Outsiders in the union: organizing, consent, and union recognition campaigns

Abstract

Although outsiders have played an important role in social protest in the U.S., outsiders’ role in the U.S. labor movement has been the focus of spirited debate. Debate about outsider organizers, in particular, reached a fevered pitch in the late 1990s, and continues today. This paper scrutinizes two of the core assumptions of this debate: that insider and outsider organizers operate differently on union recognition campaigns, and that workers respond to them differently in these settings. We analyzed 153 in-depth interviews with workers and organizers conducted at the height of the debate, in order to answer two questions: What is the role of outsider organizers during private sector union recognition campaigns, and how do outsider organizers secure workers’ consent in these settings? All of the organizers in our data-set were graduates of the AFL-CIO’s Organizing Institute, and 64 of them were outsiders. The outsider organizers in our data-set confronted barriers that insider organizers did not, including workers’ concerns about their youth, inexperience and lack of professionalism, and their own inability to relate to workers. While many critics of outsider organizers claim that these barriers are insurmountable, we found the opposite to be true. The vast majority of outsider organizers in our data-set successfully secured workers’ consent by demonstrating commitment, building relationships, and being honest and forthright. After proposing changes in organizer training and leadership development in response to these findings, we conclude with a brief discussion of the enduring debate about outsiders’ role in social protest in the U.S.

Keywords:

• Union recognition campaigns
• organizers
• consent
• insiders
• outsiders

Acknowledgment

We are especially grateful for the insights and suggestions of Dorian Warren, Elissa McBride, Gretchen Purser, Sandra Levitsky, Carolina Bank-Muñoz and the two anonymous reviewers for the journal.

Funding

This research would not have been possible without the generous support it received from the Berger-Marks Foundation. The following institutions also provided support for this project UCLA Graduate Division; UCLA Center for the Study of Women; UC Labor and Employment Research Fund; the UCLA Institute of Industrial Relations. Many people generously read and commented on this paper in draft form.

Notes

1. During the 1970s and 80s, SEIU, HERE, and the UFW were the main unions that employed outsider organizers. This changed in the late 1980s when the Organizing Institute (OI) began encouraging other unions to adopt this practice. As Foerster (2000) explains in her history of the organization, this group of unions experienced backlash from some quarters of the labor movement, even though this practice had existed for decades.

2. Inside the U.S. labor movement, the term outsider is often used disparagingly. However, in this paper we use it in a descriptive and value-neutral way.

3. In their fascinating longitudinal study of union leadership, Ganz et al. (2004) explore how the union leaders in their data-set came into their positions. They focus on the recruitment process, dividing their interviewees into two groups, those who were ‘hired from outside the union’ and those who were ‘promoted from within the union’ (Ganz et al., 2004, p. 166).

4. Around the same time, the AFL-CIO established another program, Union Summer, which engaged young people as union supporters in voluntary capacities (Bunnage, 2002; Bunnage & Stephan-Norris, 2004; Van Dyke, Dixon, & Carlon, 2007).

5. This was the result of a carefully crafted media strategy. Media-savvy OI and Union Summer staffers tirelessly courted media outlets to cover both organizations’ efforts and participants, especially during the 1990s.

6. Since its inception, the OI has emphasized interpersonal skills over union knowledge in its recruitment and selection processes. According to OI staffers, it is far easier to teach applicants with strong interpersonal skills about unions, than it is to teach applicants with union knowledge how to improve their interpersonal skills. As a result of this policy, over the years many outsiders have entered the OI with little or no knowledge about labor unions.

7. This table was inspired by Anfara, Brown, and Mangione’s (2002) excellent article about tabular presentation of qualitative research findings.

8. Almost all of the outsider organizers in this data-set were under the age of 30 at the time of the interview; many of them appeared much younger than their actual age.

9. It is important to note that not all of the organizers in this data-set identified as middle class; a few identified themselves as working class or poor during their interviews with the first author.

10. The OI’s classroom training is very hands-on; participants discuss issues, ask questions, and participate in role-playing exercises during the training. OI trainers evaluate each participant and at the end of the three days a small number of participants are invited to work on a live union recognition campaign.

11. These unions include SEIU, UNITE HERE, and the American Federation of Federal, State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).