack thereof) vs. attributing these to individuals.

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Number 3:

• Make the Union First Friend, Best Friend to New Hires Where You Work

The most important time you can spend is the time you spend reaching out to new hires, based on their needs.

Sustained, personal contact over time is the key.

Use your membership team to make this do-able.

Make sure you say the words, “Your success is a priority of our union and your support is a commitment I make to you as a union leader.”

Have a plan to deliver on your promise.

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Number 4:

• Listening is Your Primary Mode of Effective Communication

Listen 80 percent of time.

Listen for: What do people care about? What is their vision for change, for an ideal future?

Ask: Why are things the way they are? How would we change things for the better? Why don’t we take a stand?

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Number 5:

• “Issues-Speak” is Your Best Language

Cast all communication through the prism of issues, what the union cares about, what it stands for, what it is trying to achieve.

De-emphasize (but don’t discount) organizational attributes and benefits and services of membership.

Remember: The union is about what we are doing together to build a better future vs. what any one of us “gets” in the here and now.

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Number 6:

• Don’t Ask People to Join or Get Involved: Challenge Them to “Take A Stand”

Joining and getting involved in the union is about standing up for we need for ourselves and to do our jobs to the best of our abilities.

Presenting membership and involvement in this way requires us to explain “for what?”

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Number 7:

• Tell Your Story: Speak to Hearts, Not Just Minds

The best way to encourage people to join and get involved is to tell your own story.

Why are you committed to and involved in the union? What have you experienced that makes you a true believer? What inspires you to do this work? Why is your activism compatible with your personal values, commitment to kids, etc.?.

The answers to these questions make for one compelling and credible “rap.”

Our mission for 2011-2012:

• Strengthening the bond with new members.

• Targeting and recruiting at least 50 percent of potential members.

• Involving UTD members in our organizing.

• Building our base of activists.• Raising union visibility at the

worksite.19

Questions?Comments?