Benchmarks are specific goals that measure levels of workers involvement that we need to meet. You will set your own benchmarks collectively. Referring back to the work you did during the section “Problems to Goals” will help you.
For example, if you are working to increase the level of involvement of women in the union, you might set a benchmark of a specific number of women that you will have one-on-one conversations with before you begin your work.
Benchmarks should be high enough to build strong union power for the future, not simply at the minimum for the legal requirement for union recognition or for the minimum workers needed at a public event.
Benchmarks can help unions reduce the risks associated with employer anti-union campaigns and employer repression. For example, with benchmarks in place workers know that they will not risking attending a public event or seeking union recognition before we have built adequate support. Benchmarks can help the union decide collectively whether there is sufficient worker involvement to move forward from an underground organising campaign to a public confrontation with the employer.
Benchmarks are often used in organising campaigns to determine the number of workers willing to participate, before publicly confronting the boss. Benchmarks can also be used to determine what percentage of workers we need to directly communicate with to counter an employer misinformation.
Planning with benchmarks can help you stay on track. If there are external deadlines or constraints – for example, the expiration date of the collective agreement or a threat of privatisation, it is important to begin to our organising work early. Too often we wait or delay our work and then blame other workers if they are not involved when we need them.
If you are working with unorganised or vulnerable workers, there are some key benchmarks that you may want to set prior to any public showing of support for the union. These might include the following:
__ % of names and contact details of workers
__ % of workers in contact with the union and reachable within 48 hours
__ % of workers who have a basic knowledge of the union
__ % of workers who say they are willing to publicly show support for the union
If workers will be facing intense pressure or violence from the employer, confronting the employer with less than a clear majority of the workers can expose workers and the union to unnecessary risks. When there is a lot of pressure on workers, our benchmarks might need to be at 75% and not 50%. The 75% benchmark will help us maintain majority support even as employer pressure increases and some workers step back.
When there is fear or significant pressure on the workers, benchmarks can help you keep the organising “underground”, where workers are able to work quietly and with as little public exposure as possible, until a set benchmark is reached. While working underground, the union should not make public announcements or media releases. The union might avoid holding larger public meetings in favour of small meetings of two to five workers who trust each other. Written union materials could be avoided, as they can be easily passed on to the employer. Once the benchmark is reached, the organising becomes public.
If the employer does find out about the organising, the union can continue with the quiet “underground” strategy – mapping, talking to workers, training more organisers, social activities – without further engaging the employer, until the benchmark is met. If the employer retaliates with firings or violence, the union will need to publicly campaign against the violence and firings, but can still continue with the “underground” organising in areas of the workforce where that is possible.
If you are preparing for a mobilisation or strike, benchmarks can be very useful.
First set the number you need to attend, whether it might be 40 or 4,000. If for example you need 4,000 workers, we may want 3,000 of them (75%) to commit to attend in order to create the necessary momentum. Or perhaps you might only need 50% commitments.
Focus your benchmarks on the areas of the union or workplace where you most need more workers to participate. Look for groups of workers that might be under-represented in the union, such as women, youth, migrants, racialised workers, lower castes or religious minorities, and see if additional specific benchmarks are needed to increase their participation.
As we grow close to meeting our benchmarks, the union can sometimes get a false sense of security. Workers from strong work areas or shifts may not realise what other workers are facing. The union may lose sight of frightened or uninformed workers because they are not in regular contact with them. The employer may be holding back its anti-union campaign because it is underestimating the union’s strength. Union activists often imagine that momentum will build naturally, but the opposite is often true. Usually the majority of workers slow down their involvement once the employer increases the pressure on them. Staying with your benchmarks can be critical.
If you are not able to meet your benchmarks in the time that you have planned there are a number of possibilities. You might decide to stick to the benchmarks, but give more time and work at a slower pace or with a decreased amount of resources. You might decide to increase the resources, investing in the growth of the union. You could wait for new developments to occur. The employer may change their behaviour and workers may become more active, or there could be political or economic changes in the industry or country. If you do decide to adjust the benchmarks, make sure that there are clear reasons that are collectively discussed and debated. In this way, the workers and the union will collectively own and work toward the revised benchmarks.
Refer back to your goals and discuss whether any of them might benefit from benchmarks.
Will you be working with uninvolved, unorganised or vulnerable workers? Discuss how benchmarks could help you.
Will workers face subtle or intense pressure and violence to avoid the union?
Are there significant upcoming events that might benefit from benchmarks?
Do you want to set specific benchmarks for areas where workers are less involved or under represented in the union?
What will be the process to ensure that the benchmarks are set collectively and revised collectively?