Congratulations to all of our new SPURs
by Tina Morgan
In December of 2007, we put together a plan called Members In Action (MIA) that would enable our members to get more involved in assisting our local in various ways. At the winter area meetings we asked members to let us know how involved they would like to be in future organizing campaigns. Involvement ranged from non-union store visits to working rallies or picket lines to participating in a full organizing training session. Local 1059 now has these members in a database so we can let them know when an activity comes up that might interest them.
Many members expressed interest in an organizing training session on the MIA sign-up. Those members were invited to a Special Projects Union Representative (SPUR) training class on February 26, 2008. The UFCW International sent Tish Ramirez to conduct the class. Tish trains all of the new International and Regional organizers across the country.
The class provided a basic introduction to organizing, which included role playing and practice home calling. Home calling is our most effective tool for reaching out to non-union workers. Twenty-two members participated in the class and came through it with a better understanding of the work that goes into organizing, especially home calling. The attendees each received an award that certifies they have the basic knowledge to assist this local in growing our union.
On May 20, 2008, an Advanced SPUR Training class was conducted; thirteen members from the twenty-two who attended the Basic class were able to participate. This second class covered the process of an entire organizing campaign, including labor law, labor lingo, National Labor Relations Board requirements, and worker list building. Members learned how to distinguish workers included and excluded from a specific bargaining unit, how to build a committee, how to clarify worker issues, acquiring company financial documents, and how to inoculate workers against management's anti-union campaign.
Later in the day, members were divided into teams for a simulation of home calling. They were instructed to home call Local 1059 staff posing as non-union workers located all over the city, then evaluate those workers. Members were instructed to gain valuable information about social networks, workplace issues, work schedules, and management information from the "non-union" workers. Although these were not real home calls, they gave members a dose of reality about the difficulties of helping non-union workers gain union representation.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR NEW SPURS!
EACH OF YOU ARE AN ESSENTIAL PIECE OF THE
LOCAL 1059 GROWTH PLAN
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