Unions are experiencing a surge in popularity and visibility, and Equity must both capitalize on and learn from this moment. What workers at Amazon, Starbucks and other newly unionizing workplaces know is that power starts with and must emanate from the workers.
I and several other Equity members were fortunate enough to study with renowned labor organizer Jane McAlevey in 2021, as part of her online seminar Organizing For Power at the Rosa Luxembourg Institute. These classes drove home for me how essential an engaged and organized membership is, and continues to inspire me to change the way Equity staff and leadership relates to its membership at large.
Currently, Equity does not do any large scale organizing: we do not educate, engage with, or attempt to activate our membership on an ongoing, constant basis. Our disengaged membership is the largest existential threat our union faces. Former mobilization campaigns such as Fair Wage Onstage and Not A Lab Rat--one time campaigns around a specific goal--show the strength our union can wield, and we must continue to activate and engage our membership to realize similar short/long-term wins outside of New York City.
In this moment at Equity, with our new Executive Director Al Vincent Jr. and public opinion on our side, we are faced with a rare opportunity to realign the values and priorities of our organization. We need councilors who will fight for a consciousness shift from mobilizing--that of activating members in reaction to a single event, goal or threat--to a model wherein we are organizing on an ongoing, persistent basis. This is how we build engagement, build strength, and win.
I and several other Equity members were fortunate enough to study with renowned labor organizer Jane McAlevey in 2021, as part of her online seminar Organizing For Power at the Rosa Luxembourg Institute. These classes drove home for me how essential an engaged and organized membership is, and continues to inspire me to change the way Equity staff and leadership relates to its membership at large.
Currently, Equity does not do any large scale organizing: we do not educate, engage with, or attempt to activate our membership on an ongoing, constant basis. Our disengaged membership is the largest existential threat our union faces. Former mobilization campaigns such as Fair Wage Onstage and Not A Lab Rat--one time campaigns around a specific goal--show the strength our union can wield, and we must continue to activate and engage our membership to realize similar short/long-term wins outside of New York City.
In this moment at Equity, with our new Executive Director Al Vincent Jr. and public opinion on our side, we are faced with a rare opportunity to realign the values and priorities of our organization. We need councilors who will fight for a consciousness shift from mobilizing--that of activating members in reaction to a single event, goal or threat--to a model wherein we are organizing on an ongoing, persistent basis. This is how we build engagement, build strength, and win.
