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Organizing December 2003 IBEW Journal
"I am not satisfied that we all understand just how vital organizing is or what position it holds on our unions list of priorities. So let me repeat it one more time: organizing is the number one priority of this Brotherhood. Nothing trumps it. Nothing surpasses it. Every activity of this Brotherhood will be measured by how well it supports our organizing efforts." President Hills words at the Organizing Conference held in Chicago in October still resonate throughout the Brotherhood. The key question for the future of the union is: How will we put those no-nonsense ideals into action? "Theres a lot were going to do differently, but the keys are coordination, cooperation and communication," says Cecil "Buddy" Satterfield who will be in thick of things as the recently appointed Special Assistant to the International President for Membership Development. In that position, Satterfield will be the "point man" for the IBEWs organizing efforts, but he will hardly be acting alone.
"As anybody who has tried to organize new members knows, we face a lot of obstacles--the law, unprecedented employer resistance, and apathy and fear on the part of the workers themselves," Satterfield says. An easygoing guy who lives up to his nickname, the passion rises up in Satterfield when he talks about how workers today have been fed lies for too many years about the labor movement and how the laws governing organizing in the United States have eroded so badly that most workers are ignorant of their rights. "These external problems are bad enough. But, as Ed Hill and Jerry OConnor have emphasized, theyre only part of the picture. We have got to remove the internal obstacles that we ourselves have created that are preventing us from really making organizing the top priority in the IBEW--not just talk." Those internally generated obstacles include a lack of coordination or even rivalry among different branches of the Brotherhood, an adherence to inflexible ways of doing business that have hindered newly organized workers and contractors--especially in the construction industry--from enjoying the full benefits of membership in the IBEW, and a lack of coordination that has caused organizers to duplicate efforts and reinvent campaigns from scratch when valuable information and precedents were available. In restructuring the IBEWs organizing operations, President Hills goal is not to create another level of bureaucracy, but rather to strengthen and energize the existing structure of the union to support increased organizing. Satterfield, as Special Assistant to the International President, will oversee the membership development team at the International Office consisting of three directors. Fred "Rocky" Clark serves as director of Professional and Industrial Membership Development, overseeing organizing in the utility, telecommunications, manufacturing, broadcasting, railroad and government branches. Richard Ellis has been promoted to director of Outside Membership Development, where he coordinates organizing efforts in the growing outside line contracting industry. A new director of Inside Membership Development to oversee organizing in the inside construction branch will be named soon. Ron Burke, who had held that position, is working on special assignments in the field, which will include organizing in multiple districts. In addition, all of the branch departments in the I.O. will assist in organizing by assigning at least one International Representative to provide support and industry background as the process of identifying targets and designing campaigns unfolds. Another important part of the structure is the creation of committees of business managers, and International and local staff to examine how different branches can work together and to examine and help remove obstacles to cooperation. One committee on coordination between the inside and outside construction branches has already begun its work. Each of the eleven International Vice Presidents of the IBEW will continue to oversee organizing in their respective districts and will work in close coordination with the membership development team at the I.O. One International Representative, however, in each district will be assigned the responsibility for organizing and will report to the Membership Development Department as well as to the Vice President. There will no longer be a differentiation between "construction" and "industrial" coordinators as previously existed. However, more reps in each district will be working on organizing campaigns and enable the flow of information to run smoothly in the district. What does this mean for the locals? Each local should expect a visit from an International Representative or organizer to talk about potential targets in their jurisdiction or how the local can assist in other campaigns that may be ongoing in an area or among the different locations of the same employer. "Our goal," says Satterfield, "is to energize our rank and file members so that they support and participate in the organizing mission. Our members have tremendous pride in our Brotherhood, and they are the best ambassadors we have when it comes to convincing nonunion workers--who might be their friends or neighbors or even relatives--to become part of the IBEW. Some members have told me that they never helped in the past because they were never asked. Were going to ask." President Hill knows that restructuring for its own sake wont help the IBEW meet its goals. "This isnt about rearranging the furniture," he says. "This is about a whole new way of doing business so that we make sure we stay in business and keep the IBEW a strong and growing force for good in all the industries we represent." Expect to read much, much more about the IBEWs membership development efforts in 2004 upcoming issues of the Journal. (For a report on the recent Organizing Conference, including the full text of President Hills and Secretary-Treasurer OConnors speeches, click here.)
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