Organizing lessons from the front lines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fundamentals of organizing

1. Mapping

A successful organizing drive starts with clearly identifying every worksite and where potential members actually are. In some cases, that’s straightforward. In others, it takes real digging. This “mapping” matters because we need to know who we are trying to reach and how to reach them.

Trista: “In our case, there were three major worksites, and also many smaller sites. It made it difficult to reach some of the workers, especially in the satellite sites (like specialized clinics). With some detective work, we figured out there were many more potential members than originally thought. At the beginning, we thought the number would be around 500 and later realized it was closer to 1,200. That’s why having an overall view is so important.”

Sarah: “As flight attendants, we live and work all over the place. It can be a challenge. At the same time, the employer kept hiring – around 50 new people a month. It was a challenge to keep up, because every new hire meant a new person to meet and a card to get signed. But you have to stay on top of everything if you want to unionize.”

Wendy: “In our case, our members are educational assistants, secretaries and other support staff. We’re one school board that covers 26 schools. We had potential members at each site, between 7 and 30.”

Tina: “We were attempting to organize over 3,000 workers at the University of British Columbia, which is a huge group of people. But those numbers fluctuated during the campaign, as there is also a certain level of turnover amongst the workers, so we had to constantly make sure the cards reflected the actual staff list.”

2. Building a team

Another essential part of organizing is building a strong team, dividing up the work clearly, and keeping organizers motivated over the long haul.

Trista: “A big part of organizing is identifying leaders. They will help recruit more members into the union. Other people might be interested in organizing but simply don’t realize they can help. It’s our job to recruit these people.”

Tina: “We divided the work by department. For my part, I was focusing on one or two departments, a few hundred people. Because departments were funded and functioned differently, working conditions varied widely. For instance, some research assistants were paid much better than others. To get people on board, we had to adapt the message and strategy to take those differences into account.”

Sarah: “You start by talking to the people around you, and then you find other leaders, people with a lot of contacts. When you’re looking for people to help with organizing, interpersonal skills are more important than anything. And it’s just as important to keep your organizing group motivated. The organizing group needs to listen to what people care about and try to address those concerns. It’s a lot of work, including evenings. Keeping people motivated for the long haul can be difficult, but it’s a key to success.”

3. Communication and direct contact

Good communication is another constant in organizing. The tools and trends evolve – some methods are new, others are tried and true – but the need to communicate stays the same. And it has to be a two-way conversation: organizing isn’t only about speaking, it’s also about listening.

Tina: “The bread and butter of our campaign was those one-to-one conversations. We formed unit committees, usually one per department, and these committees organized the one-to-one conversations. You talk to your colleagues, to the people around you… And then you reach out to the ones you haven’t reached yet.”

Trista: “We used texts and emails to contact potential members and help set up a meeting. But it’s in those face-to-face conversations that the magic happens. We asked potential members what was the one thing they would change in their working conditions if they could. Their answers gave us valuable information on changes people wanted to see. We could then agitate and mobilize them around those issues.”

4. Following up

Consistent follow-up after initial contact is essential. A strong organizing plan must include the time and capacity to check back in, answer questions, and keep the momentum going.

Sarah: “There are some people who won’t sign a card right away, and you will have to talk to them more than once. Maybe some are uninterested at first but will be ready to sign a card two months later, especially when negative changes continue to come from the employer. You plant seeds.”

Tina: “It’s very important to follow up. This is something that organizers sometimes forget. If you’ve already had a one-on-one contact, then your follow-ups can be as simple as a text or email. Some groups of potential members are more open to unionizing than others. And people move at different paces. Some members signed union cards so early that they expired and needed to be re-signed after six months in time to file. When you are organizing, you need to accept that not everything will go by your timeline. You have to adapt.”

To better understand how organizing campaigns reach people, we asked organizers about the communication tools they used – from personal contact and printed materials to digital platforms. We also wanted to gauge how much new technology is shaping organizing work today.
  

The tools that engage workers

1. One-on-one conversations

Everyone emphasized the importance of one-on-one conversations, connecting with people individually.

Trista: “First, we started by talking to the people we know. That’s the key to get things rolling. And then they talk to the people they know. Interpersonal relationships make the difference. It works. The CUPE lead organizers provided us with training and a script to use as a guideline for our conversations with potential members.”

Wendy: “We had a lot of individual discussions quietly, behind the scenes. We counted on word-of-mouth, and we were available to answer questions when they arose.”

Sarah: “One-on-one conversations are where the magic happens – 100%! Not on a website or a leaflet. You have to remain open, and you want people to feel open to come to you. You have to meet them where they’re at. You can’t get frustrated if they’re not perfectly aligned right then with your ideas or values.”

Tina: “There was a lot of informal outreach done by member-organizers and volunteers. They would reach out to the people they knew – some used Messenger or Instagram. But nothing can replace one-on-one conversations. Old-school works well!”

2. Databases

To keep track of potential members and lessons learned along the way, organizers need to be systematic and keep solid records. The right tool depends on the campaign: it can be simple or more advanced, as long as we know who we’ve spoken to, what we heard, and what comes next.

Tina: “Obviously, with a large group, you have to track who you’ve spoken to and who you haven’t. You have to do things in a systematic way. We used the platform Action Builder, and it suited our needs well.”

Trista: “We did use the online tool called Action Builder. You can add members, include notes, connections…”

Sarah: “We simply used an Excel sheet. We had someone on the team who was very gifted with it.”

3. Card-signing

Getting union membership cards signed is a key step in any organizing drive. Depending on the workplace, campaigns may use paper cards, an online form, or a mix of both.

Sarah: “Some may think that if we’re better at emailing or social media or electronic sign-up cards, everything will be easier. That’s not necessarily true. Technology can be a tool, but it’s just a tool. People could sign electronically – we carried QR codes around with us. We also went old-school. You can’t see who has signed an online card, so paper can make it clearer and easier to track your progress. It takes 20 seconds and you’re done.”

Trista: “We had physical cards that people could sign, and we could have a chat at the same time. We also had online cards. It made it easier for some of the workers.”

Tina: “We did have a digital card to sign. That was nice and made things easy. We had some paper cards but almost didn’t use them at all as we had a QR code with a link to the digital card with us at all times. This strategy worked well for our group.”

4. On-the-ground actions

On-the-ground actions are where an organizing drive becomes real. They create opportunities for face-to-face conversations, shared experiences and updates, and practical follow-up. That makes it easier to talk about the union, answer questions and mobilize.

Trista: “We set up tables at different sites, so we could give information, promote the union, and answer questions from potential members. We managed to convince management to let us do it. We were present in the main sites for 12 hours a day for 8 days in a row.”

Tina: “We organized ‘snack’tions’ – a combination of ‘snacks’ and ‘action’ – where we would take a rolling coffee cart through buildings and knock on doors, offering snacks and coffee to the workers. This gave us a chance to talk to potential members one-on-one about the union. If asked by management, we simply said we were doing a worker appreciation event.”

Wendy: “We went to meet people. Since we couldn’t recruit on school property, our team met workers just outside school grounds. We had ‘car park’ discussions in a parking lot near the school. We had flyers. We had cards to sign. For a while, our campaign was mostly quiet, but there was a time to be more out in the open. We held an in-person town hall to answer questions for a larger group at once. More than 200 people came. It was a success!”

Sarah: “Travel was sometimes good for recruiting the flight attendants you fly with. And you find yourself with different people, because the crews change. Other times, others and I would simply go to airports to talk to people.”

5. Emails and apps

Messaging apps and email can make it easier to coordinate organizers, share information, and stay responsive, especially when people are spread out or when discretion matters.

Trista: “We used chat groups for organizers to share information and answer questions, mostly WhatsApp. When contacting members, I used text messages a lot. They’re better, in my opinion, than email. With texts, I know for sure if the messages have been read.”

Sarah: “There were already pre-existing group chats that cabin crew had set up to discuss things or get support. It was easy to go there and answer questions about unionizing.”

Wendy: “We did use email. We had many email addresses from previous lists and from a petition we had done.”

Tina: “Digital tools can be really useful. We held meetings over digital platforms so we could meet discreetly. For us, meeting online meant people from all over campus could join easily. We did use email too, but it’s less effective than one-on-one conversations. It’s OK to share information, but not so much to persuade or mobilize.”

6. Social media

Social media is part of everyday life – and for many workers, it’s where conversations already happen. But is it a useful tool for organizing and building support?

Wendy: “We had a Facebook group. We needed to control who was admitted or not. We shared information and the dates of our events, like our town hall meeting. But social media can be a double-edged sword. Campaign information can leak.”

Sarah: “There was a Facebook group with hundreds of people. By the comments, we saw immediately who got it and was favourable to the union. We could post content, we could also answer questions. We developed rules and guidelines, and we asked people to stay appropriate. You have to be careful and respectful: someone can always take a screenshot and share with management.”

Tina: “In another campaign, we tried using digital ads through social media. But, to be frank, it’s very difficult to target the right audience.”

In every organizing drive, obstacles show up: misinformation, pressure, fear, and the feeling that speaking up might come with consequences. Part of the work is naming those barriers and addressing them directly in our strategy. Of course, it also means reminding people what being part of a union actually offers: protection, stronger workers’ rights, and real gains that come from collective power.
  

The union advantage

Trista: “One of the main challenges of an organizing drive is overcoming misinformation. Sometimes it spreads fast. Some employers will use scare tactics or warn workers about unions, calling them a ‘third-party entity’. Some workers thought that speaking to us would get them fired. So we worked hard to make sure as many people as possible knew they have the legal right to unionize. We reminded them that they are the union – it’s not an outside organization. And we also pointed to everything CUPE has won for workers in the past: wage increases, better benefits, seniority, and more. Most importantly, there’s strength in numbers.”

Tina: “When you’re organizing, you’re also doing education. You have to talk to people about their rights, including the confidentiality around card signing.”

Wendy: “In our case, the fear campaign was led by the ‘association’, a pseudo-union that was there before CUPE. They were telling people they could get disciplined by the employer, and the employer wasn’t innocent in all this either. But we were able to convince workers they couldn’t be disciplined for discussing the union. If you accept to be silenced, you’re giving others much power over you. At the same time, this was a campaign of positivity. We took the time to explain everything. Yes, dues would be higher, but we explained the additional benefits of joining CUPE. We also had to educate about what a real union does, because many people had a bad experience in the past.”

Sarah: “Sometimes, employers will say, ‘Don’t form a union. We’re a family!’ But when you’re in an employer-employee relationship, you’re not family. There were instances where many of us – including myself – felt targeted and that created fear and frustration. It was an eye-opener, and it helped convince potential members to join for the safety net a union represents. For example, the employer introduced a two-tier pay scale that lasted for 5 years before it was rescinded during our drive. They wanted to go from 12 hours on-call to 24 hours on-call with no pay increase for those added hours of work! They also wanted to stop paying for our breakfasts at hotels. When you make the equivalent of minimum wage, that makes a difference. Those were the kinds of things we used to mobilize workers. And the benefits of a union are both individual and collective: some people respond most to solidarity and collective action, while others join because of personal needs or grievances. That’s reality.”

Organizing takes patience and a long-term approach. That is how campaigns build the momentum they need to win. And even when a union drive doesn’t succeed at first, we keep going. Patience and perseverance keep the work moving forward, because the goal is bigger than a single campaign: improving workers’ lives and strengthening their voice.

Another essential principle is adaptability. Conditions on the ground vary widely, and our approach has to reflect that reality. It’s worth trying new ideas and experimenting with new tools, as long as they fit the workplace and the people involved.

So, has organizing fundamentally changed in the last few years? In some ways, yes – and in others, not really. The basics don’t change: identify potential members, build support, and mobilize. What does change is the toolkit – technology and the ways we share information. The lesson running through our conversations with Trista, Tina, Wendy and Sarah is that effective organizing starts by grounding our approach in workers’ realities, and still depends on real, one-on-one conversations. Everything else should support that work.

We are grateful to everyone who shared their time and experience for this article.