On September 30, the Escondido Elementary Educators Association (EEEA) executive board brought together their 30-member organizing team for an all-day, intensive “Secrets of a Successful Organizer” training. The goal: build the power EEEA members need to win the schools their students deserve, both in their current tough contract fight and in the future.

EEEA member leaders trained 30 members of their bargaining team in how to engage members and move them to activism.

For the training, EEEA leadership turned to a well-known and effective guide developed by Labor Notes, the go-to media and organizing project for union members who want to put the movement back in the labor movement. In 2016, Labor Notes organizers distilled generations of organizing know-how into “Secrets of a Successful Organizer.” The step-by-step guide to building power on the job has become the essential handbook to learn how to identify the key issues in your workplace, build campaigns to tackle them, anticipate management’s tricks and traps, and inspire your co-workers to stand together despite their fears. (Our union also incorporates elements of Labor Notes’ guidebook into our trainings.)

That day, member leaders – who had taken the Labor Notes training – worked through key modules, including “Beating Apathy” and “Assembling Your Dream Team.” Participants learned how to map existing social networks in their workplaces, identify leaders and recruit them into the union’s contract campaign.

Rocio Hernandez

“We are using these tools to empower member leaders and grow the core of our union,” said Rocio Hernandez, EEEA treasurer, who helped lead the training. “‘Beating Apathy’ gives you the tools to really listen, identify the issues that matter most to our members, and turn those issues into a plan of action.”

Sonya Shaffer

Sonya Shaffer, an EEEA at-large executive board member, led the “Aiming for the Bullseye” exercise, which helps organizers visualize their member engagement.

“It helps us think about our union not as a hierarchical triangle,” Shaffer explained. “We learned skills to more effectively engage members and move them from disengaged to supportive, then to activists, and finally to the core group of people who are always thinking about organizing.”

“This has already made an impact on negotiations, where everything started out as a ‘no’. We have gained major traction in improving working conditions and fixing decades’ worth of step and column gaps that have affected our career earnings.” – EEEA President Brandi Krepps 

EEEA has been putting these “secrets” into action as they fight for a fair wage increase, a competitive benefits package, and meaningful Special Education supports.

According to EEEA President Brandi Krepps, “The goal behind this training was to empower our site leadership and develop a plan to catapult our association forward as one of being progressive and strong. I can’t be prouder of not only the executive board, but of our site leaders as well.

“We often hear, ‘What is the union doing for me?’ This training was designed to show that we are the union. The union is every single member in our association. After this training, our school sites have had record showings of members wearing union t-shirts on ‘EEEA Tuesdays’ and during district leadership visits.

“This has already made an impact on negotiations, where everything started out as a ‘no’. The tide is already shifting, and we have gained major traction in improving working conditions and fixing decades’ worth of step and column gaps that have affected our career earnings.”

Driven by the power of their site-based organizing, EEEA’s bargaining team has already won tentative agreements on a “Leaves” article in the contract that includes:

• Six weeks of paid pregnancy leave and six weeks of paid paternity/adoption leave;
• Landmark improvements to the district’s Special Education program;
• A benefits agreement that not only ensures that the district will shoulder the burden of this year’s soaring benefits costs, but will structurally address benefits in the future.

EEEA members are committed to continuing to use their sharpened organizing skills to win a fair wage settlement as well.

Labor Notes

Since 1979, Labor Notes has been a vital resource for helping union members build power, fight the boss, and grow a more democratic and member-driven labor movement. The media and organizing project publishes a monthly magazine and books, offers news and opinion on its website at labornotes.org, and organizes conferences and workshops to train activists. Visit the website for more information. For details about Labor Notes’ “Secrets of a Successful Organizer” training and guidebook, visit labornotes.org/secrets.