Agitation in Action

A still from the movie "Stir of Echoes." A man is digging in his basement. There is a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. One visible wall is stonework, another is brick. There is a ladder against the brick wall, a hot water heater, several planks of wood and the corner of a fireplace.

A while back, I was the organizing director for an organizing campaign with state employees in Colorado. It was a huge campaign, with about 30 organizers and 40,000 workers.

Part of leading the campaign was going with organizers during their house visits – knocking on doors of workers and asking to come in and talk about their work for a while. It’s the best way to have one-on-one conversations away from the prying ears and eyes of bosses.

House Visits

One day, I went with an organizer to the home of a maintenance crew chief in the Department of Corrections.

He came to the door in clothes covered with dirt, dirt on his face, wiping his hands on a rag. He explained that he and his wife were in the middle of digging up their basement to do their own repairs on the sewage or plumbing system.

The organizer starts the conversation by asking about the crew chief’s job. He talks about the crew he coordinates, emphasizing that as a manager, he’s paid a little more. He understood that the members of his team might be struggling more than he was. A union might be good for them.

The two continue to talk about the work, the institutions, his co-workers and more. The organizer did a great job of getting to know this man and his work. The organizer also described the organizing that other state employees were doing to come together to form a union.

Asking the Question

At the right moment, the organizer asks “will you sign a union authorization card and join your co-workers in forming a union?”

“Oh, no. I think the rest of the guys on my team probably need that more than I do,” he said.

The organizer points out that he seems to care a lot about the rest of the team. “What other solutions have you tried to support them?” Of course, nothing.

This conversation continues for a while. They talk about values, teamwork, having the right tools to do the job. Then the organizer asks again about signing a card to form a union.

“Oh no. I’m not that kind of person. I’ll just let the others do it,” he says.

Agitation

At that point, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Really??? You don’t seem like the kind of person who lets others do the work for you. You’re digging up your own basement!!!” I said.

He looked at me for a few seconds, then said “You’re right. Give me the card.”

Sometimes it takes a little agitation for someone to take action.

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