[lbo-talk] Unions: Resuscitate or pull the plug?

Miles Jackson cqmv at pdx.edu
Sat Mar 11 10:06:38 PST 2006


Michael Hoover wrote:


>
> i've lived in same neighborhood for almost 3 decades, same house for
> 15 years, cwa hall is at the end of the block, i used to attend meetings
> and other events there, place has been mostly locked up and empty
> for a long time, i understand that cwa is supposedly going to the
> grassroots, to be successful, that must include some conception of social
> unionism, maybe there'll be some activity up the street again... mh

This is a problem in higher ed unions too: few or no opportunities for social solidarity, minimal union participation and activism. At least in the community colleges, the reason for this is pretty obvious: workload is increasing--more students, more nonteaching work responsibilities, more professional development to master new teaching methods (online courses, learning communities), etc. With so much more work to do than in the past, people let some stuff slide; unfortunately, the union activies are given low priority by many workers who take the benefits of the union for granted.

This is on my mind because I just sent out a call for nominations for President and Vice-President of our union local to the faculty at my community college. In a college with 180 full-time faculty, not a single person expressed interest in these union leadership positions. I'll probably do the Prez job for another term (2 years), but I'm very concerned about the lack of engagement and participation in the union, given the crucial importance of a strong union to improve working conditions and compensation. Any successful union engagement strategies people can provide would be helpful.

Miles



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