KEY POINTS:
- Grassroots support can influence public opinion
- Building community relationships is a responsibility of union stewards
For most of the last twenty years, antiunion governors attempted to address budget shortfalls by attacking public workers in New Jersey. CWA Local 1037—working with Locals 1038 and 1039—consistently fight back by applying public pressure—through coalition efforts and strategic planning. They’ve been largely successful with this model.
Whether the governor threatens to outsource jobs or raise entrance fees for public parks, local leaders look at each fight through multiple lenses. They apply a strategy of POLEMICS: Political, Organizational, Legal, External Education, Mobilization, Internal Education and Community Support activities. The latter component— community support—often involves broadening existing relationships and discovering new areas for collaboration.
This was critical in the union’s fight in 2009, when Governor Corzine threatened to shut down the Department of Children and Families regional day schools for severely disabled children. Not only were the jobs of CWA-represented teachers and nurses on the line, some 500 students who rely on their services would be displaced. Many of these students need one-to-one care that would not be conducive in a typical public school. CWA members provide this care/instruction and often have close relationships with parents due to the highly specialized needs of the students. The shop stewards have always recognized that part of their role in effectively advocating for the members at their school is to also build relationships with the parents and to advocate for services. It was not surprising, then, that once CWA called a state-wide meeting of workers from regional day schools, many parent advocates attended. Together, they developed a plan and used a portion of the meeting to speak with the media. After developing a comprehensive plan using POLEMICs, both union activists and parent/community advocates reached out to disability advocacy organizations, legislators and the media throughout the state. The parents were critical to this plan and proved to be tireless in their efforts. In one case, a mother of a student was picketing at her son’s school each day and had started her own website to publicize the school cuts. After being approached by the shop steward at the school, she channeled her energy into the work of the coalition and became a key leader and organizer of parents from other schools.
Local 1037 President Ken McNamara remarked, “Coalition building is part of our union culture. It has not only helped to save members’ jobs, but it has also influenced public opinion.”