Board adopts new co-op organizing concept

By Herald Grandstaff

Graphic Communicator photo by Herald Grandstaff

General Board Organizing-Subsidy Committee members from left are Philadelphia 14M Pres. Andrew Douglas; Toronto 500M Pres. Mike R. Zajac; GCIU Vice Pres. Garry Foreman, acting organizing director; and Kansas City 235M Pres. James Miller.

A new concept, to possibly establish local union cooperatives for at least two years for organizing the unorganized, was unanimously adopted by GCIU General Board members at the March meeting.

The concept was submitted by the combined General Board Organizing-Subsidy Committee to possibly replace 50-50 subsidies. With the 50-50 subsidies, a local union paid half of the cost for an organizer and the International paid the other half for up to two years.

Some board members cited questions that would have to be resolved. It was agreed that GCIU Vice Pres. Garry D. Foreman, acting director of International organizing who developed the co-op concept, would work on the plan and bring revisions back for board members to consider at their June 6 to 8 meeting.

Under the plan, cooperatives would be established by local unions in a city or compact area. Each local would pay its share of the costs for an organizing intern, with the International union paying a share from the general fund. For example, if an organizing co-op were established with five local unions, the International union would pay one-sixth of the intern's salary and expenses.

There was a consensus that the details as presented at the March board meeting could be adjusted to meet the goals of the General Board.

Foreman reported that he met with the organizing staff in early 1999 to obtain input. He indicated that a wide range of staff and union leaders "have been saying that local unions have to make a commitment to organizing." Foreman said the co-op concept would generate local participation without a large financial drain on one local.

While some board members had concerns about how the details would work, they indicated a sense of urgency about finding a way to involve local unions in increased organizing activity and yielding greater successes.

GCIU Pres. James J. Norton said that one of the drawbacks of the 50-50 subsidy is that if a local agrees to that commitment, the individual hired to conduct organizing campaigns could be assigned other duties that could usurp the organizer's attention from organizing. If there were an organizing co-op, he said, participating locals would serve as a watchdog to ensure that the intern was focusing on organizing.

Foreman explained that prospective interns would be trained at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies and then an intern for a co-op would be selected by GMCLS personnel for assignment – thus eliminating political appointments.

The resolution for the co-op concept included provisions that: the GCIU must make a strong commitment to organizing in the United States and Canada in order to capture the power necessary to protect negotiated benefits; the AFL-CIO has challenged the affiliates to commit 30 percent of their resources to organizing by the year 2000; the GCIU has only six full-time organizers in the United States and one in Canada; there are currently thousands of non-union printing-related facilities throughout the U.S. and Canada; the leadership of the GCIU must find and implement new and creative ways of stimulating organizing to rebuild the organization; local unions of the GCIU must take an active role in organizing; and that the General Board approves the concept and development of a program titled co-op subsidy to possibly replace the current 50-50 organizing subsidy program.