Locals Thrive with Full-Time Organizers

By Steve Chapman

CWA has long been recognized as having one of the labor movement's most dynamic and effective organizing programs. This is because CWA emphasizes workers organizing themselves — "inside-out" organizing — with CWA campaigns rooted at the local rather than the national level.

Six years ago, CWA began a program that's made the union even better at organizing: the 75/25 Local Organizing Program. Through it, CWA locals are reimbursed for up to 75 percent of the wages for a full-time organizer. Rather than jump-start a local's organizing program, the program aims to make existing organizing efforts more effective.

The results have been remarkable. As of November 2005, participating 75/25 locals were engaged in more than 200 campaigns covering 42,000 workers in the private and public sectors. More than 8,000 of them have gained representation in the last 18 months.

Full-time organizers are working on some of CWA's largest campaigns — former AT&T Wireless workers at Cingular Wireless, 10,000 employees at the University of Virginia, 5,000 child care workers in New Jersey – and also at small employers across the country in every industry and sector of the economy.

A Huge Difference
"It's huge having CWA pay most of the cost of our full-time organizer," Portland, Ore., Local 7901 President Madelyn Elder said. "Because of this we could afford to pay for two additional organizers — active members who took time off from their jobs to help us organize the more than 200 Cingular sales representatives working all over our state."

Jeanne Carpenter, a retired member with 30 years at Qwest, serves as the local's 75/25 organizer, and also worked on earlier organizing campaigns.

"Being full-time has given me the freedom to strengthen and broaden our union's organizing," she said. "I have more time to develop deeper relationships with the unrepresented workers we're assisting."

Elder said having an organizer putting in at least 40 to 45 hours a week "has enabled us to strengthen a side of the CWA Triangle which is vital to strengthening our local union."

Through her work with cable workers at Comcast, Carpenter has built relationships with community activists, college students and local elected leaders.

"We won a difficult contract for AT&T Comcast workers in East Portland thanks to the community support we developed as a result of our expanded organizing program," said Elder.

Before participating in the 75/25 program, Elder thought about having a local officer take on more organizing responsibilities but now says, "We could not have grown like we have had we taken that route."

Elder said her telecom local has had to expand into industries — wireless, cable and VoIP — now competing with its members' employers. "All of these new communications companies are in direct competition with our unionized telecom companies," she said. "We have to begin organizing their workers so that the wages and benefits of our telco members do not erode."

With its full-time organizer, Local 7901 has grown from 1,000 members to more than 1,700.

Commitment to Organizing
Local 1040 in Trenton, N.J., is one of CWA's largest local unions, representing over 9,000 private and public sector workers across the state in health care, corrections, charities and state government.

"We take organizing seriously," said president Carolyn Wade, noting that the local has grown from 1,500 members to its present size. The local has been honored at each of the past 14 CWA annual conventions for organizing more than 100 workers.

The 75/25 program has helped the local use its own resources more effectively. Wade said the local assigned two organizers to work with full-time organizer Connie English and, with money saved on her salary, hired another staff person for member representation.

Among the organizers' victories, Local 1040 gained representation last summer for 400 workers in the state correctional system who provide medical services previously contracted out.

The local gets many of its leads for campaigns from public sector members who have second jobs at privately-operated social service or health care agencies.

"We have strengthened our local's organizing with our internal mobilization activities, which go hand in hand in building our effectiveness," Wade said.

Organizing New Areas
Last March, Jacksonville, Fla, Local 3106 organized more than 500 city workers and negotiated their first contract in November.

Local president Lyn DeLoach said participating in the 75/25 program was essential for the local to maintain effective representation — and good wages and benefits — for its members, who primarily work for Bell South.

"Our local's core membership is telecom, but our industry is moving away from traditional landline to wireless and other related information technologies so organizing in new areas — public sector and wireless — is vital," he said.

"Anyone who says a local can't do a good job of representing two sectors of workers — private and public — is missing an opportunity to grow their local and unionism," he added. "Everyone needs decent wages and health care. It doesn't matter where you work. Your needs are the same."

Local member Josh Denmark, 27, a Bell South service technician, was hired as the local's 75/25 organizer in 2004, and has been an organizer with Local 3106 since 2003.

"By having Josh being able to work full-time on campaigns, we are able to develop stronger relationships with unrepresented workers over time," DeLoach said.

Local 3106 has been actively organizing at Cingular and it is now working with other locals to organize more than a thousand former AT&T Wireless sales representatives at retail outlets throughout Florida.

The increased emphasis on organizing has had a ripple effect in the local. "We created a full-time position for someone to head up new member orientation and internal organizing as well as overseeing COPE," said DeLoach, noting that COPE contributions are up by 50 percent.

"With the international paying a share of the costs of a full-time local organizer, we were able to free up local funds for other important programs," DeLoach said.