I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but does anyone have any advice on how to get involved in union organizing efforts? I actually went to school for labor relations, so I’ve got some familiarity with the concepts, but for all sorts of reasons, the main one being mental health, I haven’t really been working or doing much of anything for a few years now. I want to try to get out and do my part and I view the labor movement as a really important avenue for political change.

But I don’t really know where to look/start. I’m also pretty shy/socially anxious, so I kind of need some way to ease into this since it involves talking to people a lot. I’ve also been thinking of trying to learn a language that would help me interact with more workers who might be recent immigrants like maybe Spanish or something. (Although I’m not really sure which would be most useful for this and I’m not exactly a fast language learner, so if I was going to do that I should really prioritize one.)

I’m in the US close to the New York City. (Long Island) Does anyone have any suggestions for resources, organizations, advice on how to talk to people in this context, or other ways to help in a less direct way, etc. that could help me get started?

  • TheOubliette
    2·
    2 months ago

    You need real-world mentorship. There are basically two ways to get it. I suggest the second one is better but it’s okay to do the first.

    1. Apply to organizer positions at unions, i.e. become paid staff. 98% of the time these positions are designed to burn you out and there are 5 low-level organizer positions for every next-position-up. But you will learn the skills (for a staff union bureaucracy at least) and make connections.

    2. Join a local active socialist or anarchist group that specifically organizes unions. Not all of them do. This requires more care and skepticism because sometimes these groups are far more effective and useful than staff unions and sometimes they are fairly useless and lack constructive self-criticism. Identify the people in them that have a track record of success and prioritize their opinions. They will be the ones trying to organize the others in the group.

    The key advantage of the latter is that they are volunteers and will take on the organizing efforts that are pioneering or neglected. You will not face distractions of careerists and climbers and everyone will be committed and organized rather than afraid for their status and paycheck. This will give you a stronger core. You will also make connections this way.

    I can’t recommend specific groups because they vary wildly by locale.