Fear is tactic #1 of union busters:
- Fear of job loss
- Fear of being targeted
- Fear of being treated different
Organizers don’t deal with fear of consequences, but fear of perceived consequences.
The best way to tackle it – stick your inside committee into the fire.
Letting your inside committee play it safe is risky.
I watched a campaign where an organizer stressed that the decision to join the union was a strict secret.
Only two people on the inside committee were willing to divulge publicly that they had signed cards.
The secrecy got so out of hand that a husband and wife wouldn’t tell eachother if they signed a card.
Workers didn’t sign cards out of fear. They figured that the two inside committee members were the only two in the entire store who had signed cards.
The leasson learned – a union is not a secret organization.
The most vocal union supporters are the safest and show others they will be safe as well.
Key is to increase the level of commitment gradually and comfortably, and then take off the training wheels.
Ideas to put your inside committee out there:
1. Put photos of the inside committee in leaflets.
2. Only let someone sign a card if they have their picture taken holding their signed card.
3. Petition to change conditions at work
4. Bring your inside committee out leafleting
5. Bring inside committee members to labour board meetings
