Organizing and our Contract: You are the Union Part 3: What does it take to get a good contract?

This October marks the 25^th anniversary of the 2001 MAPE Strike. While nobody wants to go on strike, it is a fundamental tool of unions to withhold labor when workers feel they are not being offered a fair deal. Workers want to feel they are being paid a living wage for the work they do, have affordable healthcare, good working conditions and a safe workplace. However, these things are never just given; they have been fought for by workers around the world – workers who had to form unions to fight for what they deserve. Why unions? Because the real power lies with the people.

This is the third part of a three-part series, “What does it take to get a good contract?” The first part highlighted why we need to work to elect leaders who support workers; the second discussed holding those elected leaders accountable to passing policies and budgets that support workers and ensure Minnesotans get the services they need and deserve. We now turn to the driving force behind unions and our work – organizing people.

Zac Echola, Chair of the Organizing Council, explains, “Organizing is just a way to say ‘talking to each other.’ Through talking to each other, we make connections, have great ideas and come up with solutions, but it doesn’t end there; we then need the people to make them happen.”

The Organizing Council is going to be more involved than ever this negotiation cycle, with Echola sitting on the negotiations head table.

“We are working closely with negotiators, field staff and locals to make the connection between all the different constituencies involved to win our contract,” said Echola. “The negotiators need to focus on turning the ideas of our members into language we can win and have tough conversations with management. Members do the rest; we are the power, the voices and the action to ensure management feels they must accept our proposals.”

“Joining MAPE is the first step of getting your voice heard,” says Lauren Siegel, facilitator of the local membership secretaries group. “Imagine it’s the day you learn of a tentative agreement (TA) and you feel we could have gotten more. What was your role in getting that TA? Were you a member? Did you show up to rallies, sign petitions, write emails or talk to co-workers? It takes each and every one of us doing all these actions to get a good contract – starting with becoming a member.”

“Paying dues is an investment in yourself and what you feel you are worth. It is an investment in the collective power we are building that has – over history – set the bar for industry standards and continues to raise it. Our union is not an entity that is separate from us; we are the union,” explains Siegel.

“There’s a direct relationship between our membership numbers and what we can fight for. We have a tough contract fight ahead of us, and we need higher membership numbers to put pressure on management,” said Echola. “And let me tell you, it is going to be a fight. Holding the line on healthcare and getting better across-the-boards is going to be a battle. We must show up with a very high membership number.”

Becoming a member is the first critical step, then you can get involved in the negotiation process by joining your Local’s Contract Action Team (CAT). Leaders of the Contract Action Teams (LCATs) recruit, educate and ensure the CATs have what they need to bridge the gaps between what is happening during bargaining and what members can do to support.

“CATs work both ways. We want to ensure members know what is happening during the negotiations process, but we also want a way for members to share what is important to them that can funnel to the LCATs and back to the Negotiations Team,” explained Jovae Priebe, a member of the Organizing Council who is supporting the LCATs.

“Joining your CAT is a fancy way of saying you are willing to chat with 10 co-workers, which we all already do!” Priebe continued. “The conversations include providing information about proposals, MMB’s responses to our proposals, inviting members to participate in actions and relaying information back to LCATs about what you are hearing from your co-workers.”

“MAPE has been building the CAT and LCAT structure over several contract cycles,” said Christine Retkwa, Region 21 LCAT. “Our LCATs are an amazing group of go-getters. I believe we have the right group for us to really move the needle this year.”

Negotiators and LCATs are planning listening sessions in all Locals over the next month.

Priebe said, “Attend your listening session; it is your time to make your voice heard. What issues are on your mind? What ideas do you have to solve the issues? Our negotiators fight for what we all want, so we have to tell them; then we have to support them.”