'Organizing for Power!' kicks off Retreat agenda

Organizing for Power! participants use role-playing and simulations to study the use of power in organizing.

Against a national back drop of anti-union legislation, demands for salary and benefit rollbacks, and staff cuts, NSO members signed up for the Thursday, all-day session, “Organizing for Power-Module 1” to learn strategies to combat the attacks.

Organizing for Power! is one of NSO’s premier training programs designed to build stronger and more effective staff unions. Since it was first presented, more than 650 staff have taken the skills they learned in the program back home to their own affiliates. While Module 1 provides an educational foundation for organizing, there will be five modules in the program that use the Constant Organizing Goals (COG) method.

“This program differs from other approaches to union representation and organizing,” said John Stephens, Organizing Committee Chair. “The COG method helps members think strategically and the principles can be customized to organize bargaining or crisis teams.”

Because of membership losses, NEA is recognizing the need for developing a culture of organizing and is looking to NSO’s organizing program as a means of accomplishing that goal. Up until now, NEA has only been talking about the need for an organizing strategy, but they’ve haven’t developed a plan.

“Organizing for Power can provide that plan,” said Bob Lindquist, one of the Module 1 trainers at the Retreat. “The title of the program shouldn’t scare off participants. This is not about ‘power over’ but about the ‘power to’ accomplish something—realizing the world as it should be.”

Module 1 has been a popular session at more than 20 NEA, NEA regional and NEA state affiliate organizing conferences. Eight states use the training as part of their statewide organizing strategy. The entire program will feature five modules with modules two and three already completed.