| BIGGER LABOR A Crash Course for Construction Union Organizers by BOB OEDY |
"While there are many books available in union organizing, none directly spoke to organizers in the construction trade or were written by a union organizer. Until now." read more Building Trades News More From Bob Oedy 3 Phone Call Exercises For Union Organizers Take This Organizing Quiz |
A Major Contractor There are major contractors in your area that are literally waiting for you to call. They have been meaning to get in touch with your organization but have either been too busy or too hesitant to make contact. They may have already made the decision to join. Don’t believe it? Here’s why. They need the benefits of being a union signatory contractor such as access to qualified workers to secure a specific project. Follow these steps to get started: • Identify contractors doing work in your area. You can do this by creating a simple data base and adding to it as you go along. Record information you gather about employers such as key individuals, license numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and specialty. As this list grows so will your knowledge of the industry. Pick the top 10 contractors you would like to partner with. • Cold call these contractors with the sole purpose of starting a dialog. You are not trying to close the deal over the phone. You are simply trying to start a dialog and answer any questions they have. • Have all of your talking points in front of you and be prepared to answer any questions. If you don’t have the answer the best thing is to admit it and offer to get back with the person at a later time. End the call by offering to schedule a meeting or send additional information. • Send follow-up letters as a way to keep the lines of communication open. Direct mail experts have found it takes seven attempts before most respond. Some organizers send a thank you card with a brief note expressing gratitude for taking the time to speak with them. Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of such courtesy. • Schedule a meeting to discuss opportunities with the union. It may take several calls before they agree to a meeting but you will never know until you try. Schedule the meeting in their office, at your training facility or over lunch. You want the person to feel at ease. Schedule the meeting in the morning as people seem more open than later in the day. Never meet with a contractor unless you have a contract prepared. Be ready to have them sign even at an initial meeting. This does happen more than you think. • Take notes each time you call and use information gathered to tailor your message to their needs. Offer solutions to their problems and you will be rewarded with their attention. • Organize your materials in a neat and tidy fashion. You will have to rely on your gut to know if the person is ready to partner with your organization. The key is to answer all of their questions to their satisfaction and not sugarcoat anything because it will cause you problems in the future. Your reputation is on the line. Avoid the hard sell but at the same time don’t leave any meeting without asking if they are ready to sign. It all starts with a single phone call. That next call could be the one that lands you a major shop. Good Luck!
The following are lies used to fool workers. They are so pervasive and repeated so often by business interests and politicians that many people have accepted them as facts. Knowledge is the best defense. Become familiar with these falsehoods so you can avoid becoming a victim and counter their attacks. 1) Trickle down economics – The lie goes like this; the rich get richer, and it’s a good thing for the middle-class and poor because the spending leads to more and better opportunities through job creation. They argue that a rising tide floats all boats, but they’re the only ones who can afford one. Meanwhile you drown in debt. Trickle down economics was at the forefront of the Reagan Era when unions such as the Air Traffic Controllers were crushed. It was not good for workers then and it’s not good for workers now. 2) What’s good for Wall Street is good for Main Street – If this lie seems similar to trickle down economics you’re partly right. The lie goes like this; rich investors should not pay taxes on capitol gains because that money is the grease that keeps the economy going. After all you might discourage the rich from participating in the market and the middle- class and poor will suffer through loss of job opportunities. As we saw with the 700 billion dollar bailout of Wall Street in 2008, wealthy CEO’s and millionaire investors get the government to save their corporations when they mismanage them. The argument then becomes the government can’t let us fail or everyone will be dragged down with us and lose their job and the government will lose tax revenues. Of course, it is the poor and middle-class that got stuck holding the bag when CEO’s of major corporations fall asleep at the wheel. 3) Free trade is good for American workers – The lie goes like this; the benefit of being able to purchase less expensive imported goods will offset any pain caused by loss of jobs at home. Ask yourself; is it good when jobs get shipped overseas? Is it true that Americans won’t do the work? Or is it more likely that they won’t do the work for the low wages being offered? Is it really a benefit to ship products half way around the globe when they can be made here at home? Lies such as these are an insult to our intelligence. If not countered and countered vigorously they somehow become accepted as fact by the general public. Labor needs advocates who will counter such falsehoods. Union organizers are uniquely suited for the job. Our ability to reach out and persuade workers gives us an edge. Personal contact with workers at their place of employment gives organizers credibility. |
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