Workplace leaders tend to be those who define reality and build consensus within a group of workers. Either for, or against, the union.
The main role of a union organiser is to look for, find and develop the existing organisation among a group of people, and find its leaders, in any group they are supporting to organise. Looking beyond the people who, at first glance, present themselves as the obvious leaders. Often the real leaders would not describe themselves as leaders They may not be existing union representatives. Or union members. Or even union supporters. Yet.
In workplaces where some form of union organisation already exists but membership density is low it can in reality be because two organisations at the workplace are in conflict. Not all workplace leaders can be formal union representatives of course and that can produce a healthy and active union culture at work. But a challenging idea for us to accept is that however good they might be, not all formal union representatives are the real workplace leaders.
A general union organising approach in any event is to fit our union into and around the existing structure in any workplace rather than imposing one from the outside. It’s a historically effective way people have adopted to build sustainable power and gain new ground – as the Etruscans found more than 2,000 years ago. So finding the most influential members of a workforce, and bringing them in to the collective is a great way to ensure that they don’t become powerful blockers to organising. It is not the easy route however.
Often a much deeper engagement, analysis and understanding of the dynamics of a group of people is required before identifying the real leaders. But this approach remains rare in the trade union movement. The “build it and they will come” strategy still dominates, despite its failure to deliver time and again in terms of opening our unions up to new leaders. In reality we have to continually guard against union cultures and approaches that can accidentally exclude new leaders despite our best intentions
We must not forget either that the employer is often in competition with us to identify and recruit these leaders. Employers use two main tactics to prevent union leaders emerging, or limiting the power of any union they deal with. The first is to look for the existing leaders too, and recruit them – sometimes as Supervisors - to promote their narrative. The second is to limit the number of leaders the union can elect – sometimes by controlling paid release for union duties.
Know these tactics, and we can inoculate against them. A guiding principle for workplace organisers is to place no limit on the number of local union leaders we identify, make into workplace organisers and recognise – whether the employer agrees or not. We are not there to ask permission. Another is to be committed, and visible to the workforce; a union representative who is neither of these things is worse than no union representative at all. And sometimes if we believe a Supervisor is a real leader then that is a place to start
Looking for Leaders:
Ask Surveys can be a good starting point in finding leaders, as can be asking in other ways such as by email and at meetings. But merely seeking volunteers to be a union rep from existing union members rarely identifies the real leaders on its own. Much more effective questions to ask are: “who do you think people here listen to?” “who organises any after work activities, tea clubs, socials, birthday cards?” or “who do people go to for advice about work problems or anything else?” And then continue to ask them over a period of time.
Mobilise – as we call workplace actions, rallies, demonstrations, a vigilant organiser will be able to watch out for how a group of workers reacts collectively – which groups support and why, which groups don’t support and why. This is often due to the influence of a leader which once identified can be recruited to the union and developed.
Form an organising group with the union representatives at its core - and invite potential leaders whether members of the union or not making sure all groups within the workforce are present in that space
Test – To finally leave behind the "recruit and service" union approach, it is important at all times that a union avoids doing something for a worker that they could do themselves with union support. Taking this stance also helps identify union members who have leadership potential.
What are we looking for in potential leaders?
· They have followers
· They tend to find other leaders
· They are engaged in the workplace issues and everyone knows where they stand
· They are at the centre of workplace discussions and debates
· They tend to take spontaneous actions at work
· They are often leaders in the community beyond the workplace
· They are seen as an authentic representative by their work colleagues
· They can explain the issues at work to others and have a feel for wider context
· They are willing to challenge and ask questions of the union and the employer
· They are curious and regularly get involved in how the group works often without an invite
· They have a better than average work record and
· They have clear credibility with colleagues