6.07.2005
Union organizing is not a career path...?
This morning, I attended a roundtable breakfast discussion on women and unions at the annual conference of the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW). At this breakfast, I joined four labor academics, one law student, and two rank-and-file union members in an informal discussion of how unions work (or don’t work) for women. One woman, the president of a local unit of AFSCME, raised the very interesting issue of the role of non rank-and-file people in the union movement.
The woman explained that many of the unions today are unresponsive to their members (many of whom are women, people of color, or low-wage workers) because the leaders of the unions do not earn the salaries or live the lifestyles of the members who they are representing. She criticized the union leaders for not listening to the voices of the members and instead presuming that because they went to college, studied labor issues, or have more political clout, that they have the authority to speak for the workers. This is an issue that is very near to my heart, as I truly believe that unions should be truly democratic and grassroots organizations, because this will lead to workers themselves becoming more empowered and taking on leadership and will create the strongest possible labor movement. Yet I do not come from a union background, am heading down an academic path, and am interested in labor unions, so that leaves me in a pretty uncomfortable place.
So, my question for her was whether there is an appropriate space for someone (like myself) who is interested in labor issues and wants to be active in labor organizing, but doesn’t come up the ranks in the union. Her response was that there is a place, and that unions do need young, smart, and dedicated outside people, but not in leadership roles. She put in clearly: “union organizing is not a career path; it is a social justice movement.” Her recommendation was to get involved by organizing your own workplace, and always be conscious of the power differential between workers and organizers.
After the breakfast, my immediate reaction was, well, that’s it for me. I guess I need to find some other “career path.” This sense lasted for about four hours, and then as I began to think about it more, I decided that maybe there is a role for me, as she said, as long as I can remember to always value the knowledge and experiences of the workers and create a space for their voices to be heard and them to lead. I am concerned that this is a rather hefty challenge, but I don’t know what I can do but try…
The woman explained that many of the unions today are unresponsive to their members (many of whom are women, people of color, or low-wage workers) because the leaders of the unions do not earn the salaries or live the lifestyles of the members who they are representing. She criticized the union leaders for not listening to the voices of the members and instead presuming that because they went to college, studied labor issues, or have more political clout, that they have the authority to speak for the workers. This is an issue that is very near to my heart, as I truly believe that unions should be truly democratic and grassroots organizations, because this will lead to workers themselves becoming more empowered and taking on leadership and will create the strongest possible labor movement. Yet I do not come from a union background, am heading down an academic path, and am interested in labor unions, so that leaves me in a pretty uncomfortable place.
So, my question for her was whether there is an appropriate space for someone (like myself) who is interested in labor issues and wants to be active in labor organizing, but doesn’t come up the ranks in the union. Her response was that there is a place, and that unions do need young, smart, and dedicated outside people, but not in leadership roles. She put in clearly: “union organizing is not a career path; it is a social justice movement.” Her recommendation was to get involved by organizing your own workplace, and always be conscious of the power differential between workers and organizers.
After the breakfast, my immediate reaction was, well, that’s it for me. I guess I need to find some other “career path.” This sense lasted for about four hours, and then as I began to think about it more, I decided that maybe there is a role for me, as she said, as long as I can remember to always value the knowledge and experiences of the workers and create a space for their voices to be heard and them to lead. I am concerned that this is a rather hefty challenge, but I don’t know what I can do but try…
