CSUEU President Pat Gantt, forwarded a link to this article The Organizing Model: As American as Apple Pie (http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/14885/the_organizing_model_goes_global/) to the CSUEU Board of Directors and it’s quite appropriate for CSUEU’s current stage of development; transitioning from an association service model to a member-run, union organizing model. We do a good job negotiating and protecting our contract with the resources we have available.  The fact of the matter is, not everything can be won or done at that bargaining table or in an official complaint, charge or grievance.  We limit our union and ourselves when we rely so heavily on a small group of paid staff, statewide & chapter leaders and stewards to negotiate and protect our contract, compensation, benefits and working conditions.  So what’s the alternative?

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In this blog, I want to delve into the issues that I think our members really care about and hopefully stimulate questions, comments, discussion and debate.  Specifically in this blog post, I’ll be focusing on how we’re protecting our jobs and fighting for better compensation.  There’s a lot to cover so hang in there.  We’re setting the stage for future blog posts, which will be much shorter and provide updates on and build off of what’s discussed below. 

I tell ya, there’s A LOT going on in and around CSUEU.  Here’s a quick rundown on some of the fronts we’re fighting on: contracting out, IRPs, pension & benefits, Shared Services & Synergy, the Governor & Legislature, the Chancellor’s Office, the Board of Trustees, 2014 contract campaign, bullying, workload and the list goes on and on.  We’re not unique in facing threats to our jobs and benefits coupled with serious challenges in the workplace;...

I’m finally doing it, posting my first “official” blog as CSUEU VP for Organizing.  I’ve been meaning to do this for oh about 7-8 months but didn’t have a good name for it and then all of a sudden it hit me, as I look through the back window of my car, “The Bullhorn!”  Of course that’s not the real reason why I haven’t blogged but it is the way I came up with the name for this blog.  I mean, what kind of VP for Organizing would I be if I didn’t have a bullhorn at the ready in my office at work, in my car and at home?  Lest I digress, the idea for this blog is for it to be more of a feedback loop than a me yacking on about what I want you all to read, diary type thing.

For organizing purposes, bullhorns are quite an effective tool: 

You can use it to make announcements and give direction to large groups of people.

You can start a chant with one and give people...

In which Joseph gives an account and reflections from the March Week of Action in Sacramento, CA - from the inside of the Capitol building.

Joseph visits Chapter 316, representing Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, meets President Armstrong in an awkward fashion, motivates the membership to get involved, and discusses the importance of speaking truth to power.

In which Joseph gives a first-person account of the November CSU Board of Trustees meeting, adding context, dispelling rumors, and looking forward to the next stage of the struggle.

In which the VP for Member Engagement reflects on the layoff bargaining at CSU Stanislaus.

In which the Vice-President for Member Representation reflects on two and a half months on the road in support of the 2011 Defense Campaign, with highlights and tragedies along the way.

In which the Vice President for Member Engagement ruffles some feathers at CSU Channel Islands by speaking up for nine (9) lab and equipment technicians being extorted for a month’s pay, and the double standards applied on the campuses at large.

A transcript of a speech given by the Vice-President for Member Engagement at the Take Class Action event on Wednesday, April 13th, 2011.