Organise 2011: union organising in a period of crisis: an organising 
conference

Protecting our jobs and services through co-ordinated action of trade 
unions and community activists.



The London (trade union) Organisers Network (LON) has networked union 
organisers in the London region for over a decade. Following the change 
in the government we are entering a new era where every job is under 
threat and every public service is at risk. We need to adapt to the new 
environment and operate in circumstances of crisis. We need to mobilise 
as well as just organise. We need to learn very quickly how to mobilise 
communities as well as workforces.

In November 2008, LON convened a one day conference on trade union 
organising. There was a combination of plenary speakers, and individual 
workshops. We looked at best practice across trade unions and shared our 
own individual experiences of what worked and what did not.

At the end of a successful conference, attended by over 200 trade 
unionists and academics, there were calls for it to become an ‘annual 
fixture’. However, at the time, we did not want to institutionalise the 
event. We felt that there had to be a tangible purpose and prospective 
outcomes before putting on such an event.

With the change in the government and the political and economic 
environment, in particular the decision to target public spending, the 
trade union movement needs to reassess and re-equip itself for battles 
ahead. We are entering a new era where every job is under threat and 
every public service is at risk.

As activists we need to adapt to the new environment. We need to operate 
in circumstances of crisis. We need to mobilise as well as just 
organise. When defending public services we need to look for alliances 
and leverage. We need to learn how to mobilise communities as well as 
workforces.

*As a consequence we are now planning a second LON conference, 
provisionally at the end of February 2011.*

We hope to have a number of international speakers and we will invite a 
mixture of trade union and community organisers to speak. However this 
will not be just a talking shop. We plan to stage workshop sessions that 
equip activists with skills and tactics that are appropriate and 
necessary for the coming battles.

The conference is timed to take place before the 2011 budget at a time 
when we expect that community protest will have grown. Our purpose in 
organising this conference is to discuss and debate how trade unions can 
engage with the anger of our communities and together with community 
organisations, channel it into effective action to defend public 
services for the benefit of both workers and their communities.

The conference will take the form of a day of debates, workshops and 
plenary sessions, followed by a social in the evening. The social will 
create the opportunity to continue to discuss and debate the issues 
raised during the day (as well as allowing us the opportunity to 
socialise and perhaps even have a dance).
A primary aim of this conference will be to explore how trade unions can 
engage with the anger of our communities and together with community 
organisations, channel it into effective action to defend public 
services for the benefit of both workers and their communities.

We aim to have a mixture of plenary sessions and streams of workshops. 
Suggested area for workshops include:

     * Mobilising local communities
     * Methods of resistance (identifying leverage and selecting
       appropriate tactics)
     * Strategic research
     * Organising models that work for outsourced workers
     * Working with BEM communities to organise migrant workers
     * The international dimension of the crisis and resistance
     * Organising amongst the unemployed and in particular unemployed
       youth and the role of unemployed workers centres.
     * Trade unions and communities organising against racism and fascism
     * Communication strategies (including e-communications)
     * Models for building trade union/community alliances
     * Trade unions and migrants from the accession countries to the EU
     * Overcoming divisions and initiating joint working between trade
       unions in the same industry.
     * How to organise women/BME and other groups who are
       disproportionately hit by the government cuts.

These topics are merely suggestions, to give a flavour of what we are 
looking for. If you want to run a workshop, then please let us have your 
ideas (presenters, themes, activities). Workshops sessions will last 90 
minutes. We are particularly keen to see people working across 
traditional boundaries, so for example, co-presentations by different 
unions, or between lay reps and employed staff, or by academic and lay reps.


Please let us have your ideas for workshops by the end of November

How you can help…

o Contribute to a session

o Please circulate this email widely (flyer to follow)

o Trade unions or branches can fund members to attend (registration is 
£10 per person)

o Join our organising committee for the event.

For more info please contact Jane Holgate, [log in to unmask]