Greetings from Iowa, where polling stations opened an hour and a half ago for a number of elections, including of course President of the United States, but also state and municipal elections.
I’ve spent over a week here so far, observing the labour movement and how they organise their members to participate in the democratic process in order to advance pro-worker policies – or at the very least, try to block the worst attacks on workers.
There’s plenty to say here that I don’t have time right now to say – I’ll try to write a more substantial article later in the week – but straight away it seems obvious that there is a lot we could learn in Britain about the way in which unions are active around elections. In particular:
1. Political candidates are not endorsed if they will not satisfactorily meet the policy requirements of the unions. Unions will not fund or promote candidates who will not commit to these. This gives the grassroots an understanding that it is the issues, not the individuals, which affects how they should cast their vote.
2. There is an ongoing local relationship between pro-union politicians and the labour movement between elections. The nearest parallel I can make is to ask you to imagine trades councils in Britain meeting regularly with local councillors to discuss how to advance the cause of working class people in that authority’s area. Sometimes this happens, but it is rare.
3. The level of member mobilisation is far greater, and there is much more recognition here (it seems to me) of the best way to communicate being member to member and not union head office to member. An active ‘We are your neighbours’ scheme is run by many unions to encourage their members to get out into their communities and simply talk to others about what the union is and what it believes. Despite a far smaller number of unionised members in the US than Britain, this seems to work well. I’ve been surprised by the genuine solidarity that exists across the movement here, and the coordinated and detailed approach they take to defend their interests.
George Woods is a Community Organiser at TSSA. He is writing here in a personal capacity.
