Book ReviewBuilding Trades News, August 2008, Volume 13, No. 8
Bigger Labor: A Crash Course for Construction Union Organizers
By Bob Oedy
Union Organizer Press, 2008
While there are many books available in union organizing, none directly spoke to organizers in the construction trade or were written by a union organizer. Until now. Bob Oedy, a veteran organizer with IBEW Local 11 has just written a primer for construction union organizers based on his years of experience in IBEW 11.
“Virtually all the books on the subject of organizing have been written by management, attorneys or academic’s with zero field experience organizing. This has always bothered me” said Oedy. “In some cases the people who are actually driving the discussion are from entirely different industries! They have no idea the challenges that construction organizers face.”
Bigger Labor is a comprehensive guide book to construction organizing best practices. It covers everything from what to do on a picket line to tips on visiting jobsites, effective handbilling, dealing with police, building a banner, salting, as well as extensive communication tips for every situation from following up with potential recruits and effectively getting your point across at public hearings.
“I’ve heard from organizers all over the country who were given a quick drive around their jurisdiction and handed the keys to the office and expected to figure it out. That’s who this book was written for; the new organizer who wants to get up to speed quickly and get a handle on who’s doing what work and where. He or she doesn’t need to know every detail about common-situs picketing or the Moore Dry Dock case,” Oedy said. “It’s how do we access more jobsites and what do we do when someone chases us off a job? How can we make a database of all the contractors and craft workers and keep in touch with them over time? What can we put on a flyer without getting the union sued? What should we do and not do when speaking at a city council meeting? I believe this book will help organizers everywhere be more effective. No legal jargon, just everyday street language, I think most organizers will appreciate that.”
Bigger Labor will help new and veteran organizers alike avoid common mistakes and pitfalls. Oedy has made many of them, and he recounts some of those mistakes in the book so others can learn from them, such as his harsh introduction to the importance of listening that he learned as a young organizer:
“Shortly after I was hired as an organizer, a young man contacted me. He had heard he could earn substantially more that he was earning at the time. I assured him it was true and immediately started telling him about the benefits of being accepted into apprenticeship program. …I completed his paperwork and sent him down to be interviewed and placed in the program. The next day he arrived for his interview, and the first question he was asked was ‘So you want to be an electrician?’ He answers, ‘Well not really, see I’m trying to earn enough money so my brother an I can open a muffler shop.” Ouch! See, he was probably tried to tell me that, but I was too busy flapping my jaw, telling him about the benefits and rewards of being in the union.”
Oedy credited the highly successful organizing department of Local 11, which has organized nearly 50 new contractors in the last year alone and the leadership of the Local with providing him training and guidance without which he couldn’t have written the book. This is the first of ten books he plans to write which he hopes will be help union construction organizer reach what he sees as a bright future: “The labor movement has a chance for explosive growth in the next few years. The Baby Boomers are retiring, and young people are choosing college more now then in the past. This will create a shortage of skilled craft workers thereby driving up the wages for those who choose construction as their trade. If unions can bring in enough contractors and meet the growing demands for apprenticeship training we can expect to see union density reach record levels.”
For more information about or to order a copy the book, visit www.biggerlabor.com
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