A strong union needs active members. Learn five proven tactics for getting members off the sidelines and into the game.

1. Don’t Be a Stranger

“The first step to getting people involved is just getting to know them,” says Will Black, a UPS shop steward in Round Rock, Tex. “Introduce yourself to new people and say hi whenever you see them. Ask them about their interests and issues. Invite them to be in a Teamster group chat or to get together with other members after work.”

2. Take On a Problem

Look around your workplace. Is there a problem that affects a majority of your coworkers? Do people feel strongly enough about it to do something? That’s an opportunity to get people involved. That’s what Kroger chief steward Vince Wilkes did at his warehouse in Indiana.

"Members were working on unsafe equipment, and management wasn’t doing anything about it,” said Wilkes. “We started a petition and asked stewards to circulate it on every shift. Our warehouse is big and has six different start times, and it had been a while since we had any shop-wide issues for stewards to step up across the board.”

“Taking on this issue gave stewards a way to get out there with members and build solidarity across the warehouse. We got the equipment fixed, and we built unity ahead of contract negotiations,” Wilkes said.

3. Hold a Social Event

Amazon workers at the DBK4 facility in Queens, NY–where a majority of drivers just signed cards to join the Teamsters–used social events to build relationships away from the watchful eye of management.

“In the lead-up to organizing our facility, we joined up with UPSers from Local 804 for their basketball league,” says Brendan Radtke, an Amazon driver at DBK4. “It was a great experience. It introduced our Amazon people to union culture and gave the UPS members a personal stake in our organizing.”

4. Hold a Parking Lot Meeting

Parking lot meetings help keep members informed. But they’re also a chance to get members involved by giving them a role in a union activity.

“We hold regular parking lot meetings,” says Seth Pacic, a UPS Steward in Denton, Tex.

“I’ll ask someone to be in charge of bringing the coffee/sports drinks, making copies of leaflets, texting people in their work area to come, or taking pictures.”

5. Use Contract Campaigns to Build New Leaders

Contract negotiations are the perfect time to get members to pay attention. People are more likely to step up when their wages and working conditions are at stake.

Rosa Morales at MV Transportation in Los Angeles organized a rank-and-file contract campaign that got dozens of members to participate for the first time.
Starting early was key to beating a long history of apathy.

“For months before our contract expired, we used group chats, one-on-one conversations, and meetings in the park to bring people together and build unity,” said Morales.

When the company came back with an insulting offer, Morales and her coworkers were ready. In the past, voter turnout in contract votes had hovered at an abysmal 15%.

They mobilized a record turnout—60% of workers—to Vote No to reject poverty wages. Their united action forced MV Transportation to deliver the raises they deserved.

“Now I have people helping me all the time and we have leaders in both bus yards,” says Morales. “My coworkers helped me collect signatures to get shop steward elections. We’ve got momentum and we’re going to keep organizing.”