Political Action
From CGEU
[edit] Political Platforms
[edit] Bylaws for Committees on Political Education
TAA Political Education Committee Bylaws
1. Name and Definitions.
A. Political Education Committee. This committee shall be known as the Political Education Committee (PEC) of the Teaching Assistants’ Association (TAA). The PEC is a standing committee of the TAA as defined in the TAA Constitution and is bound by oversight of the general membership as defined therein.
B. TAA-PAC Fund and TAA Democracy Fund. The Teaching Assistants’ Association Political Action Committee (TAA-PAC) and the TAA Democracy Fund are two separate funds raised by voluntary contributions of members and supporters for the purpose of advancing the political goals of the union. Both funds are administered by the PEC, as detailed in Articles 5 and 6.
2. Principles. The following goals are underlying principles of the PEC:
A. Partisan neutrality. The TAA Political Education Committee is not affiliated with any political party, nor shall its activities or endorsements be guided by the partisan affilation(s) of candidates or campaigns, except to the extent that such affiliation(s) impact the broader strategic goals of the TAA.
B. Understanding. To foster awareness of the functions of government and political processes and to promote examination of political and government policy issues as they pertain to and affect TAA members.
C. Endorsements. To help establish the TAA’s position as a union with regard to political candidates or in support of (or opposition to) social issues and government policy.
D. Activism. To help mobilize the membership of the TAA in demonstrating support for endorsed candidates and issues.
E. Voter awareness. To support efforts to encourage members of the university community to take an active part in the election process through voter education and get-out-the-vote programs.
F. Lobbying and Legislative Action. To help advance the TAA’s aims by suggesting and supporting legislation in pursuit of those aims, or by opposing legislation detrimental to the goals of the TAA.
G. Coalition Building. To, whenever possible, seek out like-minded partners in order to broaden the effect of the TAA’s political efforts. Whenever possible, cooperation with the AFL-CIO, AFT, Wisconsin AFL-CIO, AFT-Wisconsin, South Central Federation of Labor (SCFL) and the local unions thereof should be pursued. The input of unions more directly impacted by the results of an election or ballot initiative (e.g., Madison Teachers, Inc. with regard to local school board races) ought to be solicited as part of the endorsement process.
3. Responsibilities of the Political Education Committee.
1. Fundraising. The PEC will develop and execute a plan each year to ensure the financial stability of the TAA-PAC Fund and TAA Democracy Fund through donor recruitment and other fundraising efforts.
2. Research. The PEC will identify political races of importance to TAA goals, gather information about candidates and their viewpoints, and identify and research social welfare issues and legislative proposals related to labor and/or the community at large.
3. Political Platform. At least once each academic year, the PEC will draft a statement of positions and goals related to legislative, electoral and public policy issues to be revised and approved by TAA membership. This statement will serve as the TAA’s political platform and will guide endorsements of candidates and referenda, legislative and lobbying activity and issue advocacy. Whenever possible, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Legislative Agenda will be considered in developing the platform.
4. Candidate endorsements. The PEC will make informed recommendations to TAA members regarding individual political candidates. Official endorsements will be confirmed by vote at a general membership meeting.
5. Referenda. The PEC will make informed recommendations to TAA members regarding referenda (i.e., ballots presented to citizens for approval or rejection by ballot). Official endorsements will be confirmed by vote at a general membership meeting.
6. Issue advocacy recommendations. The PEC will make recommendations to union members encouraging TAA support for various issues related to the labor movement or the community at large. Official endorsement of such issues will be confirmed by vote at a general membership meeting.
7. Publicity. Upon approval, the PEC will publicize the names and the positions of endorsed candidates and supported issues. Such endorsements will be promptly forwarded to both the candidates and the general public via press releases.
8. Member-to-member communication. The PEC will inform members of the union’s approved policy positions and endorsed candidates, and encourage members to actively support said policies and candidates.
9. Reporting to affiliated labor organizations. The PEC will communicate positions and policies of the TAA with regard to political activities of affiliated organizations (e.g., AFT-Wisconsin and the South Central Labor Federation).
10. Selection of COPE Delegates. The PEC will recruit and nominate at least one delegate to the AFT-Wisconsin COPE (Committee on Political Education). The PEC will also recruit and appoint two delegates to the South Central Federation of Labor COPE.
4. Political Education Committee Structure.
A. Election of Political Education Committee members.
1. Members of the PEC shall be elected by TAA members. 2. Nominations and the election shall take place at the scheduled April general membership meeting. Only those present at the April meeting may vote. 3. Only TAA members who are fund contributors may be nominated and elected to a position on the PEC. 4. The maximum number of voting PEC members shall be nine.
B. Election of PEC Chair and Treasurer(s).
1. At its first meeting following the April election, voting members of the PEC shall nominate from among the nine committee members a chair or co-chairs. As per the TAA Constitution, the chair or co-chairs must be approved at a general membership meeting, and have one vote (in total) on the TAA Executive Board. 2. At its first meeting following the April election, voting members of the PEC shall elect from among the nine committee members one or two treasurers. The PEC may elect two treasurers, one for the TAA-PAC and one for the TAA Democracy Fund; however, one person may serve as treasurer for both funds. 3. It is legally permissible for one person to serve in all three capacities (as the chair and as treasurer of both funds), but this is not encouraged.
C. Duties of Chair and Treasurer.
1. Chair. The chair (or co-chairs) shall call and chair committee meetings and serve on the TAA Executive Board. He or she shall report on the activities of the PEC at each Executive Board meeting. 2. Treasurer(s). The treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining the finances of each fund, filing all required finance reports with the appropriate agencies, ensuring that all laws are followed and shall make an annual report to the membership of the TAA regarding the financial status of TAA-PAC Fund and TAA Democracy Fund.
D. Meetings.
1. As per the TAA Constitution, the PEC must meet no less than once per semester. (See Article XV for further explication of the rules governing standing committees of the TAA.) 2. The PEC is strongly encouraged to meet at least one month in advance of any election or ballot referenda. 3. PEC meetings are open to all TAA members and invited guests. 4. PEC meetings and the planned agenda must be announced to all TAA members who are fund contributors not less than 5 days in advance of the meeting. 5. Quorum for making decisions at a PEC meeting is four. 6. Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of those voting (i.e., abstentions are ignored for purposes of determining the outcome of the vote).
5. TAA-PAC Fund.
A. Sponsorship. The TAA is the corporate sponsor of the TAA-PAC as defined by Wis. Stat. § 11.38(1)(a)2.
B. Definition. The TAA Political Action Committee Fund (TAA-PAC Fund) is a committee as defined by Wis. Stat. § 11.01(4) and is registered with the Wisconsin State Elections Board (WEB # 500519) in accordance with Wis. Stat. § 11.05(3). (It is not a registered federal political action committee.) The TAA-PAC Fund monies are deposited in account #24402587 at M & I Bank, 1 W. Main St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703. The checkbook for this account resides in the TAA office at 254 W. Gilman St., Madison, WI 53703.
C. Source of Funds.
1. Fund Status. The TAA-PAC is a segregated fund under Wis. Stat. 11.38. 2. Eligible Donors. Only U.S citizens or permanent residents may contribute to the TAA-PAC Fund. 3. Methods of Contribution. Contributions to the TAA-PAC Fund may be made by paycheck deduction in whole dollar amounts; via check made to “TAA-PAC”; or in cash donations of $20.00 or less. 4. Transfer of Union Dues. No dues funds shall be transferred to the TAA-PAC Fund without an explicit directive from the membership through action at a general membership meeting. 5. Transfer of Funds from Other Committees. The Political Education Committee may vote to accept contributions from other Political Action Committees as allowed by law. 6. Legal Requirements. All contributions over $20.00 must be accompanied by the donor’s name, address, employer and job title. This information shall be included in the regular filings with the State Elections Board.
D. Appropriate Expenditures. The PEC may spend TAA-PAC Fund monies in the following ways, (keeping in mind that no TAA-PAC Fund money may be spent on behalf of candidates for federal office):
1. Direct Contributions to Candidate Committees; 2. In-Kind contributions to Candidate Committees; 3. Independent Expenditures on behalf of candidates; 4. Contributions to other Political Action Committees; 5. Purchasing tickets to fundraising events; 6. Filing fees and administrative costs as required by law.
(See the glossary for definition of terms utilized in this section.)
E. Partners in Political Education (PIPE). At the direction of the Executive Board, TAA-PAC Fund monies may be transferred to AFT national as part of the Partners in Political Education (PIPE) program. Such transfers may be stopped at any time at the direction of the Executive Board. (See the glossary for definition of the PIPE program.)
F. Limits on Expenditures.
1. All direct, in-kind and independent expenditures related to campaigns for federal office are prohibited. 2. Direct and In-Kind contributions to candidate committees shall be limited to $1,000 for candidates endorsed by the TAA and to $500 for candidates endorsed by an affiliated union unless the maximum contribution allowed by law is less that these amounts. 3. At the discretion of the Political Education Committee, TAA-PAC Fund monies may be spent on tickets to fundraising events even if the candidate has not been endorsed by the TAA. 4. Independent Expenditures may be made on behalf of any candidate endorsed by the TAA or an affiliated union. 5. All printed materials distributed to members or the public that are funded by the TAA-PAC Fund shall bear the words “Authorized and Paid for By (AAPFB) TAA-PAC, ________, Treasurer” unless other language shall be required by law. 6. Expenditures which would deplete 50% of the Fund for any one election cycle must be approved by the Executive Board.
G. Fiscal Accountability. The TAA-PAC Fund shall be managed in such a way as to provide transparency to TAA members.
1. Annual Audit. Once each year, three trustees shall be elected by the membership to conduct an audit of the TAA-PAC Fund. Trustees must be PAC Fund and/or Democracy Fund donors, must be from different employing departments and may not be members of the Political Education Committee. They shall prepare a report to be presented at a General Membership Meeting. 2. Reports at General Membership Meetings. The Treasurer of the TAA-PAC Fund shall report on spending and note the balance in the account the General Membership Meeting following each election in which expenditures have been made and shall answer questions from TAA members regarding TAA-PAC Fund finances.
6. TAA Democracy Fund.
A. Sponsorship. The TAA Democracy Fund is a self-supporting PAC and is not sponsored by the TAA.
B. Definition. The TAA Democracy Fund is a committee as defined by Wis. Stat. § 11.01(4) and is registered with the Wisconsin State Elections Board (WEB # _________) in accordance with Wis. Stat. § 11.05(3). (It is not a registered federal political action committee.) The TAA-PAC Fund monies Fund monies are deposited in account #31206461 at M & I Bank, 1 W. Main St., Madison, WI 53703. The checkbook for this account resides in the TAA office at 254 W. Gilman St., Madison, WI 53703.
C. Source of Funds.
1. Eligible Donors. Any person may contribute to the TAA Democracy Fund. 2. Methods of Contribution. Contributions to the TAA Democracy Fund may be made by paycheck deduction in whole dollar amounts; via check made to “TAA Democracy Fund”; or in cash donations of $20.00 or less 3. Transfer of Union Dues. No union dues may be transferred to the TAA Democracy Fund. 4. Transfer of Funds from Other Committees. The Political Education Committee may vote to accept contributions from other Political Action Committees as allowed by law. 5. Legal Requirements. All contributions over $20.00 must be accompanied by the donor’s name, address, employer and job title. This information shall be included in the regular filings with the State Elections Board.
D. Appropriate Expenditures. The PEC may spend TAA Democracy Fund monies in the following ways:
1. Issue Advocacy. 2. Contributions to advocacy campaigns by other groups. 3. Advocating the promotion or defeat of a referendum. 4. Member-to-member communication. 5. Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts. 6. Contributions to SCFL-COPE or the Labor Coalition for member communication and GOTV efforts. 7. Social and Educational Events. 8. Political Education Committee supplies, administrative costs and meeting support. 9. Lobbying Expenses. 10. TAA-PAC Fund and TAA Democracy Fund fundraising efforts. 11. Donations to co-sponsor events or support other groups. 12. Member attendance at events, other than fundraisers.
E. Office Maintenance. Each April, the Treasurer of the TAA Democracy Fund shall come to an agreement with the Treasurer of the TAA as to an appropriate amount of payment for use of TAA office space, utilities, printing costs, and services for the fiscal year ending May 31st. Such amount shall be paid to the TAA from the TAA Democracy Fund no later than May 31st of each year.
F. Limits on Expenditures.
1. Direct or In-Kind Contributions and Independent Expenditures are forbidden, except as permitted by law with regards to ballot initiatives. 2. No more than $500 shall be contributed to other groups without Executive Board approval. 3. All printed materials distributed to members or the public that are funded by the TAA Democracy Fund shall bear the words “Authorized and Paid for By (AAPFB) TAA Democracy Fund, ___________, Treasurer” unless other language shall be required by law. 4. Any social or educational events funded by the TAA Democracy Fund, including events to which the Fund has made a donation, shall be advertised as sponsored (or co-sponsored) by the TAA Democracy Fund. 5. Expenditures which would deplete 50% of the Fund for any one election cycle must be approved by the Executive Board.
G. Fiscal Accountability
1. Annual Audit. Once each year, three trustees (who need not be different from those for the TAA-PAC fund) shall be elected by the membership to conduct an audit of the TAA Democracy Fund. Trustees must be PAC Fund and/or Democracy Fund donors, must be from different employing departments and may not be members of the Political Education Committee. They shall prepare a report to be presented at a General Membership Meeting. 2. Reports at General Membership Meetings. The Treasurer of the TAA Democracy Fund shall report on spending and note the balance in the account the General Membership Meeting following each election in which expenditures have been made and shall answer questions from TAA members regarding TAA Democracy Fund finances.
7. Compliance.
A. Legal. The PEC shall comply with all local, state, and federal election laws. The Steering Committee shall consult when necessary with the union’s attorney and state federation staff to ensure that its practices are changed as required to comply with changes in all local, state, and federal election laws.
B. TAA Constitution and Bylaws. The PEC shall comply with all requirements of the TAA Constitution and Bylaws.
C. Union Policy. The PEC shall comply with all decisions and requirements as imposed by the general membership and/or the Executive Board, and shall take actions in accordance with union policy as set through General Membership Meetings and/or Executive Board meetings.
D. Savings Clause. This section, the TAA Constitution, TAA Bylaws, and other union policy, shall not be interpreted as authorizing the PEC to disobey local, state, or federal election laws. In the event that the TAA Constitution, TAA Bylaws, and other union policy conflict with local, state, or federal election laws, the PEC shall inform the membership and recommend appropriate changes to policy or amendments to the PEC bylaws so as to conform to current law.
8. Amendments to PEC Bylaws.
A. Proposed language changes. Amendments to these bylaws may be initiated by submitting proposed language changes to the chair of the Political Education Committee. The chair must then submit a copy of the proposed changes to all Executive Board members no later than 10 days in advance of the next scheduled Executive Board meeting.
B. Consideration by Executive Board. If the Executive Board approves the proposed changes by a majority vote, those changes are then forwarded to the next scheduled General Membership Meeting for consideration. The proposed changes must be provided to the general membership no later than 5 days in advance of the meeting at which they will be considered.
C. Consideration by General Membership Meeting. If approved by majority vote at a General Membership Meeting, the proposed language changes shall be incorporated into the Political Education Committee bylaws. The Chair of the committee shall update the bylaws and ensure that all committee members are aware of the changes.
9. Glossary.
1. Direct contribution. Giving a candidate (through his/her election committee) a check. (By law, there are limits to the amount of money that can be given.)
2. In-Kind contribution. Buying something (a product or a service) that benefits a candidate’s election committee. This includes, but is not limited to, providing or copying literature for a candidate to distribute; providing office space and use of equipment, including use of telephones, without charging for their use; or buying a newspaper ad with the knowledge of or in coordination with the candidate’s election committee. (Again, the law limits the value of in-kind contributions that can be given.)
3. Independent expenditure. Any expenditure (usually advertising) that benefits the candidate’s election committee, or urges support for that candidate, that is done without knowledge of or in coordination with the candidate’s election committee. (There are no limits on the amount of money that can be spent on these expenditures – but they must truly be independent – absolutely no coordination with the candidate’s campaign can take place.)
4. PAC. A “PAC” is a legal term that simply means a fund of money given voluntarily by individual persons for the purpose of political action.
5. AFT PIPE program. The AFT Partners in Political Education program allows local unions to “swap” money so that the AFT can support candidates at the federal level. Because local unions cannot create their own federal PACs (federal law says that the AFT can only have one federal PAC as a national union – so locals can’t set up their own), this program allows locals to support federal candidates without violating this law. It works by “trading” TAA-PAC funds for AFT funds – the PEC writes a check to the AFT out of the TAA-PAC, and then gets a check back from the AFT for the same amount. The PEC may request that the AFT consider spending its federal PAC dollars on certain races, but does not control such decisions.
[edit] Political Organizing Orientation
Political Organizing Orientation Gabe Kirchner Political Organizer AFT-Wisconsin
Principle One: The Organizing Model
A division has been staked out in the labor movement between competing models of running unions: the service model union and the organizing model union. This division is certainly oversimplified as every union must provide servicing and must also organize. That aside, the distinctions in orientation that these models try to articulate are useful in examining how a union is structured and operates and they are particularly helpful for outlining some key guiding principles for our unions.
Service Model Unionism: By far the most widely used model of union organizing past and present, the service model union has been compared to an insurance company. Staff experts handle the activities of the union, including contract negotiations and grievance proceedings. Members pay dues to the organization and should it become necessary later to file a grievance, they receive this service. In the most extreme examples, this is the extent of member involvement in the union. With expertise consolidated among leadership, and with leadership tending to be long-term, members can feel distanced from their leadership, and hence the goings on of the union. Organizing Model Unionism: In this model, the union is run mostly by member volunteers. Members pay dues to facilitate the organization, except they are brought into the decision making process, and hence take ownership of their own union. Members are involved in contract negotiations, grievances, political action, etc. A continual focus of the union is on organizing—in other words, a premium is placed on communication with members in order to facilitate union democracy. In the organizing model leadership rotates fairly often, emphasizing a do-it-yourself ethic for members. Stability in leadership is maintained as leaders tend to move into different active roles. The Link to Collective Action: Put simply, the organizing model union is a union of individuals, while the service model union is a union for individuals. In this sense, it is easy to see how an organizing union lends itself better to collective action. By constantly stressing ownership and community, the members of the organizing model union more easily come to understand that their greatest source of power lies in their ability to act as a collective. The organizing model union is only as strong as the people that make it up.
Politics and the Union There is a long history of direct union involvement in the political process. In our recent history, locals represented in the AFT-Wisconsin are best characterized as unevenly involved. This section addresses politics from the vantage point of unions that have had success in this arena. Why Not Politics—A Brief (Somewhat Cynical) Inoculation: Inevitably, when fledgling unions consider getting involved in partisan politics they stand to alienate a few different groups. On the right, conservative members of the union will reject and find distasteful union endorsements of progressive candidates and/or issues. They will claim that the union has no business being involved in politics and should stick to bargaining contracts for the members. On the left, our most radical members may reject the notion that partisan political activism can affect our lives (the farther removed from local politics, the stronger this feeling becomes). Reticent leaders often want to sidestep partisan politics for fear of dividing the membership. Their inclination will be to either steer to a voter registration campaign or to simply make commitments they don’t intend to keep (YIKES!). The important principle here is that we need to know where our members stand on political issues before we assume that our members don’t want to be involved. One way to accomplish this is to survey the members. Past surveys of AFT membership as a whole indicate a vast majority (82%) of union members want their union involved, wanting to hear from their union on the issues.
Why Politics—A Service Model Answer: There are two main reasons why unions should be involved in politics. The first is from a service model perspective. If part of the function of the union is to better the lives of the members, then it is important to recognize that members’ lives are affected by what happens in the private orbits of their workplace, but that they are also affected by the decisions made in the broader political arena. You will want to find examples of past successes to use with members.
Why Politics—An Organizing Model Answer: There should be many avenues for members to express an interest in their union—politics is another organizing tool to get members involved. Additionally, not only do politics affect us, but we have the capability in the labor movement to affect politics. This is because we train people in grassroots organizing and we constantly develop leadership. Having large constituencies of union members gives us the potential to be powerful players in electoral politics. This can take the form of creating voting blocs, running candidates out of our own memberships, or facilitating progressive political education among our membership. Remember, too, that the political agenda of the labor movement starts but does not necessarily end with issues of education and labor rights—we fight for social justice more broadly.
Why Politics—A Pragmatic Answer: Returning to the immediate concerns of bargaining contracts for our members, there are two further points of connection to politics. First, local and statewide politicians can be helpful allies or huge obstacles when it comes time to bargain. Either they can pressure key decision-makers to concede at the bargaining table or they can do the opposite. Second, the very people who ratify our contracts in many cases are elected officials. In both of these instances, it is well worth considering publicly involving the union in these campaigns for pragmatic reasons. Pushing—The Mental Orientation: What are we trying to accomplish when organizing? First and foremost, it is important to keep in mind that it is the workers’ union, because it is the workers’ lives that are at stake. The aim of the organizer is to push people to action around issues that matter to them and to their union brothers and sisters. Sometimes it may seem awkward or uncomfortable to approach coworkers with a goal in mind, but it is important to remember that we are neither selling nor begging them for anything. We are pushing people to decide whether they want to keep living the way they do or to fight for change. You as the organizer are there to show them what other workers have learned to do through struggle and experience. Ideal Modes of Organizing: Many times, union communication is about building mass support. The ideal is to have intimate face to face conversations, but that can take a lot of time. While mass emails are a tempting solution, they may be better suited to simpler functions like posting announcements. The following is a table of modes of organizing, from most effective to least.
Structure of the Organizing Conversation:
How do we have conversations with our members?
The following is a useful, if generic, model for the structure of the organizing conversation.
Step One: Get In The Door. Usually you are approaching the co-worker in their office or in their own home. The conversation will need to be comfortable, since it is apt to last more than 5 minutes, so you need to get in and get a seat.
Step Two: Listen To Find Issues. In this early stage of the conversation, you ought to ask probing questions, but the real challenge is to get the person talking about themselves so that you can figure out what is important to them. Listening is the toughest task in the organizing conversation, and it is also the most important.
Step Three: Agitate on their Issues. Our coworkers have to stand up for themselves based on the issues that they feel strongest about. Finding these issues can be a helpful point of reference later in the conversation as you move to push them for a commitment.
Step Four: Painting the Picture of the Collective Solution. At this point in the conversation it will be useful ask the coworker how he or she thinks that their problems can be solved. While reminding the coworker that they deserve a rectification, try to move the conversation towards a solution that involves the union. This is a moment of education for the newly empowered coworker.
Step Five: Inoculation. It is important to be realistic with our members, and this includes being upfront about the challenges that lie ahead. That means letting them know about the potential obstacles and opponents that they may face in their efforts to achieve their goal. This preparation for the realities of the struggle is what we call inoculation. At this point in the conversation, the coworker may begin to back off or lose some enthusiasm; in this case, we just remind them of what they said earlier about their own issues. By going through inoculation, coworkers gain a better sense of trust among one another. Not least, the collective is also better prepared for the boss’ tricks.
Step Six: Ask for a Commitment. Now that you have regained the confidence of the coworker it is essential that you ask them for the appropriate commitment. First, ask if they are ready to stand up with the rest of their coworkers in this union. Then ask them to get involved. This can be volunteering to put up flyers, coming to a meeting, or becoming a steward for their department. The secret to organizing is to ask, and expect that your coworkers will generously say yes. More often than not, they will!
Assessing Members Feelings towards the Union:
A first and important indicator of union strength lies directly in how the union is regarded by the members. Each member we have conversations with ought to be assessed, or reassessed if they have already been assessed.
1. Actively involved in the union (Steward, Officer, etc.)
2. Supportive of the union, comes to events
3. On the fence, needs follow-up. This person may be truly undecided or has yet to participate in any meaningful way.
4. Anti-union. This person has expressed a definite negative opinion about the union or unions in general. Still organizeable, even if it would be difficult
The Difference between “Hard” and “Soft” Commitments: During the course of each organizing conversation there comes a point when we ask for a commitment. It is important to be able to discern the difference between the so-called “hard” and “soft” commitments. A hard commitment is the pledge of someone who intends to honor that commitment—they may break that commitment due to extenuating circumstances or they may forget (which is why we do reminders). There are two types of soft commitments. The first are from people who commit in order to blow you off. This is hard to read, the best way is by keeping track of whether these people follow-through. The second are from people who say maybe. They may be truly unable to gauge whether they can commit, they may not want to say no, or they might not feel strongly either way. Regardless, in organizing parlance a “maybe” is a no. Though it is tempting to count soft commitments, doing so will skew the perception of how close the union is to reaching its goal, which in turn will affect how much work people perceive needs to be put in to achieve the goal. In the end, it is more important to push for a hard yes or no than to have a bunch of maybes.
Keeping Score: A crucial part of organizing is about collecting information. Certainly organizers need to know what is going on. First, you want to have an accurate sense of what issues members are likely to be inspired by. Second, you want to know how many people you have talked to about these issues.
Counting on the Walls: When possible, you want members to see whether or not their coworkers are approaching/achieving their goals. This includes having wall charts of relevant information (building contacts, volunteer sign ups, etc). If an event is coming up, there should be a poster sized sheet of the goal for attendance and the names of the people who committed to come.
Survey with Volunteer Sheet One prop that I have found useful for political organizing is to carry a survey form with options for getting involved. Having clearly defined roles for people to step into will make organizing much easier. The survey can also serve as an ice breaker for the conversation.
Building A Political Committee
How to Form a Committee: Some of our locals are on the brink of getting more politically involved. It will be imperative to help them build some internal structure. Whether the goal is to get the local to endorse a slate of candidates, interview candidates, or to take a position on an issue, having a functioning committee will increase buy-in from the locals members.
To form a committee (or to beef up an existing committee), you need to organize. Start by identifying potential committee members among existing leaders. Sit down with people one on one and ask them to join. Recruit new members in “office visits” by stressing the formation of this new committee as an option for involvement. Another strategy might be to create a sheet listing and briefly explaining all committees and other opportunities for involvement in the union. At the end of each organizing conversation, ask them to look it over and decide if anything sticks out as something they want to be involved in.
Once you have recruited people for the committee, find a time for a first meeting. The first order of business is picking a regular and convenient meeting time and someone who will agree to head the committee. In the early stages of the committee, the committee chair ought to sit down with leadership to talk through the new role and establish clear lines of communication between the committee and the rest of the union.
10 Tips on Having a Good Meeting
1. Set the agenda ahead of time and give each section a set amount of time that it ought to take.
2. Send the agenda out over email well ahead of time to accommodate additions.
3. Turnout is important, so be sure to organize people and do reminder calls.
4. Don’t forget introductions if there are new faces.
5. Make introductions fun by asking people to say something more than their name and job.
6. Pass around a signup sheet.
7. The facilitator should keep track of the order of people who wish to speak.
8. The facilitator ought to be mindful of their role by not speaking too much.
9. The facilitator should try to limit conversation to keep set time limits so the meeting doesn’t run over.
10. Give someone the task of monitoring and explaining excessive jargon or acronyms for the benefit of new people.
