Tools of the Trade

Soon after I retired from the ILWU in 2015 my good friend and comrade Glenn Perusek drafted me to teach organizing and bargaining at the Building Trades Academy (BTA), headquartered, and accredited at Michigan State University. 

Glenn told me to meet him in Las Vegas at the local union hall of the Heat and Frost Insulators Union (HFIA) and so began my teaching at the BTA. I confess that in 2015 I did not know what an Insulator was, but soon discovered that it is a crucial part of the construction process: the basic insulation of hot and cold pipes. “Sick buildings” are often the result of poor insulation work that leaves condensate to fester and create harmful mold. The symbol of the craft is the salamander that evidently thrives in heat and cold!

The beauty of teaching and training with the trades is that I knew nothing about construction work, except what my union electrician son teaches me, and I knew less about the organizing process and bargaining in the trades. Those deficiencies forced me to adopt a very participatory form of pedagogy. In other words, my job was mainly a facilitator finding talent and drafting students with expertise who could teach the group. Some students would purposely avoid me at lunch because they knew I was hunting for an unsuspecting instructor for the afternoon session!

As time went on, I taught more Insulators, Cement Masons and Plasterers, Bricklayers and Roofers. I also met some great working-class organizers and made friends with talented co-instructors. Some of the tools that I brought to the jobsite however were universal, and with this issue of the Stansbury Forum we want to start to share them with you, the reader and educator. Every organizing training needs to instill in the students a sense of esprit and pride in their work as organizers just as they have pride in their craft. So, installment #1 of “Tools of the Trade” is a little lesson in Greek, drawing on Aristotle entitled: “WHAT IS AN ORGANZER?”

What is an OPCMIA Labor Organizer?

Each one of you who have decided to become a OPCMIA Cement Masons organizer is entering a select lineup – Labor Organizers. If you go to Wikipedia and look up Union Organizer you will find this description:

“Organizers must be determined, charismatic, and persuasive individuals able to sway groups to action under trying circumstances when jobs are on the line.^”

Certainly this description must already make sense to you after the work you have done on job sites with members of the OPCMIA or non-union workers. But you have also discovered that being a good organizer is more than just being a charming and persuasive talker.

You are joining a lineup of esteemed historical figures like Eugene Debs, Mother Jones, Joe Hill, A Philip Randolph and Cesar Chavez. These are Americans who believed in sacrificing their own short-term self-interest and well-being in service of a larger objective of making working people stronger. You are part of organizing and welding individuals into one united fist that can successfully battle the one per cent (1%) in this country.

What a challenge! Did we take any course in high school or college in “Organizing”? Well no, but all of us have had experience in the art and craft of organizing prior to being tapped as an organizer. We have gotten our children up in the morning, fed them breakfast and sent them off to school. We have organized the guest list for our weddings and made sure the wedding party shows up on time. We have put together a recreational softball team and fundraisers for school programs. Maybe we have done safety training for the union or organized our cement or plastering crew. 

All of these tasks require thinking beyond ourselves, being accountable, and moving others into action. This is all organizing.

But labor organizing is different in a couple of crucial ways: First, we are talking about people’s jobs, their economic livelihood, the way that they support themselves and their families. Further this organizing does not take place without resistance, either because of fear or antagonisms. In our labor organizing we are challenging others to do something out of the ordinary, something that may involve risking employment, and confronting a powerful employer. 

Labor organizing is a mixture of art and science.

“… you don’t dazzle with lectures. You listen and learn from them and acknowledge their knowledge and insights.”

Let’s take it apart and look at the pieces. You are probably familiar with many of these ideas, but it helps to take the pieces of successful organizing, unfold them, and look them over.

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, wrote an essay on Rhetoric, the science of moving and motivating people to act. What we would call good organizing. Here are three of the important pillars of successful organizing:

Ethos – Street Cred: A good organizer must win the trust and confidence of the audience – his/her co-workers. Being a trained cement mason, or plasterer, gives you a leg up on an outside organizer because you have shared in the work of the workers you are trying to move. They know that when you talk about work you know of what you speak, but you win trust by going beyond shared experiences. You win trust because you keep your promises. You win trust because you follow-up and deliver on answering questions factually. You win trust because you do everything, and more than what you ask others to do. Street Cred is not a static process, it grows as you do your organizing. Sometimes credibility comes from shared experiences. Sports have been a great “cred” builder particularly among male workers. It is often a way to connect with people’s lives when an initial approach is needed to win confidence.

Logos – Reason and Logic: You make logical arguments to the workforce. You present them with facts using verifiable sources and experts. But you don’t dazzle with lectures. You listen and learn from them and acknowledge their knowledge and insights. You take the power of their stories, reframe, and build on them to make your arguments. For instance, one powerful argument against so-called “Right to Work” is the story an organizer tells of watching the cars streaming across the Idaho state border to Washington state in the early AM. Why? Because those workers are coming to work in Washington from “Right to Work” Idaho. Wages are higher in Washington because unions are stronger. An observation that is worth a thousand quotes from experts.

Pathos – Emotion: A good organizer can move the workforce into action; into doing things that make us all stronger. There are many emotions that can kindle action. Fear of change can often be a motivator, when that change is a negative, an attack on living standards. That fear can become anger. Humor can be a relaxer in times of stress that can lead to greater collective will and openness to moving together. A good organizer opens the chest cavity, takes the heart in hand, massages it, and stimulates it into action for the common good. I will never forget attending a funeral for a worker from a warehouse in San Diego, California. Cesario had died because his employer had dropped him from health insurance in violation of the labor contract. Over his grave the workers resolved to avenge his death by fighting for a better contract. They struck the marine terminal the following week and conducted a winning 10-week strike in his memory.

The great Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi was a skilled organizer, and teacher. Great organizers are great teachers. But you are a teacher not in the way we think of the high school teacher standing and lecturing at a bunch of often-bored students. Our teacher/organizers share the life of the workers they organize. They are accountable and constantly tested by the workers to see if they are keeping their word and following through. Most importantly they are listening and learning from the workforce so that their ideas are refined and perfected in practice. 

Organizing is more than anything else a listening art. Ethos, pathos and logos all come from active listening.

You have joined an amazing group of historical figures, some famous many more unknown. It is a lifelong craft and art that constantly requires refining and updating of your skills to meet new situations and methods. Just as civil rights organizers in the South in the 50’s and 60’s took advantage of the telephone to spread their message of resistance and revolt, so today’s organizer uses the modern tools of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, TikTok. In today’s parlance, organizers are the influencers of the labor movement.

Congratulations. There is perhaps nothing more satisfying that helping your brothers and sisters to be an active part of improving their lives. But while what you do is for others, in acting for and moving others, you enhance your own life and well-being.

Solidarity Forever!

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