I haven't posted much about union stuff since the vote cause not a lot has happened, then today a lot of stuff happened and I failed most pathetically.
After our 18-1 vote a lot of people kept telling me what a sign of great organizing that was, but the unfortunate truth is we're just not very well organized. My store has an organizational committee in name only, it's basically just me constantly relaying info back from the union to everyone else at work, who never have any questions, who never offer any suggestions, and when I can drag them onto calls we basically don't resolve to do anything unless it's agreeing with whatever I suggest. If I wanted absolute executive authority over my fellow worker I'd just go hollow and become a manager, but being a supervisor is already bad enough for me. I can't even get them to exercise their Weingarten rights when they are in danger of being written up, which is the one definitive, inarguable right we won through our vote. I don't say any of this to put the blame on them, I just want to dispel any illusions that I am any sort of effective or useful organizer. I'm just a hypeman, all style and no substance.
Today I got told to take off my union shirt at work by my manager. All of us with shirts (which is, still not everyone, because I'm not very good at this,) have been wearing them without issue for months now, but today on May Day it was suddenly something that I needed to be coached on. I protested, and cited an NLRB ruling that had been provided to me, and basically told that it didn't count. I outright asked my boss which had jurisdiction here, federal law or the company dress code, and was informed that until he was told otherwise, it was the company dress code. I turned my shirt inside-out, but at least I contacted our lawyer to file the ULP. The lawyer commended my citing of that ruling but also clarified that since dress code wasn't being applied in a discriminatory manner (i.e., everyone is getting pinged for it, not just me for my union shirt) that it would be a tough case.
But we had other things planned - a March on the Boss, as it were. These are highly coordinated and effective campaigns that leverage social pressure rather than economic, if you've seen the videos of baristas gathered in front of a manager making a statement, that was a March. They're protected actions under the law, but as has already been established the law doesn't always apply how you'd hope it would. I picked today because we had an all-hands store meeting scheduled, and because it's May Day, and because it was supposed to be part of a broader national action. But as I said, these are highly coordinated, with multiple roles that are meant to be fulfilled by separate workers, with clear communication and even rehearsal. I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise that we had none of that.
But I thought maybe I could do it all my own! We'd gotten this far on that winning strategy, what was one more bridge farther? But as today drew nearer and nearer still it only became more and more obvious how half-assed of an attempt this would be, and it gnawed away at my mind while I did everything in my power to do anything other than preparing. And so, with everyone in our store present before our manager, with no script, no beginning signal, no clear idea of how many people were even willing to stand with me... I froze. I didn't stand up, I didn't speak up. The meeting, a two-hour brainwashing session of worksheets and pre-recorded videos, went on exactly as scheduled. All I could do is meekly apologize in our store discord after having gotten everyone ready to see someone stand up for them.
They were, of course, understanding. None of them would want to be in my shoes either, after all. And the only real casualty was my pride, which I never put much stock in to begin with. I know in my heart that I am not a particularly skilled organizer, but I do talk a good game, and that still makes me useful to the movement when it comes to helping motivate newer stores to take their own steps towards unionization. Nobody can do it all themselves, as much as they might want to.
