AFGJ Saturday! A Special Labor Day Weekend Organizers Guide

Union leaders from Colombia and the United States meet together at the Bogotá office of FENSAUGRO, Colombia’s largest union of farmers and farm workers

AFGJ is in the midst of its Summer Fund Drive, ending September 22^nd. We hope you will consider sending a tax-deductible contribution this Labor Day weekend

It’s Labor Day weekend–Hooray! Workers deserve days to celebrate and relax, and we at AFGJ hope that each and every one of us will do just that.

Find Labor Day events across the country this Monday that you and your family can enjoy together

We know that workers are the ones who really run the world—not the bosses or the owners. Once we realize this, change will come so quickly the bosses will hardly know what’s happening when we kick them out to the curb! While labor remains under attack on all fronts, it is at the same time making tremendous gains. These include historic wins at Amazon, Starbucks, REI, the New York Times Media Group, and more! Popular approval of and support for unionization in the US is at the highest level in decades—we have reason to celebrate, and reason to organize!

But the struggle between workers and the bosses and owners isn’t the only struggle we need to know about and support. Workers are striving within their unions for stronger democracy, aggressive organizing goals, and other important internal matters. Internationally, AFGJ has long participated in campaigns to put US labor’s international relations back in the hands of unions. Right now, the AFLCIO’s Solidarity Center is still 95% funded through the US State Department. Despite the good work that it accomplishes, the Solidarity Center can even now be a cover for advancing US government and transnational corporate interests. Indeed, the Solidarity Center still supports the blockade against Venezuela and US efforts to overthrow the legitimate government.

Send an email to the AFLCIO calling for an end to its support for US sponsored regime change in Venezuela and elsewhere

Today’s email is a part of AFGJ’s occasional AFGJ Saturday! Series to provide useful, interesting, and entertaining “gifts” to our supporters designed to be relevant to our everyday lives. For today’s email, we are providing links of use both on and off the job. These links offer guidance on how to organize a union; connect with labor media; build a more democratic union; analyze and improve the state of labor today; and be in solidarity with workers internationally. If you like this little gift from us, and if you support the work we do, please consider making a “gift exchange” and sending us your tax-deductible contribution today

LABOR DAY SOLIDARITY, ACTION, AND EDUCATION LINKS

The following links are not a complete guide to what is available. Please let us know if we are missing resources you think should be here. Send an email to [email protected]

How to organize or join a union, and how to be a more effective organizer

There are different ways to organize, different approaches. Following are a few links that illustrate some of the variations, as well as a link to the National Writers Union, which is open to all published writers to join. We have also included a link to the Labor Notes Secrets of a Successful Organizer Handouts.

UE’s Five Basic Steps to Organizing a Union

Building the One Big Union, A Step by Step Manual

AFLCIO’s Form a Union

CWA’s How to Organize

The Anarchist Library union organizing archives

If you are a writer, consider joining the National Writers Union

Labor Notes Secrets of a Successful Organizer

Following are some organizations for labor allies, retired workers, and/or union members

Jobs with Justice

Working America

United Students Against Sweatshops

National Domestic Workers Alliance