49 replies to this topic

[IBBadDude]

Organizing should be the center point of every labor organization right now. While some spin their wheels fighting amongst themselves, tremendous energy is wasted and lost in mobilizing workers. We are at a tipping point right now and organizing solves most of our problems.

Imagine if every Teamster member walked over to a Fed Ex driver and shook their hand congratulating and welcoming them. Then saying something positive about their organization and the collective bargaining process.

Imagine if every Teamster could explain to a non union worker how they don't have to work in fear.

Imagine if non union workers knew that a vast majority of our members are eligible to retire, in their 50s, on thousands of dollars per month, with medical.

Imagine if we refocused all our destructive energy, stopped the bashing on the Internet and collectively campaigned helping workers to organize.......

How many members would we be able to organize?

[LagunaBrown.com]

If we can cure the apathy dilemma then we can truly organize. Somewhere along the line members started to believe that their dues money was like paying for a service. As if the 5,000 members just pay the teamsters and the 20 guys at the local handle all their business till retirement. What people miss is that you pay for benefits and to be a "member" of an active group. If we can get the mentality back that we are a member, not a customer and therefore obligated to help strengthen our Union we could actually organize and move mountains.

[IBBadDude]

I agree and that is exactly what point we are making in the Trainings.

Every member has benefited from collective bargaining. Some more than others.

As we sit here under attack from all directions there is one point most miss. The fact that union density has been hovering around 7% for almost 17 years and we still have great contracts with some of our members making more than twice their non-union counterpart. This shows the power of collective bargaining and even though we have been getting beat up we still produce.

The process is amazingly powerful for workers and we all need to make more pride in it. Help expand, help educate, help mobilize and grow.

Our next Training is October 15th. We look forward to the challenges ahead.

[IBBadDude]

And I believe we cure the apathy dilemma by organizing.

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

thanks for starting this thread. I did come on here to understand how to protect my job, pension and secure my kids futures. I know there is an election to see who is the best man to lead us to victory and stop this War on Workers.

I want to know how to organize the unorganized. I want us to stay united as Teamsters after us rank-and-filer have chose our candidates.

Most of all I want us stronger than ever come the next convention!!

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

If any of you guys have a book/movie/etc to recommend in order to get up to snuff. Let me know.

I'm very interested in how the internet can be used to help us organize into the 21st c.

Thanks, brothers and sisters.

BTW: My apologies to Ms. Pope. May the best man or woman win!

[Shaman]

Teamsters for a Democratic Union has been offering educational material for decades. The material being offered pertains to basic labor law. It is my experience that few members took advantage of this material. Whether we agree or disagree with T. D. U., education is the key. A local that offers their membership an education in the history of Labor and Unionism is on the right track. The problem I faced in Joint Council 7 and the locals that were run by the Mack brothers were related to control issues. It is more difficult to control an educated rank and file. U. P. S. also had issues with activist employees, especially those that wrote letters.

[JoeFranco63]

Unionbustersandtrollsout

It`s great that you want to get involved in Organizing. As a union member we sometimes forget what our brothers and sisters before us went through in order for us to have a contract. Now it is our duty to empower non union workers and give them the tools they need to get a contract. It is a very difficult, but rewarding process.

Regardless of who you are going to vote for in the IBT election, we cannot deny that James R Hoffa was one of the greatest organizers in the history of the labor movement. With that, I recommend watching the movie Hoffa by Danny DeVito. I would also recommend reading the book Hoffas Man written by Joseph Franco. Both the movie and book show an insight to Organizing. Do remember that the book and movie take place in the 30s - 60s, it was a different time. But they show the basics of Organizing.

I have organized with UCLA graduates and other folks who have read many books on Organizing, they thought they were experts. I could read a book on how to throw a baseball, but until I get a baseball and practice throwing it, all the reading doesn`t do me any good. Get invovled with your Local Organizer and volunteer some time with them, they`ll be happy to teach you the Organizing process.

[Dedicated251]

Great books on Labor History:

The Labor Wars: From the Molly Maguires to the Sit-Downs by Sidney Lens
American Labor Struggles 1877-1934 by Samuel Yellen
History of the Labor Movement in the United States (multi-volume set) by Philip Foner
The Enemy Within by Robert F Kennedy
Rebels, Reformers & Racketeers: How Insurgents Transformed the Labor Movement by Herman Benson
Mobsters, Unions and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement by James B Jacobs
The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor: Birth of a New Workers' Movement or Death Throes of the Old? by Steve Early

Teamster History:
The Hoffa Wars: Teamsters, Rebels, Politicians and the Mob by Dan Moldea
The Teamsters by Steve Brill
Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs
Teamster Power by Farrell Dobbs

Labor Resource Books:
The Rights of Emploees and Union Members by Wayne Outten, Robert Rabin, Lisa Lipman
The Rights of Union Stewards by Robert Schwartz
FMLA Handbook by Robert Schwartz
The Labor Law Source Book: Texts of Federal Labor Laws edited by Robert Schwartz

[IBBadDude]

Thank you Dedicated251, those are good resources.

Shaman,

Sorry but TDU has educated far more non union workers on why not to be part of the Teamsters than they have helped Teamsters themselves. I have seen it first hand. I am glad you have had a good experience with them however, working in the trenches and organizing for the last 17 years I have seen them do more damage than a lot of union busters. I can't count how many workers I have struggled with while working various campaigns. False information and/or lack of correct information has fallen into the hands of organizing workers via TDU and I have witnessed with my own eyes how deadly it is.

Besides, some of us do what they preach and they are nowhere to be found while we educate and mobilize. I would love to see them work towards a positive goal for all workers, not just the ones they agree with politically. I have always welcomed them and always will.

It's about getting out there and actually helping not throwing stones.

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

I don't know much about TDU. I heard about them many years ago and remember thinking that it wouldn't be good to split the union in two. I haven't seen much of a presence besides. I looked at their web page. I understand what Shaman says, the literature does put up a good front. I am wondering if they've been infilitrated. A reformist on here the other day was an obvious tea partier. We've got tea party members at work, hopefully these teamsters wake up to the true intentions of the tea party. I read that Bachmann thinks she can eliminate the NLRB. What a joke. I've been looking terms such as old guard and new teamsters. Its hard what to make of it. Im glad one man, one vote came out of the fiasco since it eliminates this idea of labor bosses. We vote for our stewards and BAs at my workplace. I understand that teamsters have to fight to democratize, but these rifts leave room for unionbusters. We need to be strategic, esp. now.

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

Thanks Joe. I thought you were bullshitting me when you suggested Hoffa's man by Joe Franco. It made me laugh. I looked it up and saw its a real book. How ironic. I agree with what you say about book knowledge coming across as expert knowledge. I can see how this would be a problem. When going to Madison with my local I noticed some members ripping on college students. Hey, college students put up a hell of a fight for public workers. The Wisconsin system is now trying to sever the university of Madison from community colleges in Wisconsin. Creating another rift.

Dedicated251, thank you for your ideas. I will check out the Labor Resource Books.

[racinovals]

This is AWSOME I can come on T-net and learn something! YAY Gladd this is here I have been to a few of the trainings, they are very educational and addicting. I am from Vegas Local 631, with our present administration I am not sure he even knows what organizing means. With these classes that JC42 has been offering the rank and file like myself, we can go and learn what it takes to keep this UNION alive and well! Organinzing we need it, can not have a UNION without it! Thank you JC42 and Mr. Korgan!!!! and T-Net for this forum!!!

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

Does anybody have a source about the stats for union membership? BadDude, says its 7% for 17 years. I am wondering what caused the decline or what is stopping us from growing in numbers. Yes, I know about some of the lies unionbusters will say. I know about the fear. ****, I wear union clothes to work all the time and think nothing of it. Imagine not having this freedom?

I know what the busters say about our dues. I never feel this way about dues. I make $7.00 an hour more than my relatives at Frito Lay and Bemis. The difference in pay vs. dues is one shift for me. Who am I to complain? Foolish.

****, I know there are problems with all unions just like there are problems in marriage or in government. I am not going to get a divorce or give away my rights as a citizen. My union membership is worth its weight in gold. I used to work in a warehouse for $12.00 an hour, after 8 years with terrible benefits. I never talked to my coworkers. We didn't have events. I never sat with my coworkers at a barbeque. Management won't encourage us to get together. Do you think in a nonunion shop they can talk openly about problems with pay and working conditions without fear? Do you think one of their best and brightest could sit across from management and negotiate for their fellow workers and win?

It feels good to be a Teamster. You'd have to pry my union card from my cold dead hand

[IBBadDude]

In the private sector union density has fallen below 7% to 6.7%. The main reason for it has been a lack of organizing on a massive scale. In the last 50 years there has been very little organizing in comparison to contract enforcement/maintenance. The builders of the Labor Movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s thru the 40s were organizers by trade. Everything had an organizing base and it was a priority.

You combine the lack of organizing with the full on assult on unions in the media, deregulation, free trade, Corporations controlling the laws and their outright disrespect of it. now you have what you have.

The message in your post has been lost by most and every member should speak of their union the way you just described it.

In the 50s union density was at it's peak with 36% and the next generation inherited large organizations with a ton of power that took decades to build. Organizing and the strategies that promote it were not as much of a priority thru the following decades and unions as a whole did not do a good job of promoting our success. We assumed everyone still believed unions were as great as they are.

Some scandles of corruption, lack of a public prensence and the assault from big business(in the media) and the republican party for 30+ years has put us where we are now. An image that is far from the truth for most working people.

We all hear our own members tear us apart when the facts are as you state. We need to retool our culture to take great pride in what we have and when we disagree, do it respectfully not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Unions foster hope, courage, equality, power thru collective action with the worker almost always prevailing. Our tarnished image is undeserved and we need to fight to fix it. How many laws have we passed that millions of workers benefit from everyday, yet we fail to remind the world how we helped that industry, community or group of workers.

If every one of our members said what you said in your post everyday to non union workers, we would have the foundation that breads organizing. Keep up the great message and share it, engage in conversation and positive always follows.

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

Thank you Dude for your post. How do we answer the question about the deficit? I was told by a fellow Teamster that nonunion workers don't think about right to work, the deficits or the global economy. I want to know how to defend ourselves from the accusation that the global economic crisis is the fault of labor. Is it strategic to go on message boards and send a pro-labor message? I think the right wing think tanks like the Center of the American Experiment are blasting the internet. People are hurting right now and they are looking for someone to blame. Wow, must be nice to be corporate America, get rich and union bust at the same time.

I agree, organizing is key.

Thanks again for steering the conversation to something that will actually help build our union.

[IBBadDude]

Check out hateyourboss.org there is a lot of information that explains what you are asking for.

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

The builders of the Labor Movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s thru the 40s were organizers by trade.

What would this look like in the 21st c? I met a BA who said anytime he sees a worker who is being mistreated, is in slum conditions or makes a poor wage he gives him or her his card and lets them know they deserve better, have rights and can contact the Teamsters.

[LagunaBrown.com]

You basically have 2 to 3 generations of teamsters that have been riding the gravy train and never dealing with strife . It is unfortunate they can't just learn from history and stay organized. Just like a child you can tell them how to avoid trouble but until they touch the fire and get burned people won't listen. I just can't comprehend why things have to fail and lose so much before people will stand up. I guess it's it is the old saying that " it's easier to blame some one than to find a solution".

[SOCAL IN 10RC]

That sums it up!!! all we should be talking about is Organizing!!!!!! It is the heart and soul of the Teamsters union and if we don`t we die. We all have a responsibility to get involved. The Teamsters is not a building it is you and me, we all know that the corporations are trying to kill unions and take away all we enjoy as union members, just think about what a nonunion worker is going thru. Be positive about your union get educated and move into action.