PRINCIPLES FOR ORGANISING

1. Organising begins when people question authority. 2. Someone asks what are they doing to us? Is it right?

4. People should not accept a rule or an 1. Question authority answer simply because it comes from the authorities,
a). whether that authority is the government b). the union organisation c). the boss

3. Encourage people to ask: Who is making the decisions. Who is being forced to live with the decisions and why should that he so?

5. An effective organiser encourages workers to think and do things for themselves.

d). or you.

1. The most important thing about organising is personal, one-to-One discussion. 4. cultivate hope that things can be different thats what organising is all about. 3. You will have gone a long way if you win over the natural leaders.

2. Leaflets are necessary, meetings are important rallies are wonderful - but none of them will ever take the place of one-to-One discussion. 3. Often by simply listening to workers, hearing what is on their minds, you have won them over because you are the only one who will listen.

2.Talk One-to-One.
Overcome their fears

answer their questions lift their morale

1.Every workplace 3. Find the Natural leaders.has its social groupings of coworkers and friends. 2.They are not always the Each group has its loudest or the most talkative, opinion makers, its but they are the ones others natural leaders. listen to.

1. Life is not a schoolroom and people do not learn simply from going to meetings or reading leaflets.

2. Most people learn, change and grow in the process of action.

4.Get people involved in activity.

4. People get involved one step at a time. 3. If you want to develop new leaders, you must give them something they can do, however small that first step is.

Will you take this leaflet?

Will you pass it on to two coworkers? Will you mail in this postcard?
Will you sign this petition?

1. Organisation need not be overly formal or structurally top heavy, but it must be there.

2. A telephone tree and a mailing list may be all the organisation you need, but if those things are what you need then you must have them. 3. Groups are stronger when they organise themselves.
2. We want to create a group that sees itself as a whole.

5.Organisation is everything.
1. However the point is not only to get individuals involved, but to join them together in a solidarity conscious group.
4. We are the Movement. Will you come to the Meeting?

6.Make that collective activity.

3. We are the Union.

Will you come with the rest of the department to visit the boss together? Can we count on all of you for the picket line?

1. Ask people to become involved in activities of increasing commitment and difficulty.

Will you vote against this contract? Will you come to a lunchtime protest?

Will you take strike action? Are you prepared to stand on a picket line?

7.Activities should escalate over time.

Will you take this leaflet? 1. Organising is about changing power relationships. 2. Changing the balance of forces between management and workers.
3. Confrontation with the employer has to be built into the escalating activities. 2. For many of them it started with that first question.

8.Confront management.
4. The first confrontation may be something as simple as wearing a sticker with a message.
If people are not willing to risk upsetting the boss, they wont win.

1. Most movements from a small group in one workplace,

to massive social protests which change society (like the civil rights or womens movements) grow on the basis of small victories. 3. With each victory the group becomes more confident and therefore capable of winning larger victories.

9. Win Small Victories.

2. The victories give us the confidence that we can do more.

4. Make events and actions fun, enjoyable, exciting and productive.