The Power Resources Tool Kit links campaigning and organising work.
A campaign is defined as a comprehensive effort to exert pressure on the various strategic relationships of an employer or decision-maker in order to make improvements for working-class people.
Organising is defined as the work of increasing the participation of workers in our unions and communities, with a goal of increasing union power. Organising can include recruiting new workers to join the union or increasing the participation of current union members. The growing number of precarious workers without union representation means that organising and union growth must be a top priority globally and locally.
Campaigning and organising involve both pressuring an employer to improve conditions for workers and building up the collective strength of workers at the base. Although, some union movements in some countries make a distinction between organising workers who are already in the union and organising workers who are not represented by a union, in fact the steps and tools are not only similar, but benefit from being combined.
Combining campaigning and organising will help us avoid one of the most common mistakes – not building sufficient worker participation. The result is often increased pressure and retaliation against the uninvolved workers. Combining campaigning and organising also helps us avoid encouraging workers to join the union without a clear strategy on how to confront the employer and improve working conditions.
You will need to decide where you will be campaigning and organising. For example, if you are campaigning or organising for the rights of taxi drivers: are you organising all taxi drivers in your country, all taxi drivers in a key city, or the taxi drivers that are using the petrol pumps in one key part of the city? If you are organising street vendors: are you organising all street vendors, or street vendors from a particular part of the city? If you are organising a national strike: will you be focusing on all workers nationally, or workers in a few key workplaces who can create the greatest economic impact during a strike?
Review the work that you have already completed in the section Core Materials. Fill in anything missing before you continue. At a minimum you should have already considered the following:
Worker and Union Problems and Goals
Discuss how you think each of the following fits your situation. We recommend that you follow the order below, as the materials build on each other.
Workplace Maps and Assessments identify where workers are located and how to gain access to them, and a method for tracking each worker’s level of involvement.
Vertical Mapping and Research helps us collectively analyse an employer or decision-maker and prioritise key targets, employer relationships and value chains in order to create significant and strategic pressure to improve working conditions. This section will help us research and gather information about prioritised targets.
Targets and Allies identifies indirect targets and the allies who can help us influence and persuade the direct target.
A Strategy is the overall plan for how to win an organising campaign. The vulnerabilities of the direct and indirect targets will drive the campaign strategy.
The Campaign Message describes the campaign briefly, in such a way that both the public and the workers involved understand and relate to it.
Tactics are specific, usually collective, actions that take place on a particular date and location. The materials will help us plan escalating tactics that fit our strategy.
Legal Frameworks helps us to review and understand the legal frameworks for organising and campaigning and not be trapped by them.
Predicting Employers helps us think ahead and prepare for what the employer might do and say. In most of the world, workers will face strong anti-union campaigns from the employer. In some parts of the world, the pressure may be more subtle, but is still effective.
What workers are interested in organising?
What do you know about their location, numbers, current conditions and level of interest in the union?
What do you know about the key employer or decision-maker?
Is the union prepared to welcome an increase in involved members and new leaders?
What workers, union members, activists, leaders and community members might be willing to help with organising and campaigning? How will you recruit them and get them involved? How can you sustain their involvement?
Once you have reviewed the materials, you may want to create a workshop or discussion group agenda to plan your campaigning and organising work. The workshop can be online or in person.
Remember to include materials from Core Materials, especially the sections on Problems to Goals, Benchmarks, Worker Action Networks/Arbolitos, Committees, Calendars, and Evaluations.
If you need to gather additional information about the workers and their concerns, you may want to use the methods outlined in the section on Participatory Action Research prior to beginning your workshop.
Sample Agenda for an Organising Campaign Workshop
Here is an example of agenda topics for a series of weekly meetings in preparation for an organising campaign.
Report on results of Participatory Action Research (Core Materials)
Problems to Goals (Core Materials)
Committees (Core Materials)
Legal Frameworks
Tactics
Will it be helpful to hold a workshop or a series of discussion groups to plan your campaigning and organising work?
If so, how many workshops or discussion group meetings will you organise and who will attend? Will they be online or in person?
How will you recruit participants? Will you run into any problems recruiting participants, and if so, how can you overcome them? How can you ensure that the workshop participants are representative of all parts of the union?
What preparatory work needs to be done before the workshop or discussion groups? Is there research on the industry, employer, legal frameworks and/or workers issues that should be completed before you begin your collective planning?
How will the workshops and the strategic planning process be evaluated?
These materials in this section of the Tool Kit are drawn from the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) “Organising Manual” and the ITF book “Developing Strategic Campaigns”, which both contain additional stories and case studies.
https://www.itfglobal.org/en/training-education/organising-manual-0