Organizing Tip of the Week: Get Your Organizing Committee Up and Running
Friday, April 15, 2011(National Federation of Federal Employees)
Organizing Committees create a great
foundation for your Local to start working on
recruitment and building a stronger presence in
the workplace. A committee should be made up of
people that are engaged in the Local, but not
necessarily just the officers. The best place
to start is at your Local’s monthly meeting.
Ask members who are outgoing and active if they
would like to participate in creating an
organizing committee.
The
committee should meet regularly and set
attainable goals. Revisiting these goals
quarterly is optimal. Work with your Organizing
Coordinator to build your Local’s strategic
plan, then move to implement it.
The
following is a quick start up list to creating
an Organizing Committee.
·
Obtain
an up to date BUE list.
·
Select
members and/or officers that will sit on the
committee.
·
Create a
Local strategic organizing plan.
·
Decide
what messages you want to focus on getting out
to the bargaining unit.
·
Divide
up all responsibilities, and create a timeline.
The most
important task that the people on the committee
are expected to perform will be face-to-face
messaging to non-members. Spreading the word
about what the Local has done and explaining
the benefits of being a union member will
always be more effective than spontaneous
organizing drives in the long term. Consistent
recruitment by a goal-oriented organizing
committee is always the surest path to
organizing success.