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Mobilizing to Build Power

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Mobilizing to Build Power MOBILIZING TO BUILD POWER Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO Prepared by: CWA Education Department www.cwa-union.org | Materials available at www.cwamaterials.org 2015 Communications Workers of America 2 I MOBILIZING TO BUILD POWER WHY MOBILIZE? 04 1 • What is Mobilization? WORKPLACE STRUCTURES 09 2 • How to Set Up a Local Mobilization Structure EDUCATION 12 3 • Education Material (Issue Flyer) • One-on-One Contacts COLLECTIVE ACTIONS 14 4 • Different Kinds of Actions • Escalating Actions • Mobilization Planning CONTRACT MOBILIZATION CAMPAIGN 18 5 • Mobilization and Bargaining • Bargaining Chair and Mobilization Coordinator Working Together • A Contract Mobilization Plan • Trigger Questions for Contract Mobilization Plan 6 ISSUE MOBILIZATION 21 MOBILIZING ONLINE 22 7 • Building a Local E-mail List • How to Use E-mails Effectively • How to Increase Chances E-mails Will Be Opened • Maintaining Local E-mail Lists • Local Websites • Social Media • CWA Resources USING BARGAINING REPORTS TO KEEP 8 MEMBERS MOBILIZED AND ENGAGED 24 • Sample Bargaining Reports STRATEGIES AT EXPIRATION 9 OF CONTRACT 26 • Working Beyond Contract Expiration • Working Beyond Expiration Without a Contract • Strike Strategy • New Ways to Picket When on Strike: Follow the Work WORKING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS: 10 BUILDING A MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE 28 Appendix WORKPLACE STRUCTURE FORMS 29 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE MOBILIZING TO BUILD POWER I 3 CHAPTER 1. WHY MOBILIZE? The following resolution was adopted by the delegates to the 50th CWA convention held in New Orleans in August, 1988 and remains relevant today. The coming year—1989—brings the expiration of collective bargaining contracts covering some 80 percent of our membership. This presents us with tremendous challenges and opportunities. Victory is within our grasp, but it depends on the active involvement of all of our members. To help guarantee success, an intensive Mobilization program has been designed to put the grassroots membership of our union directly into the bargaining process. It reaches into every job site and work unit to tap the energy, inventiveness, intelligence, and collective power of the members of CWA. Never before have we or any other union begun bargaining preparation this far in advance. In fact, we are preparing for more than bargaining. We are strengthening our union from the bottom so that we can more effectively organize and build our community and political action programs for years to come. In some respects, Mobilization is a unique, bold and ambitious undertaking. Yet the program also is a return to basics. The techniques of one-on-one, worker-to- worker, unit-by-unit organizing built CWA 50 years ago. It took discipline, spirited rank-and-file action and creative tactics to win recognition and respect from our employers in the early days. Today, many of the conditions of those early days are back 4 I MOBILIZING TO BUILD POWER again, partly because of political changes and partly because of economic re-or- ganization. Mobilization consists of three basic parts— strengthening locals, inside or “in-plant” actions and using community support to mount effective “corporate “campaigns. This effort depends on the active involvement at all locations and levels of the union. Each CWA District has a mobilization team. Each local needs a mobilization coordinator. Each work group (up to 20 workers) needs a coordinator who will talk to his or her co-workers about key issues and action throughout the year. And in locations with more than one work group, one of the work group coordinators needs to serve as building or site coordinator. This structure is designed to enhance communication and participation; without it, our employers will communicate more effectively with our members than we will. This is the essential foundation of our Mobilization CWA. There is a labor ballad called “Carry It On” which exhorts each generation to fight to protect what the previous generation won and to build on these gains for the next generation. Many of the things we take for granted— health benefits, pen- sions and the like—only were achieved through heroic struggles by our predeces- sors. They can be eroded or taken away unless we are prepared to stand strong and fight, for ourselves and our children. We are a movement, not merely an organization or a bureaucracy. CWA is its peo- ple. It is only as strong and successful as its members are united and actively supportive. Its future is only as positive as the resolve and spirit of its rank and file. RESOLVED: That the Communications Workers of America will carry out the goals of Mobilization CWA to involve each and every CWA member in the challenges and opportunities of bargaining in 1989, and RESOLVED: That this program will include designating local work group and building mobilization coordinators; participating in one-on-one programs to talk with co-workers about issues, goals, and strategies; and, reaching out to our families and communities for support, and RESOLVED: That CWA at all levels of the Union will immediately begin to implement the goals and timetable of Mobilization CWA to ensure victory in 1989 and beyond. MOBILIZING TO BUILD POWER I 5 longer solely rely on grievances, arbitrations or labor laws WHY MOBILIZE? to achieve workplace justice. CWA, like most unions, was organized on the basis of member The basic premise of mobilization is that we must return to involvement. Fundamentally, a union’s power at any point in our roots and commit to a strategy that rests on increasing time is nothing more than the total energy and support of its our power through membership education, involvement and members who can be mobilized. movement building. Yet, during the last few decades there has been an increas- Mobilization of our members is the strategy for achieving our ing tendency to view “individuals” (experienced, bright union leaders) as the problem fixers. We became too reliant three major goals on the crafty union negotiator, the clever chief steward, the effective local president to solve our problems. We can no 1. Contract negotiations and enforcement, and resolution of workplace issues; CWA AND PARTNERS MOBILIZE 2. Effective community and political action; and, MILLIONS TO SAVE THE NLRB 3. Organizing new members in new bargaining units In 2012 and 2013, the NLRB nearly came to a halt! Senate and building our membership in current units to Republicans threatened to block President Obama’s nom- increase our power. inations to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), These goals make up the sides of the CWA Triangle: repre- the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and sentation, organizing and movement building. Each side must the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Broken Sen- be strong to support the others and all depend on an engaged ate rules threatened the democratic process and the and mobilized membership. functioning of federal agencies tasked with protecting movement building the public good. In 2013, the Fix the Senate Now coalition with the leadership of CWA’s ‘Give me 5 Campaign,’ mo- ngn zi bu bilized more than 2 million Americans to demand Senate ni THE ill CWA di Majority Leader Harry Reid use his Constitutional pow- OrgaOrganizing TRIANGLE ng ers to change the procedure on nominations to a simple ‘yes or no’ majority vote so these agencies would not shut rreepprresesenentation down due to Republican obstructionism. This broad co- alition included greens, financial reformers, foreclosure The CWA Triangle symbolizes the three major programs – and fighters, civil rights and community groups. Literally on pillars – of our union. If any one side of our triangle is weak, the eve of a vote to change the procedure on nominations, it diminishes our bargaining power and ability to effectively enough Republicans told Democrats they would agree to represent our members. a vote on the NLRB, CFPB, EPA and other key nominations and all five NLRB members were confirmed! Through REPRESENTATION joint activism with partners and a movement of millions, Representation is no longer a right we can take for granted. Our collective bargaining rights are under attack by man- we stood up and fought back successfully for a fully- agement and state governments and can only be secured by functioning NLRB. strengthening our triangle. ORGANIZING Only through organizing in existing units as well as strategi- cally adding new groups, can we combat declining member- ship and ensure we maintain collective bargaining rights and clout at the bargaining table. MOVEMENT BUILDING Building a movement for economic justice and democracy means connecting with other partner organizations and en- gaging in each other’s fights to build a progressive movement —District 9 ‘Give Me 5’ NLRB Action for change. 6 I MOBILIZING TO BUILD POWER BUILDING A MOVEMENT FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY Movement building takes place when progressives forge relationships and embark on joint activism for change. When people act together on shared critical issues change is not only possible but inevitable. Bargaining and organizing does not take place in isolation. The economic and political conditions of our country shape every arbitration decision, every contract negotiation and our rights as workers. Actual wages compared to estimated increases if they had risen with productivity $1,183 THE CHALLENGES WE FACE $731 Weekly wages if tied to increase in productivity From 1930 to 1960, we see how working Americans built a movement $462 Real average weekly earnings $637 to obtain union representation and collective bargaining. More than 10 million Americans won private sector bargaining 1947 1953 1959 19711960 1977 1983 19901989 20072001 2010 rights during this time. Sources: Bureau of Labor Statitstics - Productivity, Average Wage of Non-Supervisory Production Works, Consumer Price Index But the last 50 years of systematic and relentless attacks on the right to form a union and bargain collectively have dimin- This chart shows that when collective bargaining was grow- ished bargaining to levels not seen since the era before the ing, and for some years after that, real wages kept up with Great Depression.
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