Organizing 101
NEA Uniserv Academy
“Never do for others what they can do for
themselves.”
-Saul Alinsky, Founder, Industrial Areas Foundation
What will we be doing today?
(With breaks & lunch tucked in!)
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Overview & Introductions
What is organizing?
Why we organize
Types of organize
The role of staff in
organizing
• An effective organizing
plan
• Organizing principled
power
Training Objectives
• Explore the concept of organizing & its potential
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in building strong locals
Define types of organizing
Identify characteristics of effective organizers
Explore effective organizing plans
Internalize the relationship between trust,
relational organizing and principled power
Practice a key organizing tool – small group
discussions
What is Organizing?
• Celebrity Charades: don’t look & don’t
tell; ask up to three yes/no questions per
colleague until you ID your celebrity
• Form small groups & work on your
celebrity’s definition of “organizing”
• Prepare, as a group, to share your
celebrity’s definition of “organizing”
ORGANIZING
• A process used to move
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people to action
Creates power
Requires systems thinking
Appeals to self-interests
Develops sustainability
Is a science as well as an
art
Builds organizational
capacity
Benefits of Organizing
Short Term
• Job protection
• Healthcare
• Coalition building
• Improved working
conditions
• Tools for addressing
everyday problems
Long Term
• People learn about
themselves
• Individuals fully use their
skills & abilities
• An opportunity to
rediscover history
struggle & resistance
• Relearn cooperation,
collective action &
support of one another
Types of Organizing
•Scratch organizing
•Revitalization organizing
•Issue organizing
•Relational organizing
Issue Organizing
Issue organizing is a strategy that identifies, validates & clearly
frames or state the issue by which the members will be
motivated.
Identification
Know the difference between problems & issues. Problems
are long-term conditions that give rise to issues. We are
concerned about problems. We take on issues. Chronic
unemployment is a problem. An announcement of a 50-day
layoff is an issue.
Validating the Issue
When an organizer thinks an issue has been identified, it can be
validated with “yes” answers to these questions:
• Is it immediate, recent, close at hand?
• Is it specific, tangible, clearly understood?
• Is it controversial, their position or ours, polarized?
• Is it the right size, can we manage it, control it?
• Is it winnable, a sure thing?
Framing the Issue
The organizer creates the organizing theme by stating the issue
in such a way that it can be used to 1) focus the constituents’
energies and 2) mobilize people for action. The statement
becomes the consistent position of the organizing campaign.
Framing is accomplished by combining the following into a
statement:
 Clearly identify the issue
 Define the issue in such a way that sides are clearly identified
 Develop & refine the rationale for the issue
Problems -vs- Issues
PROBLEMS
• Global in nature
• Create solutions
• Long-lasting
• Source or cause is distant
• Irritating
• Encourage study
• Resolved only over a long
period of time
ISSUES
• Specific in nature
• Emanate from situations
• Short-lived
• Source or cause is near &
identifiable
• Inflaming
• Encourage action
• Resolved over a short
period of time
Relational Organizing
A type of organizing whereby a connection is made
to our greater assets & strengths. It focuses on
stories, values & beliefs of our members & their
self-interests.
• Focuses on listening & respecting members’ experiences
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& stories
Identifies & recruits leaders
Creates & agenda that is driven by the issues, lives &
experiences of our members
“Organizing
is a fancy word for
relationship building.”
Ernesto Cortes
Relational Meeting Concepts
• Give & take
• The meeting is selective
& sensitive
• Meetings like this prove
an essential human
connection that is
necessary to build an
enduring relationship
• Strong sense of self
provides basis for taking
risks in relationship
building
• Self-actualization comes
from understanding
feelings in ourselves &
others
• You don’t just discuss
what people do or their
philosophy or their
actions. Ultimately, you
must get to the level of
how people feel about
what they do.
Relational Meeting
Best Practices
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Work up your curiosity
Think about your story
Focus on the other person
Draw out & share your stories
Probe for their interests
Ask direct, engaging questions
Stick to your time limit
Take notes
Reflect & evaluate
What is listening?
Listening is
• Receiving information via your eyes & ears
• Giving the information meaning
• Determining how you feel or what you think
about the information
• Responding to the information
Listening is an intellectual & emotional process
that searches for meaning & understanding in a
message.
Listening Tips
• Don’t race up the “ladder of inference”
• Monitor & control distractions
• Clear your mind of other thoughts
• Make direct eye contact
• Use supportive voice & body language
• Without interrupting or changing the
subject, ask clarifying questions
“When you are tempted to
make a statement,
ask a question.”
Fred Ross, Sr.
The Organizer
The duty of the organizer is to provide
people with the opportunity to work for
what they believe in.
A good organizer is a “social arsonist” who
goes around setting people on fire!
Skills of an Organizer
• Ability to ID an issue
• Ability to evaluate
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human behavior
Concern for people
Ability to “affirm”
others
Ability to recognize
power
Ability to delegate
• Ability to determine
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needs
Ability to navigate
tense situations
Ability to plan
Ability to work from
the general to the
specific
Ability to monitor &
evaluate
Three Attributes of an Effective Organizer
PASSION
To have passion you must create a vision of
where you want to go
PATIENCE
Patience requires a commitment to your own
vision in the face of “naysayers”
PERSEVERANCE
To accomplish your vision you must have the
courage to persevere
Cre8tive” Organizers
• Believe that there’s always
more than one right answer
• Have the ability to look at
the ordinary & see the
extraordinary
• Are not afraid of making
mistakes
• Reframe problems into
opportunities
From Everyday Creativity
Dewitt Jones
“Change means
movement.
Movement means friction.”
Saul Alinsky
“Insanity is doing the same thing
over and over again, and expecting
different results.”
In other words . . .
“No problem is solved via the same
paradigm that created it.”
Albert Einstein
The Organizing Campaign
• WHAT: define the issue/situation
• WHY: identify the organizing goals
• HOW: define the organizing strategy to
employ & the resources that are needed
• WHO: determine the leaders & members
needed to accomplish the goals
• WHEN: organize a sequential timeline of
activities & communications that reflect
the goals & strategy & that help mobilize
the members
Specific Organizing Plan Steps
• Involve leaders & members from the beginning to ensure
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their ownership of & commitment to the plan
Define the organizing goal & the desired outcome
Identify options for achieving the goal
Analyze & prioritize the options
Select the best option
Plan action steps for achieving the outcome(s)
Develop organizing timeline/calendar & budget
Develop plan for identification & involvement of
members
Continually monitor & evaluate the plan, each step, the
resources, etc.
Continually communicate with leaders & members to
ensure
Celebrate successes along the way & at the completion
of the organizing plan/campaign
Keeping the plan on track . . .
• Encourage leaders & committee chairs to monitor
without micromanaging – model that, too!
• Provide feedback to leaders & members, highlighting the
accomplishment of key goals, activities, etc., throughout
• Offer assistance
• If problems are occurring, get involved without taking
over the leadership role
Take time to
Evaluate & Celebrate!
• Be sure that members are involved in the
evaluation of the organizing efforts
• Identify 1) what worked well, 2) what didn’t go
so well, 3) what to continue doing, 4) the
surprises that occurred, & 5) what
materials/records to archive.
• Celebrate & publicize the collective & individual
contributions & accomplishments, giving credit &
thanks to all involved.
POWER
• The ability or capacity to perform or act
effectively
• A . . .group . . . having great influence or
control over others
• Forcefulness
• Effectiveness
• The capacity of a system . . . to operate
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition, 2000
“Power is the ability
to achieve purpose.
Whether it is good or bad
depends on the purpose.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Types of Power
• Coercion / Force
• Deception
• Blind obedience to authority
• Abdication to an “expert”
• Informed consent - relational
POWER
Two Forms
• Unilateral
• Relational
Power over
Dominating
Control
Private
Zero sum
One way
Closed
Power with
Interactive
Mutual
Collective
Synergistic
Quid pro quo
Open – public
Two Elements of Power
Organized
PEOPLE
Organized
MONEY
“All power is primarily an illusion . . .
Illusion. Mirrors and blue smoke,
beautiful blue smoke rolling over the
surface of highly polished mirrors, first
a thin veil of blue smoke, then a thick
cloud that suddenly dissolves into wisps
of blue smoke, the mirrors catching it
all, bouncing it back and forth.”
Jimmy Breslin
How the Good Guys Finally Won,
Notes from an Impeachment Summer
The Yin-Yang of Power
B
Feelings of Powerlessness
Feelings of Powerfulness
Dilemmas of Unions
Organizational Cultures
Service
Orientation
Single Issue…
Confrontational
Multi-Issue…
Relational
Purpose
“Help” people
Win now
Build power over the long term -Involvement
Leadership
Fixer -Bureaucratic
Charismatic mobilizer
Collective builders -Accountable
Members
Viewed as clients
Viewed as troops
Viewed as story tellers &
involved partners
Issues
Occasional
Single
Multi-issue
Turnout
Limited
Open
Organize then mobilize
Activities/Actions
Programs & services
Events
Purpose in mind -- To test
organizing & capacity
Power
Legalistic -- Reliance
on others
Momentum
Relational -- Birthright,
redemptive -- Power with
On Developing Trust
“Anytime a man come into my community
and took the hardships that he took,
if he was wrong, I better join with him anyway.
He’s ready to take a beating, (get) jailed,
being bombed and get back on two feet. . .
I’m ready to join that fellow, wherever he is,
right or wrong.”
PERCY LARRY
McComb, Mississippi
I’ve Got the Light of Freedom
by Charles M. Payne
Spheres of Influence/Rings of Relationships
Self &
Self-Interests
“Power without love
is reckless and abusive . . .
and love without power
is sentimental and anemic.
Power at its best is love
implementing the demands of
justice.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.