Induce. Encourage. Condone.
Strike Ready Locals:
Winning the Schools Educators & Students Deserve
December 1, 2023
NCUEA Fall Conference
New Orleans, LA
Deb Gesualdo
@MissDebGee everywhere
Induce. Encourage. Condone.
Session Topics
- Identify potential organizing goals
- First steps for organizing for power
- Talk to 10 and communications structures
- Importance of recording data from 1:1 and small group conversations and different ways to record/capture data from conversations
Induce. Encourage. Condone.
What do you hope to get out of this session?
What's your why?
Find a small scrap of paper and write down the one biggest thing that you think is holding your local back from organizing toward a major action.
Induce. Encourage. Condone.
Induce. Encourage. Condone.
The Malden Education Association is proof
that your local can organize toward a major action and win historic contracts that support educators, students, and the community!
Need more proof?
Check out what rank-and-file members in Brookline, Haverhill, Malden, Melrose, Woburn, Andover, Quincy, and other locals in Massachusetts have been able to accomplish through organizing and taking bold action!
What did we actually do in Malden to organize for action and win historic contracts for all of our bargaining units?
Induce. Encourage. Condone.
Induce. Encourage. Condone.
Steps
(very boiled down)
Expanded bargaining team & CAT |
10 minute meetings, small group meetings, 1:1 conversations, drop boxes for feedback on contract priorities, surveys |
Draft platform & vote on platform |
Silent bargaining representatives & open bargaining |
Public proposal tracker & member/community updates/work with partner organizations |
Escalating actions & ongoing social media campaign |
Induce. Encourage. Condone.
Things to Think About
- How can you make bargaining more transparent in your local?
- How can you involve more rank-and-file members to make bargaining more transparent?
- What have communications traditionally looked like in your local?
- How can communications be kicked up a notch (or two)?
- Is the community involved in your bargaining process at all?
- If not, how can you start getting the community involved or at least educated on your proposals, and your local priorities?
- How can you lift up the community through collective bargaining?
- Do you have a contract action team (CAT) in place?
RL
Organizing For Action:
Winning the Schools Educators & Students Deserve
January 12 - 13, 2024
Deb Gesualdo
@MissDebGee (TikTok/X/Insta)
Ryan Liacos
@LiacosWEA (X/Insta)
Session Topics
- Your why for being a union organizer/activist
- How the boss keeps us disorganized
- Organizing conversations
- Turning an issue into a union organizing campaign
- What makes a good leader?
- Power mapping and why data tracking is crucial for building power
Who’s in this space?
- Name
- Role in worksite
- Role in union
- Early, mid, or veteran educator
- Most bizarre interaction you’ve ever had with management in the workplace
What do you hope to get out of this session?
What's your why?
Find a small scrap of paper and write down the one biggest thing that you think is holding your local back from organizing to become a thriving local that is ready and able to take action at any time.
Fear
How the
Boss
Keeps Us
Disorganized
Hopelessness
Division
Confusion
Silly Wabbits
Can’t
Hold Us
Down
You
Apathy
We are living and breathing proof
that your local can organize toward a major action and win historic contracts that support educators, students, and the community!
Need more proof?
Check out what rank-and-file members in Brookline, Haverhill, Malden, Melrose, Woburn, Andover, Quincy, Wellesley and other locals in Massachusetts have been able to accomplish through organizing and taking bold action!
Core
Activists
Supporters
Disengaged
Hostile
Who's who on your worksite bullseye? Throw a few darts...errr...names in each circle and let's see where they land!
Bullseye groups:
- Core: the action heroes;
- Activists
- Supporters;
- Disengaged: the meh crowd; and (gulp!)
- Hostile: the cranky-pants
Organizing Conversations
- Organizing conversations:
- Being a good listener
- Anger, Hope, Urgency, and You
- Roleplaying organizing conversations
- Debrief
More Issues Than Vogue
- How do you identify an organizing issue...and then what the heck do you do after you identify an issue?
What makes a good leader/organizer?
President of the Professional Educators of Norman Adrienne Hall
Former US Sec. Ed. Betsy DeVos
President of the Education Assoc. of Moore & NEA Director Zach Grimm
President of the Mid-Del Education Assoc. & NCUEA Mountain Reg. Director
Lori Burris
Power Mapping
- Our power lies with our people...
- Know who is in your building, where they are, and what their strengths are
Turning an Issue Into a Campaign
Turning Up the Heat/Campaign Mountain
Remember, you can’t climb the campaign mountain alone...people = power!
YOU hold the power...
PEOPLE
=
POWER
Always remember that where there’s people there’s power....
Because YOU have the ability to organize people to take action!!!!
No matter what the boss or the state superintendent throw at you...