EWOC empowers workers to lead their own struggle because working class power can only be achieved by the workers themselves. You can start organizing by identifying leaders.
As you may already know, no one person can successfully take on a boss. Sadly, no superhero will fly onto the shop floor to save the day, either.
To win a campaign, 65 to 80 percent of the workplace must actively participate. That’s a supermajority! This means you’ll need to find leaders to ensure that as many workers as possible are clear and engaged in the fight.
Keys to identifying leaders
Every workplace has leaders. They’re the people who are trusted by coworkers, responsible, honest, compassionate, courageous, and good listeners. Once identified, leaders can form an organizing committee to support and educate each other as they help workers make cohesive demands and a plan to win.
It’s difficult to form a union in the US, but having a diverse group of leaders ensures that a wide range of skills are represented. Having multiple leaders also makes it harder for management to attack your efforts.
Maybe you’re already thinking of someone you know who you could talk to and work with.
What to look for when identifying leaders
Leaders in your workplace are
- Respectful of group decisions and prioritize the group
- Trusted by co-workers
- Responsible, honest, courageous, and compassionate
- Good listeners
- Able to move co-workers to collective action
Leader identification and development
Want to learn more? Check out this short video on the EWOC training for identifying leaders.
Learn More
When you’re done watching the video, register for the entire EWOC training series. You’ll learn a lot and meet other worker organizers like yourself. Let’s join together and win!
The rest of our five-part organizer training series can be found on our blog.
