Local 1101 hosts pro-union postcard party

Nearly 200 potential MAPE members recently received friendly postcards from Local 1101 members inviting them to join the union. A dozen members participated in the event, which served as both a Local engagement and membership event.  

Local 1101 Membership Secretary Danelle Gorra said, “We decided we’d get a group of people together to do pro-union postcards after a colleague had brought in a handful of anti-union postcards. We looked at the MAPE website for messages to include on the postcards about the importance of joining a union such as strength in numbers, being part of a community, working conditions, health care, pay/benefits/contract and addressing YOUR issues.”   

The group reserved space at Sakura Restaurant & Bar for happy hour from 5-6 p.m. and wrote postcards from 5-7 p.m. “What made a difference is we used one big, long table and people were connected. It was an action that people could do as a group. It didn’t cost us much money. People brought their families, which was kind of cool,” Gorra said.  

Local 1101 Steward Rosie Witte brought her 11-year-old daughter Veronica and husband Derek to the event and both said they enjoyed it, “We’re a union family and I feel it’s important to teach my daughter about unions and their history and why they’re essential.” 

“My daughter wrote a few notes and people will be surprised to receive postcards with a child’s handwriting. I think her notes were very sweet with messages like ‘I have the best mom, and she is part of this.’ I take her to a lot of union things, and I would say she is going to be a good union leader someday,” smiled Witte.  

Local 1101 mailed 178 postcards following the postcard party. Both Witte and Gorra recommend the event to other locals. “One of the best things about the union for me is the friendships you make with people. This is such a strong way to build those relationships,” Witte said. 

“It takes practice reaching out to people and writing postcards was a positive thing. It’s your union and your issues, and it was an effective way to get people to participate in an action. We’ll look at doing postcards and pajamas next time,” Gorra added.