Reaching Higher: A Handbook for Union Organizing Committee Members - Softcover

Bensinger, Richard

9780972088503: Reaching Higher: A Handbook for Union Organizing Committee Members

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0972088504 ISBN 13: 9780972088503

Publisher: Organizing Resources, 2002

This book is an easy to read guide for non-union workers who are trying to form a union at their workplace. It is filled with personal insights from the author and concrete tips on how to be a successful committee member.

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About the Author:

Richard Bensinger has been organizing workers for more than 25 years. After serving as a union organizing committee member at the non-union company where he worked, he went on to become a staff organizer and founder of the Organizing Institute. He also served as Organizing Director of the national AFL-CIO.

The first thing you need to understand as an organizing committee member is how important you are. Without a committee (or leadership group by some other name), there is no organizing campaign. Simple as that.

I learned this personally when I helped to organize my own workplace, a sporting goods factory in the West. Although I liked certain aspects of my job, such as the pay, I was concerned that management wasn’t doing what it should to make our jobs safe. It seemed like our voices were not being heard. A member of my family said, "Stop complaining, and call a union." Although I had some skepticism, I did call, and soon an organizer came to visit me.

My request to the organizer was simple: "Form a union at our company."

His response was equally direct: "It’s your union, and you’ll have to organize it. All I can do is give you support and advice."

It was news to me that the union is actually the employees joining together to create their own organization.

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