Keith Pace, Field Director

 

As an Organizer, I’m often asked by CSEA members, “How can we make our local chapter stronger?” In a word, the answer is communication.

Full and open communication is always an advantage to the union, and always a disadvantage to the employer. A union’s power depends on the ability to mobilize its members to act. Members are more likely to act when they understand the issues and how winning the issues will benefit members.

A local CSEA chapter needs four active ingredients in a winning recipe:

  1. Good leaders – Leaders listen to members. Leaders inform, debate, and persuade. Leaders develop winning strategies.
  2. Effective Stewards – Stewards enforce the terms and conditions of the contract through the grievance procedure. They educate and assist members in understanding their rights and how to respond to problems in the work place.
  3. Site Representatives – Site Reps are the local chapter organizers. Site Reps are the link between union leaders and workers in the work place. By providing information to workers on site, and by forwarding questions and concerns from members to union leaders, Site Reps are the lubricant that makes the member engine run.

    Informed, active members – Working people are competent and qualified to run their own affairs. Members are qualified to make choices, establish their own goals, and the means to achieve them. Members who fully understand the issues, who are full participants in developing strategies to win, will mobilize and act in their own best interests.

    Show me a chapter that has strong leaders with a vision; well-trained, effective stewards; and motivated, committed Site Reps; and I’ll show you a chapter with an active, involved rank-&-file membership.

This kind of potent, direct-action local chapter will not be created overnight. Organizing can be frustrating and slow. But it can also be incredibly rewarding. Close your eyes…imagine, for example, a school board with a majority of members recruited by, and elected by the effort of organized classified employees.

Now that’s just a taste. With hard work and dedication we can make it happen.




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