The Gallant Gallstone
14th May 2010, 04:38
Hey gang,
Below is my letter to the head of a local teachers' union. I'm looking for feedback, criticism and ways to improve as an agitator. All names have been blanked-out to protect the less-than-innocent.
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Dear Mr. X,
The urgency is palpable. Public opinion has been adroitly manipulated against you, and your opponents hope to hammer you into submission at the bargaining table or else provoke you into committing public relations suicide by engaging in an unpopular strike. From my perspective, it seems that the work of the XYZ Education Association lacks a strategic vision; this aimlessness only supports the erroneous supposition that the union is a corrupt institution merely fighting to protect its own private privileges. I submit four points for your consideration; it is imperative that these ideas play a factor in your organizational work.
(1) Activism is a full-contact sport The Tea Party was wise enough to adopt the methods of Saul Alinsky, a seemingly ideological opposite who recognized that, in order to prevail against an enemy one should, whenever possible, go outside the experience of an opponent. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat. The PEA must not be afraid to adopt unconventional tactics. If picketing Mr Zs church during services would be effective in calling attention to our issues, then it must be done without hesitation or prevarication. Allies must be encouraged and opponents must be confronted. All fears of being disrespectful, discourteous or unpleasant must be put aside. The history of organized labor tells us that it was militant integrity, not wheedling compromise that brought the middle class the standard of living it enjoys so precariously today. More recently, the Tea Party has taught us that democratic activism requires a loud, boisterous approach.
(2) If you want solidarity, you have to give solidarity Strikes and union activism fail when the public perceives indifference from the union for the community-at-large. Some unions think they can address this by adopting highways or signing onto rambling declarations of Universal Solidarity, but these tactics will get you nowhere. If you really want to show solidarity, you have to speak up for the voiceless. Do you know how little the cafeteria workers make? If you want the public to see you as a force for good, be a force for good. Make reasonable demands for salary increases on behalf of the support staff. Another effective way to demonstrate solidarity is to actively support organized labor in general. Talk up the benefits of unionization to friends, family and even the people working at McDonalds.
(3) Engage the public The billboards on Lincoln Highway are an excellent start, but youve got a long way to go. Union leaders are public figures, yet I had to run a Google search to learn the identities of all of your union leaders excluding Miss So-and-So. The fact that your identities are relatively obscure is just propaganda fodder for your enemies. Its easy for the taxpayer to relate to those protestations against shadowy union bosses because many of them dont know who you are, what you look like, or what your voice sounds like. You must fully engage the public. Hold public meetings, walk the streets and study the example of Judge BCD. Her newsletter infuriates, amuses, cajoles, agitates and, most importantly, it works. Im certain you have talented artists somewhere in your membership; why not ask them to draw up some scathing political cartoons; if this newspaper wont print them, you can certainly distribute them via independent flyers.
(4) Know that youre in the bulls-eye When movements seek to destroy something, they invariably attack the least sympathetic manifestations of that entity. Opponents of free speech attack pornography before Shakespeare; enemies of the Second Amendment will set their sights on the most powerful weaponry and so it is with the foes of organized labor. Your members are well-paid, their salaries derive from sensitive property taxes, and the public perceives them as having a relaxed and undemanding schedule. The success or failure of this struggle, and other struggles just like it happening around the nation, will determine the fate of the U.S. middle and working classes for decades to come.
You are fighting for more than your bread and butter. Merely focusing on the interests of your members will lead to isolation and defeat.
Below is my letter to the head of a local teachers' union. I'm looking for feedback, criticism and ways to improve as an agitator. All names have been blanked-out to protect the less-than-innocent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. X,
The urgency is palpable. Public opinion has been adroitly manipulated against you, and your opponents hope to hammer you into submission at the bargaining table or else provoke you into committing public relations suicide by engaging in an unpopular strike. From my perspective, it seems that the work of the XYZ Education Association lacks a strategic vision; this aimlessness only supports the erroneous supposition that the union is a corrupt institution merely fighting to protect its own private privileges. I submit four points for your consideration; it is imperative that these ideas play a factor in your organizational work.
(1) Activism is a full-contact sport The Tea Party was wise enough to adopt the methods of Saul Alinsky, a seemingly ideological opposite who recognized that, in order to prevail against an enemy one should, whenever possible, go outside the experience of an opponent. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat. The PEA must not be afraid to adopt unconventional tactics. If picketing Mr Zs church during services would be effective in calling attention to our issues, then it must be done without hesitation or prevarication. Allies must be encouraged and opponents must be confronted. All fears of being disrespectful, discourteous or unpleasant must be put aside. The history of organized labor tells us that it was militant integrity, not wheedling compromise that brought the middle class the standard of living it enjoys so precariously today. More recently, the Tea Party has taught us that democratic activism requires a loud, boisterous approach.
(2) If you want solidarity, you have to give solidarity Strikes and union activism fail when the public perceives indifference from the union for the community-at-large. Some unions think they can address this by adopting highways or signing onto rambling declarations of Universal Solidarity, but these tactics will get you nowhere. If you really want to show solidarity, you have to speak up for the voiceless. Do you know how little the cafeteria workers make? If you want the public to see you as a force for good, be a force for good. Make reasonable demands for salary increases on behalf of the support staff. Another effective way to demonstrate solidarity is to actively support organized labor in general. Talk up the benefits of unionization to friends, family and even the people working at McDonalds.
(3) Engage the public The billboards on Lincoln Highway are an excellent start, but youve got a long way to go. Union leaders are public figures, yet I had to run a Google search to learn the identities of all of your union leaders excluding Miss So-and-So. The fact that your identities are relatively obscure is just propaganda fodder for your enemies. Its easy for the taxpayer to relate to those protestations against shadowy union bosses because many of them dont know who you are, what you look like, or what your voice sounds like. You must fully engage the public. Hold public meetings, walk the streets and study the example of Judge BCD. Her newsletter infuriates, amuses, cajoles, agitates and, most importantly, it works. Im certain you have talented artists somewhere in your membership; why not ask them to draw up some scathing political cartoons; if this newspaper wont print them, you can certainly distribute them via independent flyers.
(4) Know that youre in the bulls-eye When movements seek to destroy something, they invariably attack the least sympathetic manifestations of that entity. Opponents of free speech attack pornography before Shakespeare; enemies of the Second Amendment will set their sights on the most powerful weaponry and so it is with the foes of organized labor. Your members are well-paid, their salaries derive from sensitive property taxes, and the public perceives them as having a relaxed and undemanding schedule. The success or failure of this struggle, and other struggles just like it happening around the nation, will determine the fate of the U.S. middle and working classes for decades to come.
You are fighting for more than your bread and butter. Merely focusing on the interests of your members will lead to isolation and defeat.