Supercharging Worksite Leadership! Can we build a culture of organizing without energized activists among members who function as leaders?

Strong Worksite Leadership is Absolutely Foundational to Our Survival and Success

• Do we truly believe this?• Are we acting as never ever before

to make it a top priority?• What does this really mean?• How much leadership capital and

organizational resources are we willing to invest?

• Where do we need to do?• How do we get started?

Let’s face facts . . . 1. Polling, focus groups, and our experience in the field show

over and over again that strong worksite leadership . . . = higher membership density/fewer fee payers = greater union commitment and activism= more effective new member outreach= more robust leadership development

2. There is nothing that effectively replaces the strong need for personal connection to the union and one-on-one communication via worksite leaders.

3. Members are the union. And they are at work—not at a union office or hotel conference rooms. So that’s where we need to focus.

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Consider the role worksite leaders should play in “The Lifecycle of a Unionist”

ENGAGEMENTPerson is given reason to become interested in/pay attention to the union.

IACTIVATION / RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Person begins voluntary action in support of the unionPerson joins and remains a member.

IINDUCTION

Person is oriented to union/comes to know its history, structure, values, etc.I

CONTINUAL ACTIVATIONPerson continues voluntary action in support of the union.

ISECONDARY LEADERSHIP

Person assumes a formal leadership role.(Building site team, committee and task force work, etc.)

IPRIMARY LEADERSHIP

Person advances to highest levels of union leadership.(Site rep, area or program coordinator, union officer, etc.)

Let’s put our cards on the table . . .

• If worksite leadership is so important, is this reflected in the priority, time, resources and creativity we and our local unions place upon managing the worksite leadership structure as a system?

• Are we even adequately thinking of it as a “system” (a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole / a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.)

• What grade would you give us?

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Can we resolve that . . .

• Building an effective structure of worksite leadership is about more than providing a minimal amount of training or information about the job.

• It requires us to approach the structure as a system that requires thinking about it in a variety of ways and on a variety of levels.

• Think about the following sets of factors . . .

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Worksite leaders must have:

SKILLThey have to know what is expected and how to do it.

SELF-EFFICACYThey have to believe that they can do it because it modeled/practiced.

OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORMDoing it must actually be expected and conditions must encourage it.

SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTThere must be feedback and appropriate recognition for doing it.

SKILL and SELF EFFICACY are training functions (What we can do in a meeting)

OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM and SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT are leadership/staff functions.

(What must be happening all around all the time)

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It all starts with clarity about expectations . . .What exactly is their job?• Leaders/Organizers vs. Contact People/911 Callers: Do we

adequately explain and emphasize the difference?• Is there an up-to-date, clearly written and disseminated job

description?• Is it as specific as it needs to be when it comes to organizing?• Is it stated in terms of specific performances or “things to be

done” vs. general roles or “states of being?”• Do worksite leaders own the job, i.e., are they actively

involved in establishing its expectations?

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Let’s watch some TV! (And then pause for a table activity.)

ACTIVITY #1:What should be our general expectations of worksite leaders?

Working with the document “What FEA Worksite Leaders Do,” complete the following:

•Agree on what item numbers you will CIRCLE because they are things that worksite leaders already do generally in the context appropriate for your situation.•Agree on what item numbers you will UNDERLINE because they are not things done generally BUT are necessary and realistic to be expected in context appropriate for your situation.•Agree on what item numbers you will X OUT because they are not necessary or realistic expectations in context appropriate for your situation.

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TitleWhat do we call worksite leaders?• Maybe what we call them now (stewards, building reps.,

association reps) is perfectly okay.• But what if we created a new title that more accurately

captured what we need them to be now (e.g., worksite leaders, organizers, involvement coordinators).

• Would that be one way to better communicate expectations about the job?

• What conversation might a name change stimulate within our local unions?

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Method of SelectionHow do we choose worksite leaders?• Is begging people really working for us?.• Maybe a better strategy is to set the bar higher?• Leaders vs. Doers / Influence vs. Volume: What do we really

want/need?• Should there be basic requirements to be met to hold the title

of worksite leader (e.g., petition of support, development of basic plan for union building at the worksite, commitment to complete minimum training, completion of defined tasks)?

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Member ExpectationsWhat do we do to involve members?• What do members think is the job of their worksite leaders?

How would they know?• Would more member education about the role/importance of

worksite leadership help us improve recruitment and selection of effective worksite leaders?

• How might we clarify and build support for “basic duties and obligations of membership,” especially when it comes to helping support an effective union “chapter” at the worksite?

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TrainingHow do we teach the job?• Is there adequate training?• Is it rooted in the actual expectations of the job?• Does it build self-efficacy by providing modeling, practice and

feedback?• Is it accessible enough to the greatest number of people?• Is there a continuum of training from basic to advanced?• Are we tracking who is trained and who is not?

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ConstituencyWho are their “peeps?”• Is the “turf” of each worksite leader clearly established and

communicated?• Is it manageable in both size and scope?• Do worksite leaders understand some basic responsibilities for

helping the union collect and keep accurate data on members/potential members (list building and checking, mapping and charting, assessments, “Count Me In” volunteer recruitment, etc.)?

• What are the expectations/support for each worksite leader to build a functional leadership team at the worksite?

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Feedback and Accountability/Incentives and RewardsWhy would anyone want to do it?• Does anyone pay any attention to whether or not or how well

worksite leaders perform? If not, why should they care?• What measures of accountability can we use in a system of

volunteers (e.g., regular reporting, member surveys, peer pressure)?

• How do we honor and build value for the position of worksite leader non economically?

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Other Vital SupportsWhat else can we do?• Incorporation into local union budget and structure: Do

we have a commitment of resources (hard money) that matches this priority? Whose job is it to think every day about building the worksite leadership structure as a system? Can we involve worksite leaders themselves?

• Role in union governance: Can it be used to elevate the status of worksite leadership in the union, to broaden their role and ensure better Two-way communication?

• Contract/Employer policies that support worksite leaders: What can we get from the employer to help us, such as release or “union” time, super seniority or other “perks?”

• De-selection: What do we do about non-performers or (worse) toxic people in these positions? Isn’t prevention the best cure?

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ACTIVITY #2:So, where do we go from here?

If you were to pursue a strategy to help local unions “step up their game” when it comes to worksite leadership structures:

•What might it look like?•What would we be doing?•How would we do it?

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