Labor Studies 510 - Organizing

Most people in the labor movement, whether rank-and-file, staff, or elected official, have had some experience organizing. Some may have worked on new organizing drives. Others have urged members to become more active in an existing union. Still others have worked on electoral campaigns on behalf of labor-endorsed candidates. Rarely, however, do we have the opportunity to step back and learn the theory behind and research on organizing. Why do we organize? Why organize in certain ways but not others? Why do some organizing drives succeed while others fail? What is the connection between good one-on-one conversations and the larger struggles of which they are a part? These questions and more will be the focus of this course.