Publications

Local Union Committees

“We don’t get things unless we plan for them, unless we organize for them and work for them.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady and humanitarian

Having an effective committee structure provides three major benefits to local union officers:

  • A way to divide up the work of the local
  • Increased chances for members to be active in the local and develop and utilize their individual skills and talents
  • Opportunities for new leaders to emerge

There are two types of committees — standing and special. Standing committees address needs that are ongoing, such as organizing, health and safety, and political action. Special committees are created for specific, short-term issues and are then dissolved. Examples could be planning an action campaign or a Labor Day picnic or conducting research on child care facilities in the area. The number and types of committees depend on the size and needs of the local (see the chart on page 19 for examples of local union committees).

The president, subject to the approval of the executive board, appoints all committees chairs. (One possible exception to this is the negotiations committee. In many locals, this committee is elected; see your local’s constitution). Ideally, the makeup of each committee should reflect the local’s membership — by gender, race, age, job sites and shifts, job classifications and so on.

Active and Effective Committees

For each committee the local establishes:

  • Identify a clear purpose for the committee
  • Appoint a chairperson (to conduct meetings, delegate responsibilities, oversee the work, etc.) and a recorder (to take notes and keep records) 
  • Involve all committee members in the committee’s work; each person should have responsibility for a specific task with a specific timeframe
  • Set a regular date, time and place for committee meetings
  • Hold short and well-organized meetings, preferably at work
  • Maintain regular communications with all committee chairs
  • Give recognition for achievement
  • Require each committee chair to give a report at local membership meetings. Reports can summarize the committee’s activities and/or make recommendations on actions the local should take.

Following are brief descriptions of several common committees that a local, depending on its size and needs, can put into place.

Organizing

Purpose: Recruit new members and build power in the workplace by motivating members to become active in their local around issues that affect them.

Question: What is the source of the union’s power?
Answer: The membership! And not just the number of members, but also the active involvement of the members.

The success of an internal organizing campaign depends on careful planning, thorough preparation and implementation of a basic, six-step program consisting of:

  1. Targeting — analyzing membership and worksites and determining where to begin a campaign
  2. Setting up and planning — developing a strategy for a campaign
  3. Creating the organizing committee — a representative group of workers who will have responsibility for the campaign
  4. Launching the campaign — utilizing Member Action Teams (MATs) to reach out to workers through one-on-one contacts (see page 13 for more information on MATs)
  5. Organizing worker actions — motivating workers to participate in activities that will bring about meaningful change in the workplace
  6. Consolidating power — building on successful actions to maintain power and make member involvement the norm in the local

Resource Alert! Building Power in the Workplace: AFSCME Internal Organizing Manual.

Steward/Grievance

Purpose: Work together on grievances and workplace problems and issues and develop strategies to enforce members’ rights and build power in the workplace.

The chief steward chairs the steward or grievance committee. In some locals in the absence of a chief steward, the vice president chairs the committee. This committee should ideally meet once a month, and stewards can:

  • Discuss current and potential grievances and share ideas on how those cases should be handled
  • Learn what’s happening at different worksites in the local and develop approaches to address current issues and problems
  • Increase their understanding of the contract, work rules, policies and regulations
  • Sharpen skills and build the confidence of new stewards

Resource Alert! AFSCME Steward Handbook.

PEOPLE/Political Action

Purpose: Increase member participation in the PEOPLE program and motivate members to become active on political issues and on behalf of political candidates who support AFSCME and working family issues.

The local’s PEOPLE committee (PEOPLE stands for Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality) is the union’s vehicle to have a direct impact on the political process. Since, by law, union dues cannot be used to fund political campaigns (for federal and many state offices), voluntary member contributions to the PEOPLE fund are used to help elect proworker candidates. PEOPLE/political action committee activities can include:

  • Encouraging members to sign a payroll deduction card for PEOPLE check-off
  • Organizing PEOPLE fundraising events
  • Conducting voter registration drives among the membership
  • Educating members on issues and their impact on working families
  • Researching political candidates’ stands on issues important to the union or making recommendations to the appropriate council or local union structure, which has the authority to make AFSCME endorsements
  • Participating in the campaigns of pro-worker candidates
  • Inviting and scheduling candidates to speak at union events
  • Working to turn out the vote on election days

Resource Alert! Local Union Lobbying: How to Support It With Coalition Building and Media Relations.

MAT

Purpose: Communicate with members and mobilize members around issues they care about.
See Section 3 for details on MAT structure and responsibilities.

Resource Alert!! Power@Work video. Available from the AFSCME Education and Leadership Training Department.

Education

Purpose: Increase knowledge, improve skills and build confidence among union leaders, activists and rank-and-file members for the purpose of creating a stronger, more active and more effective union.

“Knowledge is power,” and the education committee can help turn this phrase into reality for  union activists. A sampling of tasks for this committee would include:

  • Determining local members’ education wants and needs by using surveys and other instruments
  • Researching, scheduling and arranging training programs on such subjects as stewards,  officers, bargaining committees, health and safety, organizing and political action
  • Developing informational material on issues affecting union members
  • Creating an orientation packet for new members
  • Arranging for a video or speaker on a particular topic of interest at the local’s membership meeting

Health and Safety

Purpose: Protect workers’ health and safety at the worksite by identifying and recognizing hazards and devising strategies to address any health and safety problems.

Many contracts have language that establishes a joint labor-management health and safety committee. Even in these instances, and clearly when there is no joint health and safety committee, local unions have found it valuable to have an internal health and safety committee whose responsibilities may include:

  • Gathering information on workplace health and safety hazards
  • Educating members about health and safety issues
  • Recommending to management ways to prevent accidents and injuries
  • Maintaining records on hazards, accidents, illnesses and complaints
  • Being familiar with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations as well as state or local health and safety regulations
  • When appropriate and necessary, filing formal complaints with OSHA, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or the proper state or local agency

Resource Alert! Safe Jobs Now: An AFSCME Guide to Health and Safety in the Workplace — plus several publications on specific health and safety topics and over 40 fact sheets on particular health and safety issues.

Newsletter and Publicity

Purpose: Inform and educate members — and potential members — about union issues, successes and the union’s point of view.

Consistent, effective communication — a method to inform and educate the members as well as increase union visibility in the workplace — is a key to building a strong local union. A newsletter and publicity committee could take on such tasks as:

  • Producing a regular newsletter, ideally on a monthly basis.
    The publication could contain:
    —Information on pertinent topics
    —Grievance victories and other success stories
    —Regular columns such as “know your rights”
    —Notices of upcoming meetings and events
  • Producing leaflets, flyers, fact sheets, etc. on “hot” issues and problems affecting the members
  • Establishing a connection with the local media to communicate to the public the union’s point of view on issues impacting the public as well as union members
  • Issuing press releases to communicate the union’s position on relevant topics

Resource Alert! How to Do Leaflets, Newsletters & Newspapers, by Nancy Brigham. Available for a nominal fee at www.amazon.com.

Community Action

Purpose: Establish a link between the local and the community, build respect for AFSCME members and the services they provide, and increase community understanding of AFSCME’s issues.

Activities of a community action committee might include:

  • Promoting quality public services, raising awareness of the services union members provide and securing support for preserving and improving them
  • Involving the local in activities such as blood drives, literacy programs, food banks, drug/alcohol awareness campaigns and natural disaster relief efforts
  • Building coalitions with community groups to provide mutual support on common issues and developing support for the union in contract negotiations, organizing and politics

Women’s Rights

Purpose: Encourage women activists, develop leaders and generate support for key bargaining issues.

A women’s committee can be a valuable tool to learn about and support issues that are of particular concern to women (e.g., child care, sexual harassment, flexible schedules, etc.). By taking up these issues, the committee can educate not only women members but also the entire workforce on how these issues impact everyone in the bargaining unit. A women’s committee can take on such tasks as:

  • Distributing surveys on members’ needs and interests
  • Researching issues and informing members
  • Engaging in lobbying activities in the political arena
  • Running educational programs

Resource Alert! AFSCME Women’s Rights Committees: A Guide For Action.

Negotiating

Purpose: Negotiate a collective bargaining agreement and develop and implement a contract campaign that actively involves members in the bargaining process to win the best possible contract for the membership.

One of the union’s most important responsibilities is negotiating a contract with management that will determine the pay and working conditions for all workers in the bargaining unit over the lifetime of the agreement. The work of the negotiating committee can be divided into three stages.

Pre-bargaining tasks include:

  • Conducting research on bargaining topics (wages, health care, etc.)
  • Determining the membership’s wishes through surveys, meetings, etc.
  • Reviewing the current contract for areas to improve
  • Establishing priorities and preparing contract proposals

Bargaining tasks include:

  • Exchanging proposals with management and bargaining over those proposals 
  • Maintaining records (notes) of what was discussed and intended during contract talks
  • Making decisions on what to accept, and not to accept, in the contract
  • Communicating with members about trends and progress in negotiations
  • Mobilizing members to participate in support actions
  • Reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract

Post-bargaining tasks include:

  • Making a recommendation to the membership on whether or not to ratify the tentative agreement
  • Informing and educating the membership about the new contract

Resource Alert! The Collective Bargaining Tool Kit, which contains resources such as Developing and Justifying Contract Proposals: A Guide for AFSCME Negotiations, Checklist of Contract Clauses, Sample Bargaining Survey and much, much more.

Election

Purpose: Assume the “responsibility for the conduct of the election in accordance with [the] Constitution” (Appendix D, Section 2, of the International Constitution).

The duties of the election committee include:

  • Conducting nominations for an election 
  • Providing notice of the election to the membership
  • Preparing election ballots
  • Supervising voting
  • Counting the ballots and certifying results
  • Hearing and deciding any protests filed over the conduct of the election
  • Reporting election results to the membership

The Constitution specifically prohibits candidates for office from being members of the election committee; this restriction helps establish the election committee as an independent body, one that can protect the members’ right to democratic elections.

Resource Alert! AFSCME Local Union Election Manual.

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