Union Organizers

Add a Comment

Comment by handsome on October 21, 2010 at 9:38

Hello to you all,

this is my first post on this site, so i hope i don't repeat what may have already been said. i am a union organiser in Ireland. and the challenges that we face in addition to apathy and fear of workers, the economic downturn, is that Ireland has no statutory legislation that provides for Union recognition, and businesses can and do ignore and refuse to discuss collective workplace issues with the trade unions. I have to agree with the sentiments of Pat Gibbs (Sept 3rd). in relation to creating an awareness of workers rights and the role of the union in schools . ultimately every child in school will become a worker and they should be educated in their rights to protect themselves. anyway good luck to you all. if there are any other trade union organisers in Ireland i would love to hear of your experiences.

Comment by Steven Chupp on October 15, 2010 at 15:24

How do you begin to activate a community that historically has worked non-union, raised conservative and voting for politicians who are anti-union but support the gun lobby or say they are pro-family? What framework, seed of thought, or mindset do you begin with to activate a community that does not yet see the benefit of union work that seems to them counter-cultural to their point of view?

Comment by Bob Parker on September 5, 2010 at 20:39

Here we all go down in Oz... still waitng for a legitimate federal government to be determined, and considering the future should it be a right wing coallition (yeh, but which right wing?). Organising will be organising to get what we want from what resources and engagement we've got within our community and constituents. For a union, that's members, but members in context with their community.
I'm anticipating this group will become a very influential community context!

Comment by Pat Gibbs on September 3, 2010 at 6:30

Organizing is a tough job. Traditionally organizing began/ended at the factory gate. Where unions already have access to the workplace some organize IT classes for activists which builds and maintains solidarity and increases effectiveness. But organizing also needs to start in the schools; to put labour/unions on an equal footing with business/entrepreneurial classes. It needs to start on TV and on the internet and in newspapers and on the airwaves and at concerts and in our literature because the easiest people to organize are those who are already pre-disposed to consider unionizing as a legitimate option for them. Organizing doesn't stop there either; it has to cross borders, and continue in the workplace, preparing employees to resist toxic workplace practices, and in the final stage even preparing them with realistic expectations for strikes, lock-outs and other job actions. Organizing is a lot of work and takes a lot of co-ordination in green movements, in workplace locations and on sports fields. It's hard not to get pulled apart in a hundred different directions; there is just so much to be done.

Comment by Tom Garbatt on September 3, 2010 at 2:18

I would say unifying workers as the collective voice of labour. No power greater.

Comment by Don Sutherland on September 2, 2010 at 1:59

Good idea to set this up. How would we "define" union organising? What is it, in essence, all about?

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page