STRENGTHENING AFT ORGANIZING

WHEREAS, the AFT was founded and built on the fundamental principle that organized educators and professionals could more effectively professionalize both their work and their workplaces, achieve greater dignity as individual workers and deliver the highest-quality services to children, the public and the community as a part of a union; and

WHEREAS, the AFT has a proud history of being one of the most successful organizing unions in the labor movement; and

WHEREAS, millions of educators, government employees, health care workers and others have yet to enjoy the benefits of union representation and collective bargaining, and the need for the men and women who staff these institutions to assist and support one another and help strengthen their institutions is greater than ever; and

WHEREAS, the rapidly changing nature of work and the workplace offer historic opportunities for employees and their representatives to strengthen the institutions in which members work and add to the benefits of unionization; and

WHEREAS, AFT has been a strong voice for the fundamental rights and dignity of each and every individual, and history demonstrates that free unions and the right to bargain collectively are essential to perpetuating those values in American society:

RESOLVED, that the AFT reinvigorate a culture of organizing that will encompass every division, every affiliate and every national union department in a coordinated campaign to increase membership and bring more employees the benefits of unionism; and

RESOLVED, that the national AFT form partnerships with state and local affiliates in strategic and targeted organizing campaigns and that AFT will assist affiliates to move to an organizing culture that involves leadership and rank-and-file members in activities that grow and strengthen our union; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT, with its affiliates, reach out to the unorganized both within and outside our current constituencies, with one goal: to provide members with an even stronger voice about improving the conditions under which they work and the quality of services they provide; and

RESOLVED, that the national AFT explore alternative structures, such as federated locals and multi-employer and multi-state councils, to organize and deliver services more effectively and investigate expanding associate membership into additional constituencies; and

RESOLVED, that the national AFT work with state and local affiliates to deliver effective, practical and professional training programs for members and would-be members as an integral part of an expanded organizing program.