The MILLION DOLLAR ORGANIZER®

Tips for Professional Union Organizers

Archives for March 2019

by on

Join Toastmasters

Communication is the key to successful union organizing. Members of Toastmaster’s practice public speaking, leadership, and active listening in a fun and supportive environment. After attending just one meeting, you’ll begin to notice speakers using “filler-words” in speeches. Words like, “so, uh, um, like, you know,” and others can become bad habits that negatively affect our ability to communicate effectively. Speakers who use fewer filler words appear more confident and well prepared. Consider joining Toastmasters International to elevate your own communication skills and network with like-minded individuals dedicated to self-improvement.

Find a Toastmasters International club near you:  https://www.toastmasters.org

by on

Master the Organizer Eval

Some unions are implementing a 25-point evaluation process to screen out unqualified applicants for union organizer positions. The general idea is to gauge one’s ability to motivate others to action. Even if you’ve already been organizing awhile, you might find yourself being assigned to attend as a follow-up. How you perform could affect the rest of your organizing career. Be on top of your game to get the highest score possible. Here are five things you can do to master the organizer eval.

  1. Be prepared to write a strategic organizing plan. Include such things as goals, timelines, benchmarks, issues, leaders, meetings, employee list, volunteer organizing committee, house calls, a target date for filing, handbills, mailings, emails, itemized expenses, etc.
  2. Take detailed notes before, during, and after each role play.
  3. Dress business casual. Look sharp and make a good first impression.
  4. Listen for clues during role play, and give each person a specific call to action.
  5. Get plenty of rest.

by on

Start Your Own Union Organizing Library

“A mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

– Oliver Wendell Holmes

Scour libraries, websites, and catalogs for the latest publications on union organizing. Ask successful organizers which books they’ve read. Here’s a short list of suggested reading:

  • Win More Union Organizing Drives by Jason Mann
  • Great Labor Quotations, Sourcebook and Reader by Peter Bollen
  • Organizer or Die by Mark Breslin
  • Organize to Win, New Research on Union Strategies by Kate Bronfenbrenner
  • The Campaign Guide; Organizing the Construction Industry by the AFL-CIO
  • Playing Against The House; Undercover Union Organizer by James D. Walsh
  • Confessions Of A Union Buster by Martin Jay Levitt
  • Bigger Labor; A Crash Course for Construction Union Organizers by Bob Oedy

Do you have any suggestions for my readers? Please include them in the comments.

by on

Know Why We Organize

Unions are actively seeking additional members and employers to grow their ranks. The labor movement has been focusing money and resources toward organizing at an unprecedented level since the mid-1980s. This trend is expected to increase. More members mean better contract negotiations. The leadership of your union knows this and that is why they are working to increase market share. Another reason to increase membership is to strengthen the retirement and health plans. The more people contributing to the plans the stronger the plans will be.

Unions give workers a voice in the workplace. The greater the strength of the union the more influence that workers have for improving conditions throughout the industry. Organizing increases employment opportunities for members and helps fight corporate greed.

by on

Commit to Union Organizing as a Career

Make the decision to advance your career from fledgling organizer to professional union organizer to Million Dollar Organizer®. Don’t worry about having a fallback position. Too many novice organizers keep their tools at-the-ready in case things don’t work out. Here’s a better idea. Be determined to succeed no matter what.

Do you have good people skills? Are you a self-starter? Are you outgoing? Are you an active union member? Do you love organizing? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you’ve probably got what it takes. Make the decision to be a first-class union organizer. Commit to union organizing as a career. You might be surprised how few organizers do.

by on

Launch Post

This is a blog for career-minded union organizers. It’s for those who seek innovative techniques to attract new union members and gain market share. You want to challenge the status quo. The way things have been done traditionally hasn’t always worked. Here’s an invitation to join a community of union organizers focused on mastery. Learn how to push back against the negativity employers often embrace. Recruit on a larger scale. Get inspired to try new approaches. Balance your career and family life. Take back your industry and create more powerful unions. Together we’ll share our ideas and strategies, hash-out what works from what doesn’t. You will learn to avoid burn-out and survive the gauntlet of local union politics. You will become an indispensable union organizing expert in the process. Any organization lucky enough to hire you will recognize your contribution. Leave the industry on your own terms. Be proud of the work you accomplish. These are some of the things that are important to union organizers. This blog will address these issues as well as entertain.

%d bloggers like this: