2011 Building Power Manual - United...

Heading

Building Power

How to Take the Offensive and Win a Better Contract

USW Contract Campaign Guide

Table of Contents

Introduction: Take the Offensive........................................................................ 1

Step 1: Organize Your Communication & Action Team................................... 1

Activity 1 – Determining How Many CAT Organizers You Need ...............................................................8 Activity 2 – Building Your Communication & Action Team ......................................................................10 Activity 3 - Mapping Each Department ....................................................................................................13

Step 2: Analyze Strengths & Weaknesses ...................................................... 17

Activity 1 – Union Strengths and Weaknesses........................................................................................19 Activity 2 – Employer Strengths and Weaknesses ..................................................................................20

Step 3: Identify Issues and Determine Union Goals ...................................... 21

Activity 1 – Analyzing the Union’s Issues. ...............................................................................................23 Activity 2 – Analyzing the Company’s Issues ..........................................................................................24 Activity 3 – Designing Your Membership Survey.....................................................................................25 Activity 4 – Determining the Union’s Goals..............................................................................................29

Step 4: Create Your Campaign Theme ............................................................ 30

Activity 1 – Creating Your Campaign Theme...........................................................................................31

Step 5: Develop Campaign Messages ............................................................. 32

Activity 1 – Creating Your First Membership Update...............................................................................34

i

Step 6: Determine Your Allies .......................................................................... 36

Activity 1 – Identifying and Approaching Allies ........................................................................................36

Step 7 – Identify Leverage Targets .................................................................. 38

Activity 1 – Spider Diagram - Identifying Potential Leverage Targets .....................................................41 Activity 2 – Selecting Your Leverage Targets..........................................................................................42

Step 8: Employ UNIQUE Strategies and Tactics ............................................ 45

Activity 1 – Selecting Your Strategies......................................................................................................47

Activity 2 – Planning Your Tactics ............................................................................................................49

Step 9 – Design Your Campaign Calendar...................................................... 53

Activity 1 – Mapping Out Individual Tactics .............................................................................................56 Activity 2 – Preparing Tactics for Your Campaign Calendar ...................................................................57 Activity 3 – Designing Your Campaign Calendar.....................................................................................58

Step 10: Evaluate and Adjust Strategies & Tactics........................................ 59

Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 61

Resource CD Index............................................................................................ 62

ii

1

he em-p l o y e r s we face

today are far different than those many of

Introduction

2

Before you Start

This manual will help you prepare your lo-cal for a suc-cessful contract campaign. It is not a guide to

Introduction

3

Will sharing in-formation raise the member-ship’s expecta-tions?

Sharing information will mean that you have to explain how bargaining works. It will mean that you have to keep certain details out of the updates, but if your membership is informed of what is happening at the table and what to expect, they won’t be disappointed.

Introduction

4

Introduction

When should your local use this guide?

You should start meeting to prepare for your contract campaign at least six months prior to

5

Step 1—Step 2—Step 3—Step 4– Step 5—Step 6—Step 7—Step 8—Step 9—Step 10

T he main strength of your local union is your membership. Some locals have a more active membership than others but one thing is clear: in order to get the best contract, your employer has to believe that all of your members are

sticking together. That’s why a Communication & Action Team must be the foun-dation of any contract campaign.

What is a Communication & Action Team?

A Communication & Action Team is the best way to organize your union and get the best contract possible. The key to the CAT is direct one-to-one contact. Your CAT should be composed of respected union activists working under the direction of the elected local leadership. Members of the Communication & Action Team are responsible for maintaining contact with a specific group of about 10 co-workers in their respective departments and shifts.

Why do you need a Communication & Action Team? Membership involvement is the most important part of a successful contract cam-paign, and the first step in getting the membership involved is setting up a Commu-nication & Action Team. Every union officer and activist knows the frustration of posting a notice for an event or activity only to have few participate. This happens in every local, and in fact, in every organization. Simply posting a notice is not enough because it only attracts activists and those already committed to the particular issue. Building visible support of the membership is difficult, but possible. One-on-one contact insures your ability to directly educate every member on the issues, counter the inevitable rumors, and organize support. Personal contact is the most effective means to get members involved. It is one thing to see a meeting notice on a board and another when a friend comes to you saying - "I am going to the meeting, and we need you at the meeting as well."

6


Communication Flow for Communication &

Action Team

Local Union Officers & Bargaining Committee

Communication & Action Team Coordinator(s)

Communication & Action Team Organizers

Workers

Communication & Action Team Shift Leader(s)

What is the structure of a Communication & Action Team? To build and effective Communication & Action Team in your local union, you will need to fill the following posi-tions: The Local Union Officers and Bargaining Committee develop the campaign plan (along with the CAT Coordina-tor). They provide direction as well as delegate responsi-bility to the other members of the Communication & Action Team. The Negotiating Committee is too busy negotiating to fill the following roles—always be careful of burnout. Communication & Action Team Coordinator(s) makes sure that the CAT structure is in place and functioning throughout the local. The CAT coordinator is the key to successfully educating and involving your membership in the contract campaign. He or she is not on the bargaining committee but reports directly to the local union president and the bargaining committee. Communication & Action Team Shift Leader is respon-sible for recruiting Communication & Action Team Organiz-ers on a particular shift and coordinating their activity. In large locals, you may need multiple shift leaders. Communication & Action Team Organizers are the lo-cal’s direct link to the rank and file. They are responsible for communicating one-on-one with a group of about 10 workers in their work area on their shift. It’s their job to distribute handbills and other material like buttons and T-shirts. They educate the membership about issues in negotiations and mobilize members to participate in solidarity actions. It is important to CAT Organizers rep-resent the entire membership—young/old, female/male, and so on. If members of the bargaining unit speak more than one language, make sure your CAT Organizers can communicate with everyone.

7


How many members do you need to have on your CAT?

The number of members needed to build your Communication & Action Team depends upon how big your facility is and how many members you have. Let’s work from the bottom to the top of the flow chart on the previous page.

• One Communication & Action Team Organizer for every 10 workers in an area. However, a department with only 6 members must also have at least one CAT Organizer.

• One Shift Leader for every 10 CAT Organizers on a shift. • One Local Union Coordinator for every five Shift Leaders.

You may be quickly calculating how many members you need to build a CAT and feel discouraged. Remember, these numbers are ideal, but in the real world you will have to make adjustments.

What is the role of the Communication & Action Team?

The CAT is more than a group that explains issues and informs the membership about activities. It is also the link between the local union leadership, the negotiat-ing committee and the membership. It creates two-way communication from the membership to the local union leadership and the bargaining committee. This two-way communication allows the membership to fully participate in deter-mining key issues, developing ideas, and suggesting activities for the campaign. Being involved in the process will also lead to more participation by the member-ship. The CAT structure becomes the "eyes, ears and voice" of the local. The two-way communication can identify problems and concerns within the membership, iden-tify weak members that need reassuring, and identify rumors, employer activity, and when your employer violates the law. Beyond the contract campaign, building a Communication & Action Team and in-volving the membership will create a stronger and more active local to deal with future problems and contracts. The following activities will help you build a Com-munication & Action Team for your workplace.

8

Ste

p 1

—Ste

p 2

—Ste

p 3

—Ste

p 4

– S

tep 5

—Ste

p 6

—Ste

p 7

—Ste

p 8

—Ste

p 9

—Ste

p 1

0

Determ

ining How Many CAT Organizers You Need - Page 1 (Activity 1 – Step 1)

Instructions:

1. Using the blank chart on the following page, list every department in your workplace in the first column. If you have

more departments than spaces allotted, print out another sheet from the Resource CD. Hint: Refer to the example at

the bottom of this page.

2. For each shift list the total number of Bargaining Unit M

embers in each department (In right-to-work states include non-

members).

3. For each shift write the total number of CAT Organizers you will need for that department. Every department should

have a CAT Organizer, and remember, no CAT Organizer should be asked to be responsible for more than 10 people.

4. For every 10 CAT Organizers on a shift, you will need one Shift Coordinator. Write the total number of CAT Shift Lead-

ers on the bottom.

Here is an example of how to determ

ine how m

any CAT Organizers you’ll need in your workplace.

Department

1st Shift

2nd Shift

3rd Shift

4th Shift

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Back End

Back End

Back End

Back End

14

2

7

1

7

1

4

1

Front End

25

3

25

3

15

2

10

1

Maintenance

6

1

4

1

3

1

0

0

Total

45

6

36

5

25

4

14

2

Total Workers

120

Total CAT Organizers 17

Total CAT Shift Leaders

4

Ste

p 1

—Ste

p 2

—Ste

p 3

—Ste

p 4

– S

tep 5

—Ste

p 6

—Ste

p 7

—Ste

p 8

—Ste

p 9

—Ste

p 1

0

9

Determ

ining How Many CAT Organizers You Need - Page 2 (Activity 1 – Step 1)

Department

1st Shift

2nd Shift

3rd Shift

4th Shift

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Workers

CAT

Organizers

Total

Total Number of Workers ____________ Total number of CAT Organizers__________ Total number of CAT Shift Leaders__________


10

Building your Communication & Action Team Page 1 (Activity 2 – Step 1)

Instructions:

1. On the next page map your Communication & Action Team on the chart provided. Hint: Use the example on the bottom of this page.

2. In the first box, fill in the people on the negotiating committee. 3. In the second box fill in who will be your Communication & Action Team Coordinator – re-

member, this person should NOT be on the negotiating committee! You may need more than one CAT Coordinator.

4. List All your departments in the space provided – if a department will need more than 1 CAT Organizer, use more than 1 box. If you run out of room, print an additional chart from the re-source CD.

5. In each Shift Leader Box list the CAT Shift Leader. If you have more than one on a shift, write all the names in the box.

6. In the CAT Organizer box write the name of the person who will be the organizer for that shift in that department.

Here is an example of what a map of the Back End and Front End from the previous example would look like.

President & Negotiating Committee: Rachel Anderson, Willie Ferguson

1st Shift

CAT Leader

Robin B.

1st Shift CAT Organizer

Bill Plott


Joe Rose


Emily Collier

2nd Shift

CAT Leader

Tom F.

2nd Shift CAT Organizer

Nina Robinson


David Yuan


Chuck Jones

4th Shift

CAT Leader

Jose Trace

4th Shift CAT Organizer

Mike Cooper


Don Shaffer


_____________

3rd Shift

CAT Leader

Ken S.

3rd Shift CAT Organizer

Dan Siskind


Sangita Gupta


_____________

Department Front End

Department Back End

CAT Coordinator: Frank Welch


Building your Communication & Action Team

President and

1. _____________________________________

2. ____________________________________

3. ____________________________________

Communication and

____________________________________

Department

____________

Department

_____________


___________


___________


___________


___________

1st Shift CAT Leader


___________


___________


__________


__________

3rd Shift CAT Leader


___________


___________


__________


__________

2nd Shift CAT Leader


__________


___________


___________


__________

4th Shift CAT Leader

11


Building your Communication & Action Team

Department

_____

Department

____________

11


___________


___________


___________


___________


__________


___________


___________


___________


___________


___________


__________


___________


___________

3rdShift CAT

Organizer

___________

3rd Shift CAT

Organizer

___________


___________

3rd Shift CAT

Organizer

__________


___________


___________


___________


___________


___________


__________


___________

Department

_____

Department

_____

Department

_____

12


Mapping Each Department—Page 1 (Activity 3—Step 1)

Now that you have a map of your Communication & Action Team, you need to get down to the de-tails and map each department. Before you begin, it is helpful to have a list of bargaining unit mem-bers when doing this activity so you remember everyone and spell names correctly.

Instructions: 1. In the first box write the name of the department. Hint: Refer to the example below. 2. Write the name of the CAT Organizer from that department for each shift in the space pro-

vided. You will want to refer back to your CAT map (Activity 2 – Step 1). 3. Write the names of ALL the bargaining unit members in the space provided. These are the

people the CAT Organizer will be responsible for keeping informed. 4. There are two types of charts: One chart is designed for departments with 10 or less people

in a department (these charts take up only one page). The other Chart is designed for de-partments with more than 10 people in a department (these charts take up two pages).

5. If a department has more than 20 people in it, you will need to use additional charts from the Resource CD.

Department: Maintenance

CAT Organizer 1st Shift

Nancy

Levinson

Members the CAT Organizer is responsible for: 1. Melvin Watts 2. Jeanette Wilkins

3. Tyrone Washington 4. Naomi Alberts

5. Derrick Bellanger 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer 2nd Shift

Henry

Winthrop

Members the CAT Organizer is responsible for: 1. Colin Brown 2. Aaron Willow (non-member)

3. Sharon Snow 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer 3rd Shift

Chris

Hammil

Members the CAT Organizer is responsible for: 1. Mike Huber (non-member) 2. Dana Garver (non-member)

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer 4th Shift

Members the CAT Organizer is responsible for: 1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

13



This chart is for a department with 10 workers or less on each shift.

Department:

CAT Organizer 1st Shift

Members the CAT Organizer is responsible for:

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer 2nd Shift


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer 3rd Shift


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer 4th Shift


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

14



This chart, which is two pages, is for departments that have more than 10 people on a shift. This is the first part of the chart.

Department:

CAT Organizer: 1st Shift

CAT Organizer: 1st Shift


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer: 2nd Shift

CAT Organizer: 2nd Shift


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

15



This chart, which is two pages, is for departments that have more than 10 people on a shift. This is the second part of the chart.

Department:

CAT Organizer: 3rd Shift

CAT Organizer: 3rd Shift


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

CAT Organizer: 4th Shift

CAT Organizer: 4th Shift


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.


1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

16


Building Your Communication & Action Team

T he next step in developing your Communication & Action Team is to actually approach and recruit the CAT members you’ve just identified. This takes time and effort. Make sure you ask people to help, and reach beyond the usual

activists. Involve as many people as possible. Below are some tips for making one-on-one contacts. Make sure every CAT Organizer knows and understands them.

♦ Contact at the right time. Do not disrupt someone who is busy. Do not break into another conversation. Give them a chance to tell you to come back later.

♦ Be friendly and polite. Do not argue. ♦ Be honest. If you do not know the answer to a question, don't make one

up. ♦ Listen. This is a two way process. Members have important concerns,

information, and campaign ideas. ♦ Ask members to do something. Have a list of things needed to be

done - wear a button, attend rally and so on. If they are unable to do the requested activity, find something they can or are willing to do.

Once you’ve created your Communication & Action Team, it will need to be tested and improved. Building your Communication & Action Team is a process. Begin with easy activities that can be measured such as a petition or a survey. In other words, when you use your CAT to get members to sign a petition, you can analyze the final petition to see which departments fully participated and which didn’t. Compare results with the map you created for every department to determine weak areas. Focus on improving the areas with weak results or participation. Repeat this process after every activity. Remember: in order to build a stronger CAT you must constantly assess where you need to bolster support.

Making One-on-One Contacts

17


Understanding Your Employer An important part of analyzing your employer’s weaknesses is to understand how your employer works.

You’ll find an exercise to help you understand your employer; a list of web sites that are valuable for researching a company or organization, other research tips and an explanation of financial filings on the Resource CD (Step 2).

Y ou’ve set up your Communication & Action Team so that the entire union can work together to build power. In order to have your Communication & Ac-tion Team be as effective as possible you need to understand your union’s

strengths and weaknesses. Once you’ve done that you can figure out what your employer’s strengths and weaknesses are so that you can most effectively put pres-sure on your employer to get the best possible contract.

Why analyze the union’s strengths and weaknesses?

You need to analyze your strengths so that you understand the things you are good at and can accomplish easily. Every local has different strengths, so it’s important to understand the union’s capabilities. You also need to analyze your weaknesses, be-cause if you don’t understand your own limitations, you are your own worst enemy. Every local union has problems, and you shouldn’t fool yourselves into thinking management isn’t trying to figure out ways to exploit them. If you know what your limi-tations are before a campaign you’ll be able to effectively plan ways to shore up support.

Your Communication & Action Team is the best tool to turn your own weaknesses into strengths. If only a few of your members are active in the union, make sure you develop activities dur-ing your campaign to involve more members.

Using Your Communication &

Action Team

18


Why analyze your employer’s strengths and weaknesses? To get the best contract you can, you need to pressure your employer. There are lots of ways to pressure the boss, but it only makes sense to use the ones that will have the biggest impact. By analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your employer, you figure out where the company or organization is potentially vulnerable.

No matter how big your local union is or how much your treasury has in it, there is only so much you can do. By understanding your employer, you can protect your-selves from their strengths and use their weaknesses against them.

If I only get paid $35,000 per year, how can labor costs be $250,000?

You are entitled to information from the company in order to bargain your contract. As a general rule, ask for anything you think you need. With solid information you can cost out a contract yourself. Never count on the boss’s numbers to tell the whole story or even the truth. The union should do its homework when it comes to how much a deal really costs. There is material about information requests, costing contracts, and other bargaining tools such as info about the Steelworker Pension Trust, Steelworker Health and Wel-fare Fund and PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund on the Resource CD (Step 2). Make sure your negotiating committee looks at it.

Building Your Legal Defense

If the boss knows more about the law than you do, they’ll use it against you.

On the Resource CD (Step 2) you’ll find an explanation of some im-portant legal issues – things that will keep you out of trouble and help you stay on the offensive.

There are resources for private and public sector workers as well as healthcare workers in the U.S. and Canada.


19

Union Strengths and Weaknesses (Activity 1—Step 2)

1. Discuss your union’s strengths and weaknesses in each of the categories found in the table below. Decide on a scale from 1 to 5 whether that category is a strength or weakness (1 = significant weakness and 5 = significant strength). 2. In the blank spaces marked “Other,” add other categories your group may feel are important strengths or weaknesses and rate them on the same 1 to 5 scale.

3. Decide what the union’s 3 most important strengths are. 4. Decide what the union’s 3 most important weaknesses are.

Category Weakness Strength

Solidarity among bargaining unit workers 1 2 3 4 5

Internal union leadership/activist solidarity 1 2 3 4 5

Ability to “impact” employer’s key decision maker(s) 1 2 3 4 5

Level of participation of members 1 2 3 4 5

Communication & Action Team 1 2 3 4 5

Adequate union resources: (a) people, (b) time & (c) money

1 2 3 4 5

Research and knowledge on employer & its key relationships

1 2 3 4 5

Support from important segments of the community 1 2 3 4 5

Ability to communicate with union activists in your community

1 2 3 4 5

Ability to communicate with the activists from your own local union

1 2 3 4 5

Ability to communicate with all bargaining unit members

1 2 3 4 5

Health and Safety Committee 1 2 3 4 5

Steward Structure 1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5


20

Employer Strengths and Weaknesses (Activity 2—Step 2)

1. Discuss your employer’s strengths and weaknesses in each of the categories found in the table below. Decide on a scale from 1 to 5 whether that category is a strength or weakness (1 = significant weakness and 5 = significant strength).

2. In the blank spaces marked “Other,” add other categories your group may feel are important. 3. Decide what your employer’s 3 most important strengths are. 4. Decide what your employer’s 3 most important weaknesses are.

Category Weakness Strength

Quality of Top Management within your workplace 1 2 3 4 5

Quality of Top Management in your company or or-ganization– not just your facility (i.e. CEO, President of HR…)

1 2 3 4 5

Quality of Mid-level and Floor-level Management 1 2 3 4 5

Ability to effectively shift production from USW facility(ies) to other facility(ies)

1 2 3 4 5

Ability to operate the facility(ies) for a long period of time without experienced USW workforce

1 2 3 4 5

Can your customers easily find alternate suppliers? 1 2 3 4 5

Credibility of management with employees 1 2 3 4 5

Ability to create significant levels of product inventory 1 2 3 4 5

Overall financial condition 1 2 3 4 5

Image in the community 1 2 3 4 5

Image with investors (i.e. Wall Street or Bay Street) 1 2 3 4 5

Relationship with the Union 1 2 3 4 5

Condition of facilities (investment in new equipment). Level of Automation.

1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5

As you complete the next steps to plan your contract campaign, you will need to refer back to the two exercises you just completed. You must always think about:

1. Using your strengths to pressure your employer. 2. Transforming your weaknesses into strengths. 3. Pressuring your employer by exploiting its weaknesses.

Turn Your Weaknesses into Strengths


21

I ssues are never in short demand, and around contract time, issues are even more plentiful. Because it is not likely that you can resolve every issue during bargain-ing, it is important that you do the following:

• Identify the union’s issues, both economic and non-economic through a confi-dential membership survey.

• Analyze and prioritize the union’s issues. • Identify and analyze your employer’s main issues.

Issues are usually problems and it can get pretty de-pressing sitting around talking about all the problems in the contract or at work. To keep things upbeat you should express your problems as goals.

What are issues? Issues are the key items the union wants to address in upcoming bargaining. Often, health insurance, pen-sions and wages are major issues for the union. How-ever, as union leaders you must also consider bargain-ing issues that protect and enhance bargaining unit jobs such as contracting out and neutrality.

When developing your issues, it’s important that you ask yourselves the following questions.

• Why is this issue important to union members?

• Why must the union act now to resolve this issue?

For the right price, all of your facilities could be sold (or privatized). It’s your duty as union leaders to protect your members and your jobs in the event of a sale. You can do this by bargaining a successor-ship clause (more info is on the Resource CD).

Job Security


22

How do you determine your issues?

As a union, our main strength is our membership. Your local union represents the la-bor that makes your workplace operate smoothly. To build power, members must ac-tively participate in determining the union’s issues. In the past, many local unions have relied upon ‘special’ union meetings to get feedback from union members re-garding bargaining issues.

The problem with this approach is that the union doesn’t get feedback from the majority of mem-bers. You should consider doing a confidential membership survey to help determine the union’s bargaining issues, and later in this guide you’ll create your own bargaining survey.

How do you analyze your issues?

Once you’ve developed a list of issues based upon results from your membership survey and discussions with union members, it’s time to set your priorities. When determining whether an issue is a top priority, you will want to use the following criteria.

• Widely felt – An issue is widely felt if the majority of workers care about resolving the problem. Wages, for example, are almost always widely felt.

• Deeply felt – An issue is deeply felt if the workers who care about the issue are impassioned about resolving it. For example, contracting out can be a deeply felt issue for some departments, while other departments care very little about the issue.

• Potentially winnable – Will the union be likely to win all or part of the issue in bargaining? It is important that you take on problems that you can resolve (at least in part) because you build your union, one victory at a time.

Some issues may fit all three of the criteria while others will not. For example, de-pending on the average age and years of service in your workplace pensions may be both widely and deeply felt. If you have a young membership, however, pensions may not be widely or deeply felt.

Strengthening Your Contract

In the last 20 years the types of

problems unions face have changed.

Certain contract language can protect

you and help you increase your power (and bargaining leverage).

To help you, on the Resource CD

(Step 3) you’ll find: • Model Successorship

language

• Model Neutrality language

• Model Contracting Out lan-

guage • A sample Bargaining Survey


23

Analyzing the Union’s Issues (Activity 1—Step 3)

• Identify six contract campaign issues that you are likely to face in this round of bargaining, and write them in the first column of the chart below.

• Mark an X in the appropriate box if these issues are: widely felt, deeply felt, or potentially winnable. Leave the box blank, if they do not fit the category.

Write each Issue below: Widely Felt Deeply Felt Potentially Winnable

To help analyze all your issues, you will want to repeat this activity for all of your potential issues. Use the results of your bargaining survey to help you.

As union leaders, you know that not all issues will be resolved in bargaining. Therefore, you must choose which issues are the most crucial for the union to address. Setting bargaining priorities is often a difficult and tedious task. Sometimes your members may not understand why an issue is important, for instance the need for a successorship clause. Here are suggestions to make an issue more widely felt, deeply felt and potentially winnable.

• Educate union members about what the issue is and why it’s important. Members need to understand what’s at stake.

• Plan activities that highlight a particular issue such as petitions or stickers. Both of these things will send a message to your members and your employer that this particular issue must be addressed. For sample handbills explaining complicated issues, such as Successorship. Contracting Out, Expiration Date and No Waiver language on healthcare see the Resource CD (step 5).

Making an Issue a Priority


24

Analyzing Your Employers Issues (Activity 2—Step 3)

In addition to the union’s issues, you must prepare yourselves for your em-ployer’s bargaining agenda, so you can

Write each Issue below: Widely Felt Deeply Felt Potentially Resolvable


25

Designing a Confidential Membership Survey for Negotiations

Why should you conduct a membership survey? Surveys are an essential part of building power in your union. A membership survey can do the following:

• Help determine issues that are important to members • Test your Communication Action Team • Get an accurate list of the membership including phone, email, etc. • Pressure your employer

Individual survey answers should be kept confidential from management so that members know they can complete the survey without fear that management will try to take illegal action to punish them for their views. However, publishing the union’s top issues based on the survey results can be very useful – it let’s your members know you are listening and it sends a message to your employer about important issues that must be resolved.

What’s the best way to conduct a survey? You should always use your Communication Action Team to hand out your surveys. It will take longer and more effort at first, but it is a good way to get the CAT Organizers talking to the membership. Plus, a survey that is distributed and collected by hand will have a much higher return rate. When you mail it out you can expect 30-50%, but if you use your CAT to go member-to-member you can expect upwards of 90%.

How can conducting a survey build the union’s power? Surveys test where your CAT is strong and where it needs improvement. If your surveys don’t come back from a certain area, you may have problems. If you identify these problems months prior to contract expiration you have time to fix them. If you wait until a few weeks before contract expiration to use your CAT, it won’t be ready and you won’t be as strong. So use this opportunity to test your Team. A survey will also build the union’s power by including all workers in the bargaining process. It shows that the union cares what everyone thinks about bargaining.


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Dear Member:

Our Local is preparing for contract negotiations. Your input and willingness to participate in this process will determine the outcome of the negotiations.

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Thank you for your participation. In solidarity, Your Negotiating Committee

Question #1

We want to make sure that our membership records are accurate and up-to-date because we may need to contact everyone with critical information. Please fill in the following information:

Name____________________________________________________________________________ Home Mailing Address _____________________________________________________________-

City _______________________________ State ______________ Zip Code __________________

Home Phone ______________________________ Work Phone ____________________________

Email Address _____________________________ Cell Phone ______________________________

Shift ____________________________________ Job Class ________________________________ Question #2

At some point during negotiations, we may want to show our unity to our employer and to each other. If we choose a day each week when all members would wear the same hat, t-shirt, sticker or button to show our unity, would you participate in that activity?

Yes_____________ No ____________ Not Sure ____________

Contract Negotiations Confidential

Membership Survey

Designing Your Membership Survey (Activity 3– Step 3)

Instructions:

1. Review page 1 of the survey (below) to see if there are any changes that should be made or if additional questions are needed. Be sure your group is comfortable with Question #2.

2. Turn to the next page. As a group, decide which issues to fill in the blanks on Question #3 – “What issues do you want to focus on in negotiations?” Make sure you fill these in prior to distribution so that you can gauge support around particular issues. Some Issues are already listed as examples. Feel free to add to these issues, or delete them as you see fit.

3. Leave at least 2 blanks on Question #3 for members to fill in issue you haven’t thought of. 4. Review the rest of page 2 and make any necessary changes.


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Designing Your Membership Survey continued (Activity 3– Step 3)

Question #3

What Issues do you want to focus on in negotiations?

Question #4. List the top 3 issues you believe should be addressed in negotiations.

1. ___________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________

Question #5. Do you have any other comments or questions you want addressed?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Increasing Pension Multiplier 1 2 3 4 5

Maintaining Affordable, Adequate Health Benefits 1 2 3 4 5

Protecting Our Jobs in the event Our Facility Is Sold 1 2 3 4 5

Strengthen Contracting Out Language 1 2 3 4 5

Improve Wages 1 2 3 4 5

Language to protect our jobs from being outsourced (contracted out) 1 2 3 4 5

Paid Time Off for our Local Union leaders to deal with problems 1 2 3 4 5

Neutrality – to help us organize the employer’s non-union facilities 1 2 3 4 5

Improve Bereavement Leave 1 2 3 4 5

Strategically line up our contract expiration date with other facilities owned by our employer – this will build our bargaining power

1 2 3 4 5

Improve Vacations 1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5

Other: 1 2 3 4 5

Not Im

portant

Make it a

Top Priority


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Turning Issues Into Goals Now that you’ve identified your issues and problems, it’s time to determine the Union’s goals.

What is a goal? A goal is a positive expression of the union’s issues or problems. It takes the problems you’re facing and turns them into something worth fighting for.

How do you determine the union’s goals? You just restate the problem as a positive state-ment: “Our pension multiplier is too low” becomes “Increase our pension multiplier” or “We deserve to retire with dignity, increase our pension.” “We have no retiree health benefits” becomes “It’s time for retiree health benefits.”

What makes a good goal? A good campaign goal will win concrete improve-ments for the membership. This goes beyond money and benefits. Strong contract language protects bargaining unit jobs and can help strengthen the union. A good campaign goal builds the union – getting folks to fight together for something they care about makes your union stronger. A good campaign goal alters the relation of power – if a goal isn’t making the union stronger, it’s not doing its job.

You have to use your Survey. The survey identifies issues that are important to the members, including some that you didn’t think of or know about.

Don’t fall into the trap of assuming you know what all the issues are. As union leaders it is your job to lead, but it is also your job to listen.

It Doesn’t Stop with

Determining Goals!


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Determining the Union’s Goals (Activity 4—Step 3)

Instructions:

1. In spaces 1-6 write six important issues identified by the union in Activity 1 – Step 3 and

Activity 2 – Step 3 (Hint: You will want to use the results from your membership survey for this activity when possible.)

2. In the second column rewrite the corresponding issue as a positive union goal for your contract campaign.

Issuesssue Issues Restated as a Union Goal

Workers’ Issues:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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T o effectively focus your campaign, you need a campaign theme that will give your campaign a “signature” which members, supporters and the general public will readily recognize as yours.

What Is a Campaign Theme? A campaign theme should be a concise, positive, and active public statement that gives a name to your campaign – who you are, and why you are doing what you’re doing. Initially, most people in your community and the media assume that negotia-tions are solely about wages and benefits. It is the theme that lets them know how your negotiations fit in to the larger picture of the community – what’s in it for them. Here are some guidelines for choosing a campaign theme: • It must be concise – It should fit on a bumper sticker or yard sign.

• It must be positive – you are waging a cam-paign for justice, for better jobs for your community, for better health care, for a safe workplace.

• It must be active – the words should give your members energy to wage a winning fight and be able to find allies who will help because it is in their interest to do so.

You should regularly repeat the theme in your publications. It should be on flyers, press releases – in all of your communications. By the end of the campaign it should be the biggest story in town. Hint: Campaigns that are waged around human rights like Dignity and Justice, or Health and Safety, are often more successful than ones that focus on specific economic issues – like wage percentage increases.

Tests of a Good Campaign Theme

• Does it help to build the union and move the campaign forward?

• Does it help clarify the union’s goals and issues?

• Does it appeal to the broader community and help build allies?

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Creating Your Campaign Theme (Activity 1—Step 4)

Instructions:

1. Get together with your group and ask yourselves these questions: • What are our issues and goals (Step 3 – Activities 2 and 4)? • How do we want our members to view our campaign? • How do we want the community to view our campaign? • What is in it for them?

2. As a group brainstorm possible campaign themes. Write all of the suggestions in the space below.

3. Kick around all of the ideas you listed. Mock them up on bumper stickers or buttons. Together decide what your final campaign theme is and write it in the box at the bottom of the page. You may decide to merge several ideas into one. Go with your gut. Pick one.

Final Campaign Theme

• Building For Our Future

• Protecting Our Jobs, Protecting Our Community

• Hey (Employer), Invest in Our Future!

• World Class Workers Deserve a World Class Contract

• The Choice is Clear, No 2 Tier (for use with members)

• Securing Our Jobs, Our Community, Our Future

• Paperworkers—Working Toward the Health and Future of Our Community

• Quality Hospital, Quality Workers, Quality Care

• Common Goals, a New Beginning (for use with Council)

• Respect Our Loyalty—Reward Seniority

Steelworkers from all around have created themes for their contract campaigns. Here are some examples:

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haring in-

formation is es-sential to build-ing power, and

Share Information!

If you expect members to support the campaign, you must communicate regularly with them.

Informed members are likely to be active members.

33


What are your purposes?

To ef-

fectively com-

Creating Your Own Bargaining Update

Don’t underestimate the power of bargaining updates! They can be the difference between a good and bad contract and a strong or weak local. There are sample updates (some of them explain complicated bargaining issues to our members), sample mastheads and the USW logo, on the Resource CD (Step 5). You can look to these for ideas and inspirations. The United Steelworkers Press Association (USPA) offers many tools for locals developing ways to communicate effectively – it’s free, so join today – www.uspainfonet.org Also, look for the ‘Getting Media Attention’ tools on the Resource CD (Step 5).

Communications Tips

• Always keep committee members, activists and local members informed through regular meetings, bargaining updates, newsletters, flyers and phone trees. Remember this: If you don’t, your employer will.

• DON’T WHINE! Use facts to state your position as clearly, cleanly and concisely as possible. Always tell the truth. Don’t lie.

• Make good contact lists for the media and your community allies. Follow up with phone calls. Attach updated fact sheets and chronologies.

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Creating Your First Membership Update (Activity 1—Step 5)

In this activity you will create your first bargaining update. Even though you might not be bargaining yet, you still have a reason to begin your bargaining updates. You need to educate members about issues that are sure to cause friction during bargaining. Plus, you will need to explain why you are taking a different approach to bargaining. Here are the steps for creating your first update: 1. Rewrite your theme here (Step 4): 2. Decide what to call your bargaining updates, and list it here. Hint: other locals have used Sound Off, Contract Contact, Casting Call, Shop Talk, Our News – Our Future. 3. What is the subject of your message for your first bargaining update? In other words, what are the topics that you will need to explain? 4. What is the purpose of your message for your first bargaining update? 5. Who is the audience for your first bargaining update? Hint: there may be more than one. 6. How often will you produce these updates? 7. How will you distribute these updates? Will you use your Communication Action Team? 8. Based upon the above answers, create your first bargaining update. Remember, even if

actual bargaining has not yet begun, you will still want to inform and include your members around bargaining preparations. Use the sample updates on the Resource CD (Step 5) as a guide.

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T o strengthen your position and help insure victory you need to involve your community. Employers are often too big to fight alone, so you must ask allies to join your campaign.

What is an ally?

An ally is another person or group that shares an interest with your campaign goals. They can be other unions, community groups, retirees, environmentalists or any group that you can work with to achieve mutual goals.

How can allies help?

1. Provide people to take part in actions such as rallies, town hall meetings and press conferences. Often, their presence will create additional publicity.

2. Help increase political pressure on your employer by supporting resolutions that reinforce your issues or assisting your outreach efforts to area politicians.

3. Supply information and other resources including assistance on environmental and health issues. If you are involved in a work stoppage, community, labor and religious organizations can assist through food banks and fundraising efforts as well as joining picket lines.

4. Demonstrate to your membership that they are not alone in the fight by circulat-ing support petitions, writing a letter to the editor, requesting a meeting with management or placing a support sign in the window of a business, office or home. This will boost morale and help sustain and build your campaign.

Who are potential allies?

There are numerous potential allies from all different areas. Here is a short list, and there is a more extensive list on your Resource CD:

√ The most important is other unions within the same company or organization even if they aren’t USW. They have a direct interest. They can provide solidarity and assistance (see page 47 for examples). In reaching out to other locations, do not forget their operations outside of the U.S. and Canada.

36


√ Other unions and constituency groups in your area are very important – the AFL/CIO in the United States or the CLC in Canada, SOAR (Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees), Central Labor Councils, Jobs with Justice (www.jwj.org), and other local unions.

√ Community groups - civil rights, women's, environmental, civic, neighborhood, farmer, and senior citizen groups are all potential allies. In many cases members of your local are already involved in these groups.

√ Politicians - community, city, county, state, province and federal elected officials can strengthen the campaign.

√ Religious - Religious leaders can dramatize the importance of adequate health care, safe working conditions, and other key issues. Once again, you already have members active in their churches, synagogues, mosques or other places of worship. Also, look for chapters of Interfaith Worker Justice in your area (www.iwj.org).

How do you work with allies?

Start now to develop relations with potential allies in your area. Waiting until you are in trouble is not an effective way to involve allies. Where possible develop long-term relationships with allies. Remember, if you expect them to assist your local, you must be willing to assist them too.

During a contract campaign it is important to maintain ongoing contact with potential allies to keep them informed of your activities. With some allies it is possible to work together to develop strategies to build and strengthen your campaign.

Reaching Out To Allies

There are hundreds of potential allies, but you only have time to reach out to a few. To determine which groups you should contact use these tools on the Resource CD (Step 6): • A large list of potential allies. • A Community Connections membership survey. Your members are already active within organizations, so you need to identify those connections.

• A list of action ideas to involve your allies.

• An Outreach Tracker activity to help you successfully reach out to your important allies.

Remember: The key to building a powerful relationship with an ally is to develop a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. When an ally asks for your help, you need to make sure you are there to help them.

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Potential Ally Relevant

Bargaining Issues

Identifying Allies (Activity 1—Step 6)

Instructions:

1. In a small group discuss potential allies. List all the potential allies you can think of in the first column. You may want to refer to the list of potential allies on the Resource CD. Don’t limit yourself, be creative.

2. Once you’ve listed your possible allies, think about what bargaining issues you will talk about when you approach them. Refer back to your issues and goals (Step 3). In the second column, list at least one issue you could use in your approach to that potential ally. For example, adequate, affordable healthcare for families and retirees is a great issue to use when you approach members of the clergy or retiree groups.

3. Based upon your answers, have your group select the five most important potential allies and circle them in this chart.

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Approaching Allies (Activity 2—Step 6)

1. Using your Communication Action Team, distribute the Community Connections survey (located on your Resource CD – Step 6) to determine if you have a USW member that has an affiliation with one or all of the top five allies you just identified in the previous activity. Because we are likely to be more effective, determine if the member is willing to be responsible for outreach to the ally.

2. Determine which actions the union will request the ally to participate in. For help, see the list of potential action ideas on your Resource CD (Step 6). Are you going to have a rally or ask for a support letter? Are you going to conduct more than one action? If so, make sure you have a timeline when contacting the ally, so they can answer your requests and you can provide them a timeframe in which you will check back with them.

3. Print the Outreach Tracker chart which includes a phone script from the Resource CD (Step 6) and give these tools to the USW member or members who are responsible for reaching out to your ally or allies.

4. Have the USW member use the phone script to make the initial call to your ally. Follow the detailed directions on the phone script and make sure that all responses are recorded in the Outreach Tracker chart. This will ensure that the union will always be able to identify what the next step is for working with a particular ally. If contact information is needed for your ally, use the phone book or internet to locate the necessary information.

The easiest way to approach an ally is through a member of that organization. Members of your local are already active in local politics, churches and other groups.

These members should be asked to assist the union leadership in reaching out to these community groups.

To help you identify which members are active in which groups, you should use the Community Connections survey on your Resource CD (Step 6).

Approaching Allies


39

B ecause the whole idea of a contract campaign is to pressure the boss to get the best contract for the union, you have to decide which pressure points you will target. In your contract campaign there are two types of leverage

targets: direct and indirect.

What is a direct leverage target? A direct leverage target is the person (almost always ONE person) or entity that has the power to grant your demands and settle a contract. This is the head honcho, the person in charge. Usually it’s the CEO -- even if your facility or company is part of a huge company and it looks like the president of the division makes all the decisions. He or she has a boss and they set the budget, they determine corporate policy on pensions, insur-ance, retiree benefits and wages and holds the ultimate authority.

What is an indirect leverage target? An indirect leverage target is a person, group or entity that can influence or persuade your direct target to grant your demands. Local management might not be able to grant your demands, but they certainly have influence. The same goes for the chief negotiator, customers, politicians and many other groups. Not every indirect leverage target is an adversary. You can have friendly relation-ships with an indirect target. But it’s important to remember that just because you start off friendly, doesn’t mean your indirect targets won’t become opponents.

What are your employer’s key relationships? Every company or organization operates in a complicated network or web of relationships. Many of these relationships are targets that can help you get a good contract. Some targets you can have an impact on, some you can’t. Some relation-ships are friendly with the company, some are friendly with the union. In


41

Other Workers

and Unions at your Employer

(include your ultimate employer)

_______________________

_______________________

_____________________

Suppliers/Vendors

________________________

________________________

________________________

Board of Directors,

Shareholders, Officers

________________________

________________________

________________________

___________________

Customers / Consumers

________________________

________________________

________________________

Government Regulators

(i.e. OSHA, EPA, etc)

________________________

________________________

______________________

Politicians/Community Groups

________________________

________________________

________________________

Financial Institutions –

Who lends m

oney to

your employer?

_______________________________

____________________________

___________________________

Top Management at

your facility

________________________

________________________

________________________

Ultim

ate employer (i.e.: Parent

Company)

_____________________________________

Your employer (if different from above)

________________________

Identify Potential Leverage Targets—Spider Diagram (Activity 1 –Step 7)


40

order to have any impact on these relationships, you must first identify them and then figure out which ones you’d rather deal with. Your relationship with your employer is usually limited to local management and a few people from upper management. Your employer operates on a much larger scale than this, however. It has suppliers and customers. It has owners and bankers and lenders and analysts. There are different divisions with union and non-union work-places. By understanding these people and structures, you can figure out which rela-tionships you can impact. While you cannot coerce targets other than your own employer, you can ask targets for assistance, use lawful persuasion, and publicize their relationship to your employer. Designing a spider diagram will help you chart the key relationships.

Instructions:

1. In the center oval fill in your ultimate employer (If you work for a subsidiary, the parent company. If you work for a state agency, the state government or budgeting agency, etc.)

2. Below that, write the name of your immediate employer. 3. In all the other ovals list at least three specific people or organizations for each

category. For example, if your company supplies the auto industry, don’t write “auto companies” write the biggest auto customers. If you don’t know, find out.

4. Make sure you include your Direct Leverage Target on the list. Remember, the direct leverage target is almost always a person, find out his or her name.

5. There are blank versions of this form on the Resource CD.

Identify Potential Leverage Targets—Spider Diagram (Activity 1 –Step 7)

As you are identifying and analyzing your leverage targets, you will likely find that additional research is needed. To assist with your research you will find a short research manual on the Resource CD.

This research manual includes information on internet resources and provides other useful tips.


42

You’ve analyzed key employer relationships, now it’s time to determine the union’s priorities.

Why do you have to assess possible leverage targets? As a local union, you will not be able to impact every relationship your employer has. That’s why it’s important to choose which relation-ships are worth targeting.

How do you assess leverage targets? Just like you analyzed both union and employer strengths and weaknesses (Step 2), you have to analyze each of these relationships before you select your leverage targets. Remember, to select good leverage targets you need to use good information. Keep in mind these questions when considering whether a certain relationship will make a good target:

• How easy is it for the union to impact this target? • Will membership involvement be able to impact this target? • Will this build the union?

Don’t lose sight of your goals! It’s not useful to turn your campaign into a personal vendetta against your boss.

Evaluating Targets

The best leverage target is one that meets both the following criteria:

• Your Local can impact it. • By impacting this target, you

will get a stronger contract or build your union.

Instructions:

1. Refer back to your answers from the Spider Diagram (Activity 1 – Step 7). As a group, determine which six potential leverage targets the union has the strongest ability to impact. Then list these six potential targets in the space provided. Make sure you include your direct leverage target (the one who can grant your demands).

2. After you’ve listed the potential targets in the first column, think about the strengths and weak-

nesses of each. Record your answers in the appropriate spaces. For example, if the company’s headquarters is located close to you, that is a strength for the union and a weakness for the company.

3. Choose the top three – these are your targets.

Selecting Your Leverage Targets—Page 1 (Activity 2—Step 7)


Selecting Your Leverage Targets—Page 2 (Activity 2—Step 7)

Leverage Targets Strengths and Weaknesses

Direct Target:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Indirect Target:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Indirect Target:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Indirect Target:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Indirect Target:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Indirect Target:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

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44

List Your Top Leverage Targets Here

1. 2. 3.

Don’t Forget Who Calls the Shots!!

You may not choose the Direct Leverage Target to focus on, but if you don’t, always ask yourselves how the Direct Leverage Target is likely to react to your actions. Don’t ever forget that the Direct Target will often make the final decisions.

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N ow that you’ve selected your leverage targets, it’s time to determine how they can help you pressure your employer to grant your demands. To do this you’ll need to:

• Identify the appropriate strategies for your contract campaign. • Gauge the level of activity your members are ready to participate in. • Determine tactics that fit your strategies and your membership.

What are strategies and tactics? A strategy is an overall plan to accomplish your goals, and tactics are the specific activities you do along the way to reach your goals. Here are two examples: 1. During a football game, your defensive strategy may be to shut down your opponent’s passing game, and you may implement tactics such as blitzing or double-teaming your opponent’s key receivers.

2. When money is tight, your strategy may be to put off paying your bills for as long as possible. Your tactics could include setting up a payment plan, paying the absolute minimum on your credit cards, or borrowing funds from a 401(k), a relative, or from some other source.

Why must you develop strategies and tactics?

In order to reach your bargaining goals, your local must pressure your employer. We all know bosses don’t grant any of our demands out of the goodness of their hearts. They only agree to our demands if they are forced. That’s why you just selected your leverage targets, and good strategies and tactics are designed to convince leverage targets to put pressure on your employer to grant your demands.

How do you determine the best strategies for your contract campaign?

The circumstances surrounding each campaign are unique, so each campaign strategy

Selecting Strategies

Strategies should always:

• be based on good information • reflect your campaign theme • be unique and surprise the

leverage target

46


and that will impact which strategies your local chooses to implement. There is no set campaign plan, but you can take guidance from strategies that were part of other campaigns. In the next activity you will find possible strategies, and for each strategy, possible tactics are listed. Think about all of the steps that you’ve completed thus far when deciding which strategies you will use in your contract campaign. Pay special attention to the strengths and weaknesses of your leverage targets (Step 7) and the strengths and weaknesses of your employer and your local (Step 2). Think about your Communication Action Team (Step 1), your campaign issues and goals (Step 3) your campaign theme (Step 4), and your possible allies (Step 6). For example, if a major customer can be persuaded to support you, you may want to choose a customer strategy because that customer can pressure your employer (see p. 47 for exam-ples). However, if you don’t have a customer who represents a significant percentage of your sales, then you might not choose a customer strategy at all.

Is This Legal? You have MANY more rights than you think you do. The boss wants you to think when you’re on the clock, they can control the way you look, the way you act and what you say – They’re wrong!

For instance, in most workplaces you can: • Hold rallies in the parking lot • Get petitions signed during work • March in an out of the workplace chanting • Hand out union literature in non-work areas during breaks –

even during paid breaks • Hold informational meetings in break areas or in the parking lot • Wear union buttons or stickers.

The rules change depending on whether you work in the U.S. or Canada, in health care or in the public or private sector, but the chances are good that you can do at least some of these and a whole lot more!

On the Resource CD (Step 8) you will find a list of rights that fit your particular work-place.

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Selecting Your Strategies (Activity 1—Step 8)

Instructions:

After reviewing the following table, place an X in the last column to indicate which strategies you will focus on for your contract campaign. You will want to refer back to the strengths and weaknesses of your leverage targets (Activity 2 – Step 7). Keep in mind that you probably don’t have the time to implement all of these strategies. Hint: successful campaigns will implement the Workplace Activity Strategy, because our members are our biggest strength. The Sample Tactics listed below in bold type have samples on the Resource CD (Step 8)

Strategy Type Description

Sample Tactics

Those listed in Bold have samples on the Resource CD

Workplace Activity

Workers organize their numbers, their knowledge of the job and their access to first hand information.

Wearing stickers, parking lot rally, surveys, support signs on car windows, plant gate activity, same color T-Shirt day or other soli-darity day, CAT bargaining updates

Worker/ Union Solidarity

Workers and unions in different loca-tions (who are not a direct part of your bargaining, but have a relation-ship with your employer) demon-strate their support.

Simultaneous rallies, leafleting, marches, petitions, buttons, support letters, invite other locals from same company to your bar-gaining session or your local meeting or ask them to meet with their local management.

Management

The management of your employer is placed on the defensive and experiences the same emotional discomforts that they put workers through. Including top and middle management and supervisors.

Expose excessive executive compensa-tion, mass grievances, take advantage of ‘open door’ policies, handbill their neighbor-hoods, attend shareholder meeting, plan ac-tion at company headquarters.

Community/ Political Action

Politicians and important elements of the community support the campaign and threaten the employer’s image as a fair employer.

Build coalitions with allies, meet with local politicians, attend and be vocal at city or town council meetings, get resolutions passed, ask these groups to send support letters, intervening in tax incentives, letters to the editor, Truck of Truth

Customer/ Service User

Appealing to the customers or clients of an employer.

Letters to customers, contact unions at customer’s facilities and speak at their union meetings, handbill at trade shows or conferences

Suppliers/ Vendors

Examining ties with important suppli-ers and vendors.

Contact unions at vendor’s facilities and hand-bill, letters to vendors, support stickers

Health & Safety

Investigating and questioning health & safety problems at your workplace. (The Resource CD has additional info.)

Identify problems, union H & S committee walk thrus, union safety stickers/buttons, write-up safety violations and deliver to management, working safely by following all rules for a particular job

Government / Regulatory

Assisting government agencies that enforce laws and regulate employers to ensure your employer’s in compli-ance with all laws and regulations.

Assist regulatory bodies such as Canadian Dept or Ministry of Labor and OSHA, EPA, EEOC, DOL etc in the United States.

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Escalation

Now that you’ve determined which strategies your contract campaign will focus on, it’s time to develop your tactics (the individual elements of a strategy).

What are the different intensity tactics and why do they matter?

When coming up with tactics for your campaign, keep in mind:

• Good tactics will often involve union members • Tactics should escalate from low to high intensity for the leverage target

and from low to high intensity for workers. In other words, you need to plan activities that both involve your members and impact your leverage targets (Step 7 – Activity 2). You must also decide in which order to complete these activities (tactics), because you will need to start at the same intensity-level that your membership is currently at, and build momentum to complete some of the more difficult tactics.

For example, if the majority of your members are divided or intimidated by management, your first activity may be to complete a bargaining issues survey (Step 3 – Activity 3) and then get a petition signed with a very mild message about supporting your bargaining committee. From there you can build to wearing stickers and holding parking lot or break room meetings, and from there you can escalate to marching into the workplace together chanting.

If your membership is already active, you may want to start by getting everyone to wear a union t-shirt on the same day, or getting a petition signed with a strong message about why your issues are important and that you won’t back down.

In order to be successful, your first tactics must reflect what your membership is willing to do. As your contract campaign progresses, you must continue to gauge your membership. In order to impact your targets, you must have a high level of participation. Your employer is going to expect “all of the usual suspects” to participate in these activities, but when members who are less outspoken begin to involve themselves, your employer will notice.

It is absolutely essential that most members participate in activities because it sends a message of unity, and as union leaders it’s your responsibility to make sure you plan activi-ties according to the membership’s willingness to participate.

How do you develop tactics that fit your strategies?

The following exercise will help you determine which tactics are low, medium and high inten-

sity for your contract campaign. You may want to refer to the sample tactics in the previous chart (Activity 1 – Step 8). However, don’t limit yourself.

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Planning Your Tactics Page 1 (Activity 2—Step 8)

Instructions:

1. In the first column, list one of your top three leverage targets (Step 7). 2. In the column labeled tactics, list some tactics you may use to influence your leverage target. For ideas

refer back to the Selecting Your Strategies Activity (Activity 1 – Step 8). You should think of two tactics for each level of intensity (Low, Medium, High). This is a critical step in creating your contract campaign plan, so take your time!

3. In the bottom left hand corner, list the potential allies that you will ask to help influence your leverage target. Think about your tactics and what you could ask your allies to do to help. You may want to refer back to your list of potential allies from Step 6.

4. Use the charts on the next couple of pages to complete this activity for all three of your leverage targets. If needed, there are additional charts on the Resource CD.

Target & Allies Tactics (explain) Intensity Level

Leverage Target: _________________

1.

Low

2. Low

3. Medium

Potential Allies: 1. ______________ 2. ______________ 3. ______________ 4. ______________

4. Medium

5. High

6. High

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Instructions:

1. In the first column, list one of your top three leverage targets (Step 7) – Use a different target than you did on the previous page.

2. In the column labeled tactics, list some tactics you may use to influence your leverage target. For ideas refer back to the Selecting Your Strategies Activity (Activity 1 – Step 8). You should think of two tactics for each level of intensity (Low, Medium, High). This is a critical step in creating your contract campaign plan, so take your time!




Leverage Target:

_________________

1.

Low

2.

Low

3.

Medium

Potential Allies:

1. __________________ 2. __________________ 3. __________________ 4. __________________

4.

Medium

5.

High

6.

High

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Instructions:

1. In the first column, list one of your top three leverage targets (Step 7). Use a different target than you did on pages 1 and 2 of this activity.

2. In the column labeled tactics, list some tactics you may use to influence your leverage target. For ideas refer back to the Selecting Your Strategies Activity (Activity 1 – Step 8). You should think of two tactics for each level of intensity (Low, Medium, High). This is a critical step in creating your contract campaign plan, so take your time!




Leverage Target:

__________________

1.

Low

2.

Low

3.

Medium

Potential Allies:

1. ___________________ 2. ___________________ 3. ___________________ 4. ___________________

4.

Medium

5.

High

6.

High

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Evaluating Tactics

Why should you evaluate tactics?

Tactics are only done to accomplish a goal – whether that is a bargaining goal or building your local union. If it’s not getting you closer to your goal, it’s not worth the effort.

How do you evaluate tactics?

In developing tactics you need to determine the impact the activity will have on your intended leverage target and take into account the union’s ability to carry out and sustain the tactic. In evaluating tactics you should consider:

• Will the tactic have an impact on management’s decision-makers? • Does the tactic teach new skills and help build the union? • Does your local have the time, money and ability to carry out the tactic? • Could the tactic backfire with management, the membership or the public?

Terrific Tactics! There are too many possible tactics to list in this guide, so don’t let our ideas stop you from coming up with new ideas or putting new twists on some tried and true tactics.

• Make sure your tactics are fun! A picnic shows unity, plus with some good food and a live band, it’s a great time. If it’s boring, people won’t come and that can backfire.

• Tactics should build your union. Every time you have an action or event, your union should be stronger – if it doesn’t build the union, it might not be worth doing.

• Let the creative juices flow. The best ideas are the ones you and your mem-bers come up with on your own. Take some time to come up with ideas now, but always be thinking of different things you can do in the future.

• Always think about ways to get media attention while you’re planning and taking action. It helps us get our message to the community. For help, refer to Getting Media Attention on the Resource CD (Step 5).

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S trategies and tactics are only as valuable as your local union’s ability to pull them off. A Contract Campaign needs a flexible plan to implement tactics to achieve its goals. A good way to do this is by developing a campaign calendar.

A campaign calendar is exactly what it sounds like, a calendar that lays out the contract campaign beyond contract expiration – it’s best to have a big calendar that a group can look at together. If you don’t have a union hall or a space where you can keep your calendars taped up, roll them up and bring them with you.

Step 9 requires materials that do NOT come with the manual. As indicated in the introduction, you will need to buy the following items:

• A Large format desk Calendar (with enough months to go beyond contract expiration.)

• Post-it notes in 4 different colors

Designing your campaign calendar just doesn’t work if you don’t have a calendar, so before you do this step, go out and buy this stuff.

Why have a campaign calendar?

In a contract campaign, timing can be everything. Think about it this way: if you’re planning on having everyone wear their union t-shirt on the same day, is it better to have them wear it on the day a major customer is doing a plant tour or the CEO is taking a team of analysts through the plant or the day after?

The union develops a calendar so that you do things when they’ll have the most impact. This is why you set up a timeline that escalates.

Why escalate?

The pressure on your employer increases - You escalate so that every time you have an action, it has a greater impact on the boss. As your actions get more and more intense, your employer begins to understand that you mean business. But you also keep them guessing. When your employer doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, they lose control – that’s when they make mistakes. Every time they make a mistake the balance of power shifts in your direction.

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It builds your union - Escalation is also a key to building your union. If you start off with low intensity actions members who have never done any union activity will be more likely to participate. As your contract campaign progresses the actions become more intense with full participation from your members. If you continually escalate, making sure not to leave people behind, you’ll build a strong and militant union. Not escalating can hurt the union - If you start off with high intensity actions and you only have a few people participate, it’s easy for your employer to single them out. With a few illegal disciplines -- or even an illegal firing -- management can teach the members who didn’t participate a lesson: do what your union asks and you’ll get fired. If you start smaller and build, you can achieve greater partici-pation and have a greater impact on the boss.

Should you plan activities beyond Contract Expiration? It’s important to plan beyond contract expiration because if your local doesn’t have a plan beyond expiration and you don’t want to settle and it’s not strategic (or legal) to strike then you need to keep your workplace strategy going strong. If you don’t have any actions planned, it is easy to lose momentum. Once you stop it will take a while to get your campaign started again so make sure you plan beyond expiration. You have LOTS of options at contract expiration, don’t let your employer or a lack of planning force you into actions that won’t get you the best contract. The union is in control - If the local is going to strike, YOU decide. If the local is going to settle, YOU decide. If the local is going to extend the contract, YOU decide. Don’t let the boss force you into something that’s not best for the union.

Three Steps For Success

• Start early and start with low intensity tactics • Keep your actions escalating • Keep the pressure on

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Mapping Out Individual Tactics

Whatever your tactics, they won’t complete themselves. Even something seemingly as simple as getting everyone to wear stickers on the same day takes planning. When you get into more complicated tactics like a parking lot rally or even having a community picnic, the logistics of pulling that tactic off become more complex.

By breaking up your tactics into the individual tasks that must be completed to make it successful, you can better prepare. It also makes delegating responsibilities easier, and to build your union, you’ll need to involve more people. Below is an example of what would need to happen in order to pull off a successful Sticker Day.

Target:

Plant Management

Tactic: Sticker Day

Intensity:

Low Medium High

Write down ALL the things people will need to do in order to complete the tactic.

• Come up with a catchy slogan.

• Design the sticker.

• Get approval to buy the stickers from the

Executive Board / membership.

• Order the stickers.

• Talk to Communication Action Team about

handing out stickers/get stickers to CAT.

• Hand stickers out.

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Mapping Out Individual Tactics (Activity 1—Step 9)

Instructions:

1. In the top box write which leverage target this tactic is directed at. 2. In the second box, write what the tactic is. 3. In the third box circle whether the tactic is low, medium or high intensity. 4. In the space provided write down everything you need to do in order to complete the tactic. Be

specific.

Target:

Tactic:

Intensity: Low Medium High

Write down ALL the things people will need to do in order to complete the tactic.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Repeat this step for all 18 tactics you are planning. Use the blank activity sheets on the Resource CD. Do it now. If you put it off until later, it won’t happen.

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You’ve figured out what needs to happen in order to pull off each tactic, now you need to prepare your post-it notes so you can design your calendar.

Why should you write everything down on post-it notes?

Nothing in a campaign can be set in stone. Sometimes it’s necessary to delay or speed up tactics. Using post-it notes makes it easy to adjust your calendar by just removing the appropriate post-it note and sticking it on another day. If you write things directly on the calendar you’ll have to scratch it out, and soon you won’t be able to read your calendar.

Preparing Tactics for Your Campaign Calendar (Activity 2 –Step 9)

Instructions:

Using your different color post-it notes, designate a color for each of the following categories:

• set events such as union meetings, E-Board meetings, Contract Expiration, etc.

• low-intensity actions

• medium-intensity actions

• high-intensity actions

Each Tactic will need at least two post-it notes:

1. On the first Post-It note write the leverage target, and the tactic. Below that copy all the things that you need to do to accomplish this tactic. This may seem like an extra step – it’s not! During campaign strategy meetings you should have the calendar up on the wall. By listing every task right on the calendar, it becomes MUCH easier to assign tasks.

2. On the Second Post-It Note just write the leverage target and the tactic.

3. When you place these on your calendar, put the second Post-It on the date you want to carry out the action. Put the first Post-It on the date that you will need to start preparing in order to be ready for the selected date.

Sticker Day

Plant management

Sticker Day

Plant management • Come up with a catchy slo-

gan.

• Design the sticker.

• Get approval to buy the

stickers.

• Order stickers.

• Get stickers to CAT.

All the steps may not fit

on one Post-It note. Use

two stuck together.

Post-It #1 Post-It #2

58


You have all of your tactics written down on post-it notes, now you’re ready to plan your campaign calendar. There are two things that you have to remember when you plan your calendar:

• Start planning early. Rallies and picnics are excellent tactics but if you want poli-ticians at your event, it could take months for them to clear their schedules.

• ESCALATE. You have developed low, medium and high intensity tactics for a reason. Escalation is the key to a successful campaign. As your actions increase in intensity, the boss will start to worry more and more. Once you have the boss worrying, you’ve got the upper hand!

Designing Your Campaign Calendar (Activity 3—Step 9)

Instructions:

1. Tape your large calendars on the wall. 2. Now put the post-it notes up for set events such as Union and E-Board meet-

ings, contract expiration, etc. 3. Tactic by tactic, stick your post-it notes on the calendar. Remember, on the day

you want to pull the tactic off, put the note with just the tactic written on it, on the day you’ll need to start preparing for the tactic put the note with all the tasks written on it.

4. Once you have all your tactics on the calendar make sure they are spread out enough to get them all done.

5. Since your post-it notes are color-coded based on the intensity of the tactic, be sure that the colors on your calendar flow from low, to medium, to high. If you are planning to execute a high intensity tactic at the beginning of your campaign, you may want to rethink your timing.

It’s All About Timing • Tactics like t-shirt, sticker and button days are more effective if they

are repeated throughout the campaign on the same day. You could do T-shirt day every Friday or on pay day.

• Visible workplace actions have a bigger impact on days customers or upper management are visiting your workplace.

• Plan rallies and picnics on days and times that the most members can show up – a picnic on a big holiday may seem like a good idea, but people probably already have plans.

• If you plan on putting out a weekly newsletter, make sure it’s weekly – after a few times members will begin to expect it, if you stop sud-denly, they’ll be disappointed in YOU not the boss.


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B ecause you cannot predict how your employer will respond to your strategies and tactics, you must continuously evaluate your campaign and make the appropriate adjustments.

For example, if you noticed your employer was really caught off-guard by your park-ing lot meetings, you may want to schedule a few more. On the other hand, if most of your members did not participate in the parking lot meeting, you may want to have your CAT explain to people one-on-one why it’s important they attend. Maybe you could even have an urn of coffee in the back of a pick-up truck and serve coffee in the parking lot as folks go to work.

In order to have a successful contract campaign, local union leaders need to meet often to discuss what’s happened and what needs to happen. Your local’s escalating activities should be decided by a group because several people working together helps develop new ideas. One person cannot run a successful contract campaign alone.

You should also make sure that you do not continually react to your employer. You’ve created your campaign. You are on the offensive. Force your employer to react to you!

As contract expiration nears, you need to understand your options. Don’t let your local union feel trapped by your contract expiration date. A contract expiration date doesn’t force you to either accept the company offer or strike.

What options do you have at contract expiration?

• You have the right to agree to the proposed new contract.

• You usually have the legal right to strike (however, most public employees do not).

• You have a right to offer to continue working past the expiration of the contract even without a negotiated extension. If you attempt to continue working after the expiration of the contract, you work under the existing terms and conditions with two exceptions: dues check-off and arbitration are no longer guaranteed.


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• You have a right to attempt to negotiate with your employer for an extension of the current contract. This is a very common procedure. The length of the exten-sion can be for a set period, or can continue until either party gives a notice to end the extension.

• Your employer has a right to lockout all bargaining unit members (although some public employees cannot be locked out). A lockout can be more favorable to the union than a strike.

If you are a public employee or work in the healthcare industry, make sure you contact your lawyer and staff rep. about your options at expiration because the laws governing your actions are complex and change from state to state and province to province. Why consider alternatives to striking?

The purpose of a strike is to exert maximum economic pressure on the boss. The union should decide when the best time is to exert this pressure. Do not let your employer or the contract expiration date determine your fate.

• The continuing threat of a strike often puts greater pressure on your

employer than an actual strike. The uncertainty of delivering the product or service will cause concern among customers and confu-sion among management.

• If the boss has invested heavily in building inventory, increasing security, and recruiting replacement workers, such expenses are entirely useless and wasteful until a strike begins. The company will either continue to pay large amounts to maintain their readi-ness, putting economic pressure on the company, or they will decide to reduce the expenses, which will increase the potential impact of a strike.

• If your employer is able to quickly shift work to another location, or quickly hire replacement workers, you will be stronger by building a campaign while continuing to work.

If you are working, you are making money and the economic pressure is on your employer, not you!

Understanding Impasse

Your employer cannot implement its final offer until a legal impasse is reached. On the Resource CD (Step 2) you will find important information about impasse. Since impasse is a complicated legal issue, you should discuss it with a lawyer and your staff representative.

Conclusion

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C ongratulations! After working through the activities in this manual you and your members should have a comprehensive plan for going on the offensive as you prepare to win a new contract.

Through the creation of a Communication Action Team you’re prepared to communi-cate with and mobilize your entire membership. You’ve analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the union and the boss, identified the issues of greatest concern to your members and developed a theme and message for your campaign. You’ve determined allies you can go to for support and developed a list of leverage targets along with strategies and tactics for exerting pressure on your employer. Finally, you’ve put together a campaign calendar that enables you to keep track of it all.

The lessons contained in this guide are all about building power. The more organized your local is and the more you work together, the more power you will have. A strong and united union will make a real difference in people’s lives, leading to better contracts which guarantee fair wages, safe working conditions and a secure retirement.

Keep in mind the following steps for success when putting your plans into action:

1. Everything starts with the members. The main strength of your local union is the membership.

2. Sharing information is the key to building power and communication should be a two-way street.

3. Learn as much as you can about your employer’s operations and the way management thinks.

4. You’re organizing for fairness. Express campaign goals and issues as a struggle for social justice.

5. People in your community will support a struggle for social justice. Actively reach out to them.

6. Devise a strategy that will directly affect your employer. 7. Tactics start small and then escalate in intensity. 8. Never stop! Keep ratcheting up your campaign.

Build Power – Take the Offensive!

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Resource CD Index

Step 1 – Organize Your Communication Action Team

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Determining How Many CAT Organizers You Need

Activity 2 – Building Your Communication and Action Team

Activity 3 – Mapping Each Department

CAT Recruitment Letter CAT Invitation Letter 1

CAT Invitation Letter 2

Job Description for CAT Team Coordinator

Step 2 – Analyze Strengths and Weaknesses

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Union Strengths and Weaknesses

Activity 2 – Employee Strengths and Weaknesses

Building Your Legal Defense NLRB Unfair Labor Practice Form for Filing a Complaint

Guide to Information Requests PACE Industry Pension Fund (PIUMPF)

PIUMPF Study

PIUMPF Quote Request

Steelworkers Pension Trust

Good Situations for Proposing the Steelworkers Pension Fund

Steelworker Pension Trust Benefit Accrual Rates

Steelworker Pension Trust Administration and Office Information

Steelworker Pension Trust Request for Participation

401K Merger Information

USW Industry 401k Plan Merger or Transfer Request

Contract Costing

Information Request, Labor Costs, and Estimating Cost Items

Information Requests

How to use Information Request Form and Sample Form

Steelworkers Health and Welfare Fund

Request for Fund Quote

Understanding Your Employer

Basic Profile of Employer Questionnaire

Private Equity and Your Contract

Researching Your Employer

63

Resource CD Index

Step 3 – Identify Issues and Determine Union Goals

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Analyze the Union’s Issues

Activity 2 – Analyze Your Employer Issues

Activity 3 – Designing Your Membership Survey

Activity 4 – Determining the Union’s Goals

Customizable Bargaining Survey Contract Negotiations Confidential Membership Survey

Strengthening your Contract Negotiating an Organizing Neutrality and Card Check Clause

Successorship Language

Step 4 – Create Your Campaign Theme

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Creating Your Campaign Theme

Step 5 – Develop Campaign Message

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Creating Your First Membership Update

Electronic USW Letterhead

Getting Media Attention Media Fundamentals

Press Advisory (Sample 1)

Press Advisory (Sample 2)

Press Release (Sample 1)

Press Release (Sample 2)

Sample Bargaining – Complicated Issues What Does Contracting Out Mean to You – “Your Job”

What Does Contracting Out Mean to You – “Benefits”

Waiver Today – Pay Tomorrow

Successorship

Sample Bargaining Updates and Newsletters

Sample Headers for Updates and Newsletters

USW Logo

Step 6 – Determine Your Allies

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Identifying and Approaching Allies

Activity 2 – Identifying and Approaching Allies

Customizable Community Connections Survey

How Allies Can Help

Tracking Outreach to Allies

Phone Scripts for reaching out to Allies

Determining Your Allies Organizations of the AFL-CIO

A Union of Unions

Potential Allies List

64

Resource CD Index

Step 7 – Identify Leverage

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Identify Potential Leverage Targets (Spider Diagram)

Activity 2 – Selecting Your Leverage Targets

Spider Diagram Explanations

Step 8 – Employee UNIQUE Strategies and Tactics

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Selecting Your Strategies

Activity 2 – Planning Your Tactics

Know Your Workplace Rights Know Your Rights (Spanish)

Know Your Rights (Canada)

Know Your Workplace Rights (USA)

Sample Materials for Tactics

Executive Compensation

Flyers (2)

Sample Customer Letters (3)

Sample Letter to the Editor (2)

Petitions

Member Petition

Community Petition

Activity Checklist

Resolutions

Samples (2)

Template

Visual Tactics

Stickers

Windshield Sign

Support Letters

Political (2)

Religious

Spouses

Health and Safety Strategy

Behavior Based Safety Information Request Questions

Bargaining Over Injury, Discipline Policies, Submitting Information Requests

Effective Health and Safety Committees

Employer Recordkeeping Requirements Under OSHA

Worker and Workplace Health and Safety Survey

Legal Rights to Health and Safety Information

Mapping Activities: Techniques for Workers to Identify Injuries, Hazards and

Problems

Safety Incentive and Injury Discipline Policies

Treat It as Continuous Bargaining

Work Reorganization

Step 9 – Design Your Campaign Calendar

Activity Sheets Activity 1 – Mapping Out Individual Tactics

Activity 2 – Preparing Tactics for Your Campaign Calendar

Activity 3 – Designing Your Campaign Calendar

2011 Calendar

Notes

65

Notes

66

2011 Building Power Manual - United...

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