WHEREAS:
At the 1998 International Convention, the delegates dedicated the union to an aggressive program of organizing, changing many of our ways of doing business and approving a per capita tax increase to help fund organizing activity; and
WHEREAS:
Since then, we have made a good start toward becoming an organizing union. Pursuant to the resolution of the 1998 Convention, we have created the Cooperative Strategic Organizing Program (CSOP), helping many affiliates create or strengthen their organizing programs. The International Union has reorganized its organizing functions, and we now have more full-time organizers than ever before; and
WHEREAS:
Our support for organizing is continuously improving, with new strategic research capabilities for organizing and to wage contract fights; with new strategic campaign message development and communications capacity; with a dedicated commitment to organizer recruitment; and with a new focus on training and developing organizers; and
WHEREAS:
More than ever before, AFSCME councils and directly affiliated locals are establishing full-time organizing departments and organizing new groups of workers into AFSCME. This has also created new challenges for AFSCME affiliates, who are facing more first contract struggles in newly organized units; and
WHEREAS:
Despite all of our progress, we still have a long way to go to reach our goal of organizing 75,000 new workers a year. Specifically, we will need to triple the amount of resources we devote to organizing, from the current level of about $25 million to $75 million; and
WHEREAS:
To achieve our goals, all of us will be called upon to demonstrate the leadership and vision to take AFSCME to a new level of strength and power. We are the largest union in the AFL-CIO, and our goals should also be the most ambitious.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That the International Union and its councils and large locals dedicate the resources to organize 75,000 workers a year, by adopting a program and set of goals to move 30% of their budgets into organizing; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That we increase the pace of our organizing activity by running systematic, well-planned campaigns that measure progress against benchmarks; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME organizing emphasize larger campaigns. The International Union and its affiliates should rigorously analyze organizing targets, including employers doing the same kind of work as our members, employers where we currently represent some employees, and unorganized seasonal, part-time and casual employees working side by side with our members. Current AFSCME members possess a wealth of this information, which must be tapped in pursuit of these goals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That in the course of our organizing, we mobilize our members to support campaigns. This mobilization can range from recruiting members to assist in house calls, to arranging for turnout at rallies and other campaign actions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That as part of our commitment of organizing resources, AFSCME and its affiliates intensify efforts to win first contracts in newly organized units, continuing the recognition campaign until a first collective bargaining agreement is ratified. AFSCME will enhance its comprehensive campaign capacity, and apply it vigorously to support local, council, and International organizers who are waging strategic contract campaigns on the ground; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
That AFSCME utilize its tremendous political clout to assist our organizing efforts. Officeholders and political candidates should be challenged to demonstrate their commitment to the right to organize, by concretely assisting the unionization of unorganized workers, and holding employers accountable for their anti-union behavior. We should particularly demand that candidates and officeholders support the right to organize for workers employed by government contractors and grantees by insisting on employer neutrality and recognition through card check, and for public employees that still don't have comprehensive collective bargaining rights.
SUBMITTED BY:
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD