Ask a Union Organizer: How do we get co-workers fired up about unionization at progressive organizations?
Dear Ask A Union Organizer,
How do we get coworkers fired-up about unionization when leadership is doing just enough to seem progressive?
— Wanting to Ask for More
Dear Wanting to Ask for More,
This is a really common issue. Many of our employers are doing just enough to seem progressive and “the nice guy” boss-persona is rampant in nonprofit work and can be hard to organize your colleagues around, but there’s a simple way to combat complacency caused by employers who do just enough.
“Educate, Agitate, Organize!” has been a rallying cry of the socialist movement since the 19th century—always in that order. If you don’t think your coworkers are fired-up enough to organize just yet, you’ll have to start by educating yourself and others about the realities your coworkers face.
Identify co-workers who have a story to tell, then educate them!
Just because you and your immediate circle of influence at work feel as though leadership is doing just enough doesn’t mean everyone feels this way. It’s your job, as the organizer, to educate yourself and your coworkers about the ways your employer isn’t doing enough.
Consider needs beyond your own that might be lacking an adequate response in the workplace, for example: does your health care plan cover dependents? Does it cover prescriptions, dental, and vision? What’s your parental leave policy like and how long is it? Does your health insurance cover reproductive and pregnancy care for queer and trans people? Did the “inclusiveness training” actually change anything? Are there bullies in the workplace? Even if everything seems progressive enough, there’s always ways you can organize your workplace to be a more supportive place.
Your first act in organizing your coworkers will be one-on-one or small-group meetings where you commiserate together about conditions at work. The beginning part of this process can feel a little chaotic and unstructured, but your first mission is fact-finding and relationship-building. Find opportunities to ask your coworkers, “Can you imagine solutions to these problems?” Replace their complacency with inspiration!
While you’re educating yourself about your coworker’s experiences, building trust, and dreaming-up ways work could be better, you can also create opportunities to educate your co-workers about their power to fix problems at work. Check out our Union Organizing 101 to find ideas about getting started.
Educate yourself on salaries.
A good way to start identifying issues that will fire-up your coworkers is by doing a salary analysis. Ask your coworkers how much they make. Use 990 forms, your organization’s financial disclosures (and maybe a little spy work) to identify how much your bosses make. Then, work together to compare job descriptions, demographic information, organizational hierarchical charts, and levels of previous experience to analyze and draw conclusions about how your employers assign people’s salaries, raises, and promotional opportunities. You can also do a salary and benefits analysis with comparable jobs at other organizations. Use ReproJobs Salary Survey Report, scan job postings, ask your colleagues in the movement, and look into jobs in the for-profit sector with similar duties and levels of responsibility.
Check out our Union FAQ’s for tips on not-getting-fired while organizing!
Compare job descriptions to your actual weekly task-load to see if anyone is being asked to do more work than they are getting paid for. Review your employee handbook to determine if policies are being enforced appropriately and equally. Pain points will naturally emerge – no workplace is perfect.
Anyone who has experienced discrimination, harassment, or bullying at work will need additional support to tell their story. It’s important to keep in mind that retraumatization will cause a union organizing campaign to stall. You don’t want your coworkers to identify the union with feelings of nervous-system dysregulation and stress. In many ways, your union should feel like a support group!
Agitation is more than just stirring the pot.
Agitation shouldn’t stir up traumas in an attempt to urge people into movement with no purpose. Effective agitation is actually about finding a way to create brave spaces – effective unions naturally emerge by allowing workplace traumas to surface when people feel safe enough to share. If you are intentional, your union can be a place to seek justice as well as healing (I also recommend reading adrienne maree brown’s Holding Change for a great foundation to understanding facilitation and mediation.).
Story-sharing is one of the most powerful tools we have in organizing. How can you put a spotlight on the ways your employer isn’t doing enough? Be careful not to ask your coworkers to share their story publicly if it will cause them distress or risk their job! Being an organizer comes with an ethical responsibility to protect people who share their stories with us.
Have you ever met with a coworker, shared a private conversation, and felt as though a weight has been lifted just by getting something off your chest? This is the feeling of a true workers’ organization. This space-holding can never be captured in the language of a contract, but this transformative process is why unions are more than just a business arrangement; rather, they are a movement unto themselves.
If you can find a way to create a movement that does not retraumatize your coworkers, your union will be stronger, more successful, and more sustainable. By engaging in the simple process of holding space for one another, we identify disparities that demand our collective action. Through education in community with others, agitation naturally arises. Start by sharing stories. Soon enough, you’ll be eagerly organizing.