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December 2011
 Work in Progress
This newsletter is produced by the New Unionism Network to
promote organizing, workplace democracy, internationalism and
creativity in the union movement. You can find out more
about the Network and/or join us here.
Democratizing the
workplace
 In Part One of this
series, Merrelyn Emery argued that the democratic
approach to work out-performs top-down systems across the board.
It’s a conclusion she has tested over and over again in the course
of her career. But how can workers create democratic
workplaces, starting from the usual autocratic base?
As organizers will tell you, democracy can’t be installed from
above; it has to be built from the bottom up. Hal Draper put it this
way: “Only by fighting for democratic power do (workers) educate
themselves up to the level of being able to wield that power.”
In this article, Emery describes a “participative design”
process that sets out to change organizations from autocracies
(or laissez faire systems) into sustainable democracies. (more…)
Perils of
the Precariat
 If you’ve been
puzzled by the timing of this whole Occupy thing, Guy
Standing’s latest book -- “The Precariat: The Dangerous New
Class” -- is essential reading. If you’re a unionist or center-left
politician who’s been wondering where the hell your membership base
went (and how to win it back), ditto. At the heart of Standing’s
book is the contention that a new class is developing. Just as the
rise of the “proletariat” (or industrial working class) changed the
face of the 20th century, so is the rise of the “precariat”
affecting us today. The implications of this shift are no less
radical. Unionists who ignore this change, or cling to hopes of a
revival of the 20th century model, are already following in the
footsteps of the Guilds. (more…)
Ethics and
union by-laws
 Phil
Lillies has spent ten years applying his training in
philosophy and organizational development to the study of internal
workings of labour and community organizations. In this article he
focuses on union bylaws — those rules and regulations that do
so much to reflect and condition union culture at local level. He
offers some reflections on how to write (or rewrite) bylaws in a way
that will help create a democratic, inclusive organization… one that
will inspire and empower its members to support good causes during
times of quiet as well as times of struggle. (more…)
Occupy
Together
 The International
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has endorsed the Occupy
movement (details).
This follows endorsements and expressions of support from at least
three of the major "global union federations": Education
International (details);
UNI global union (details);
and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (details). Unfortunately,
the ITUC announcement came on the same day that the founding
group was evicted from Zuccotti Park. Similar evictions have been
taking place elsewhere. As many activists are saying, "we are
about to find out whether this is a moment or a movement".
Back in October the New Unionism Network voted overwhelmingly to
support the movement (details).
Members have been playing a supportive role in #Occupy actions
all over the world. Two new flyers are being distributed, outlining
members' proposed alternatives to capitalism. These can be
downloaded here (Schweickart) and
here (Albert). If you can
help us build on this series or add to the work in any other way,
please contact communications@newunionism.net.
Details of
international sites and actions are here.
You'll find out more about the movement, from a union perspective,
here.
Another world is possible. Pass it on.
Beyond Robert's
Rules
 The next time you
have a members’ meeting, why not try running it according to the
principles of “participative democracy”? (details).
This approach seeks to draw input from the largest possible
number of people. It is not new — in fact it probably predates
“representative democracy” — but it has received a lot of
publicity recently because of its use (through sign language)
in the “general assemblies” of the Occupy movement. (more…)
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