Engaging Member Activists

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As we try to reach out and increase member involvement, we should think about what new roles and responsibilities can be developed outside of the traditional roles we are used to. How can we learn more about members’ interests and make the best use of their experience? How are members developed as leaders? Do we have a plan for engaging members in between contracts, elections and other active periods? By finding ways for individuals members to take on important responsibilities, we enrich our union’s operations with the new ideas and collective experience that our diverse membership has to offer and make it possible to take on even bigger and bolder challenges.

Bargaining Committee member, Jose talking to customer service member Susanne at the Dale City, VA Shoppers store who said, “We need to fight for us and the future people. We’ve earned our benefits!”

Identifying & Recruiting Members

While most of the examples and resources in the Toolkit assume that member leaders and activists have already been identified and recruited, it’s always important to stay mindful of how we are making those connections.

• Are we more likely to recruit people similar to ourselves? Who do we feel least comfortable talking to? Are they receiving equal care and attention?
• Do we invite people in a way that acknowledges their knowledge and interests?
• Are events and activities scheduled at times that make it harder for certain demographics to participate? What about members without access to childcare or cars? Or members working different schedules and shifts?
• Do we meet people at their skill level, opening up opportunities for them to grow and learn?
• Do we keep diversity and equity at the forefront of our efforts?
• How can we create as many entry ways to involvement as possible?

 New Members

It is critical that workers have meaningful interactions with other members and staff in our union during their first days and months of employment. If workers primarily hear about the union from management, they are much less likely to want to join and/or become active.

Stewards

Local union member activism goes hand-in-hand with a strong steward structure.

• Organizers
• Communicators and Educators
• Problem Solvers
• Leaders

Training, Support and Tracking

Engaging members is just the first step. A deliberate approach to training, supporting and tracking their involvement is key to building and maintaining vibrant unions over time.

• Do we offer ongoing training, recognition and support for members who become involved? How can this improve the likelihood that they’ll take on leadership roles?
• When members work on organizing, political or other campaigns, do we help them think about how to transfer skills from this experience back at their worksite and in their community?
• Do we have a system for tracking the different ways that members engage over time?
• Do we include members in our campaign and event de-briefs?

While there are specific learning goals for member trainings, the main objective is for members to leave feeling more empowered in their roles in our union. It’s critical for facilitators to keep this in mind at all times.

Mentoring

Members are often well equipped to train and mentor their co-workers. Developing programs that include members as facilitators strengthens the trainings and provides a unique opportunity for member development.

• “Mentoring” within a union context may mean staff mentoring members, members.
• It can also be useful for staff that come out of the membership to share their experiences.
• Members who attend trainings already have knowledge about about our union. They may not have previously participated in a training, but they’ve probably interacted with other union members at their current or previous job.
• In addition to this knowledge, the participants bring significant life experience that’s  relevant to their work with our union.
• Education that empowers workers acknowledges and builds upon these experiences.
• In order for workers to feel like they can share their experience, they need to be welcomed and invited to participate. This requires the facilitator(s) to not only create interactive trainings, but to also address possible imbalances (in terms of who’s speaking, language needs, etc) within the group.
• Union education is all about taking action. We are helping people to become better equipped to make real change at their workplace and in the community.
• Taking action requires planning, and whenever possible, each training should include some next steps/follow-up plans for what the stewards can do in the upcoming weeks and months.

Getting members’ feedback on trainings is critical not only for improving future programs, but also for identifying what additional support members may need.

Community Mapping

Whether during organizing or contract campaigns, many locals wish they knew more about members’ community involvement. All too often, a staff person will reach out to a clergy member or community leader only to learn later that a member of our union already has a relationship with the person.

There are a variety of ways to complete a community mapping project; one approach is to gather a group of staff and members together one weekend (or another concentrated block of time), hold a short training on how to conduct the interviews and to then try to get as much of the membership mapped as possible. This is similar to a GOTV effort, with teams fanning out to different geographical areas where members live. Another way to go about community charting is to ask staff, executive board members and/ or stewards to commit to interview a certain number of members per week or month.

The survey could also be designed as an online tool, if members have regular computer and internet access.

Since some of the questions on the survey may seem a bit personal, it’s important to explain the goals/ use of the survey and to assure members that the information gathered will not be shared outside of our union without their permission– and that they will be the first point of contact for anyone listed as part of their responses (for example, if a member shares that they attend a particular church, if our union wants to try to contact the pastor at that church, we will first reach out to the member and ask them to approach their pastor).

Keeping track of the information gathered through community charting projects can be challenging. It is therefore critical that locals have a complementary data entry and tracking system in place before embarking upon a community charting project.