Strategic Planning Update

Dear Members,

As we enter the holiday season I wanted to share an update on the strategic planning process our union is engaged in, and ask for your continued input as we work towards setting a direction for the next few years. Please let me know if you have questions or feedback, and please keep an eye out for local and statewide opportunities to keep engaging and sharing your perspective. 
 
Member Engagement Results
In September and October over 3,400 members took our planning survey, made time for a 1-1 to talk about the union, or joined a small group discussion about our future. First off, thank you! This feedback and the questions you posed, ideas you shared, and priorities you lifted up is central to our path forward. 
 
The perspectives you shared, along with those of staff, showed both some issues where members have clear priorities and directions that matter to you, and some issues where members have differing views or need more information. It speaks to the depth and breadth of our membership that we can speak with similar values without always speaking with one voice, and part of the work of the Board and our consulting team in the coming weeks will be to provide more information and continue asking for your thoughts. 
 
We are preparing a more formal report on the survey responses, and we'll share that after Thanksgiving for you to be able to peruse it yourself.
 
Board Retreat
This past Thursday and Friday the Board gathered in Shoreview (and online) for a strategic planning retreat. We did a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of where we are as a union, and had wide-ranging conversations around union structure and governance, member (and especially new member) engagement, member dues, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, our political program and key issues facing the union like telework, members reaching the top of the salary scale, and training and supporting stewards. 
 
We intentionally didn't use the retreat for decision making, instead we dug in on the questions together, made sure we aligned in our understanding of members' perspectives, and set up our next steps. 
 
Next Steps in Strategic Planning
We plan to use the next couple months as a Board and a union as a whole to begin to narrow our conversation into the core questions and decisions we need to make as part of the strategic plan. Our hope is to complete a draft plan in early February to share with members, and to use to further engage in discussion and get feedback around. 
 
As we continue that work here in December and January, we'll be asking members to continue to weigh in, helping us understand what you see as most important, and helping us wrestle with the toughest questions. We appreciate you continuing to take time to give that feedback, and continuing to ensure that our union represents members across geographic, demographic, and ideological lines as we fight for state workers together.
 
Thank you again, look for additional updates in the coming weeks and please let us know if you have questions or suggestions.