Impressions from the Labor Notes Conference
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 No 6, 12 August 2022, page no. 20
The Labor Notes Conference is the biggest gathering of grassroots union activists in the US. This year, the QTU sent a delegation to the conference in Chicago. Here two members of that delegation share what they learned.
We are doing all right!
Over three days, I attended workshop after workshop of workers telling stories of employer exploitation, abuse, racism, sexism and levels of occupational violence that made my jaw drop!
I heard stories from immigrant workers whose wages had been stolen. I heard stories of international students being paid less than the minimum wage and working in unsafe environments under working conditions that were so brutal that suicide rates rose exponentially. I heard the story of 300 teachers sacked a week before Christmas with no notice. I heard stories of employers commissioning legal firms specifically to ‘bust’ union organisation in the workplace. I heard stories about how most teachers, fearful of losing their jobs, bow to working conditions that we would reject in an instant.
For America however, there is hope – nine per cent of the workforce is currently unionised, but the number is rising – Starbucks workers, Amazon workers and teachers’ unions across the country are giving workers hope. They are sharing their stories of collectivism, support and demanding better working and living conditions. The Labor Notes organisation and conferences such as this one are vital to the sharing of stories that create and build the tide of change.
I was challenged in some workshops where I heard stories of workers not only fighting their employers but instances where splinter groups in existing unions were fighting their own organisation. It was at this point that I found myself reflecting on the democratic structures, processes, policies and procedures of the QTU.
We are not perfect. There is always room for improvement and innovation, but I will shout from the rooftops that our 133-year-old organisation has the democratic structures in place for any member to take the personal responsibility to suggest change. It is for this reason that I came away from the 2022 Labor Notes conference believing that we could offer so much to teachers and teacher unions in the USA – perhaps it is time for us to initiate an international conference ourselves?
Paula Nunan
Practical lessons
I have so many take-aways and am excited to bring them back to the workplace and QTU. Most of these lessons seem simple, practical and logical, and some I already knew, but the conference solidified and fortified my understanding of how to be a rank-and-file educator who can build the strength in my Union from within.
Lessons for working with members
- Instead of a hierarchy, consider a union as a dartboard with concentric circles: core, activists, supporters, disengaged, and hostile. Change and union strength is built when you move members towards the centre (e.g. supporters into activists), not by working on hostiles.
- What appears as apathy is often fear, hopelessness, division or confusion. Combat them with education on rights, examples of change and a plan, collective action and common touch points for unity, and by interpreting and sharing information.
How to build a campaign around an issue
- The issue must be widely and deeply felt, winnable, and have the potential to build the union and produce leaders.
- One-on-one conversations through a 1 to 10 network are important. Each core member established a network of 10 people to regularly touch base and share information with and to pulse check. This ensured communications were thorough and personal.
- Shift from a winning (or losing) narrative to focusing on how a campaign builds the strength and power of the union. The system isn’t set up for everyone to get what they wanted, but did it bring the rank-and-file to a stronger position of power in the union?
Lessons in building the power of our Union
- Measure union power through informal strategies with pulse checks, like union drip days (wearing T-shirts and badges on planned days) and even asking Reps to informally scale how action-ready their school is.
- Members’ ability to enforce and enact a contract is only as strong as the union membership, NOT the bargaining outcome. When the rank-and-file union members are strong during and outside the bargaining process they will also be strong in enforcing that agreement.
- Unions have the power to change how bargaining is conducted. After dissatisfaction from membership, the United Teachers Los Angeles expanded their bargaining team to 85 members. The Brookline Educators Union fought to include extra "silent" attendees at the bargaining table, and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers now live stream all their bargaining meetings.