MORE IN: 2012 Conference Wrapup

How to Make Us a Stronger Union

HOW WE GET IT DONE

EDUCATION

• Know the issues and what directly affects your young membership.
• Attend and participate in meetings.
• Connect with the USW and other young members through social media.
• Make contact with new members and offer to be their mentor.
  
• Encourage new members to register to vote and educate them on the issues.
• Get involved with USW education and membership development programs, and other trainings such as, Health, Safety and Environment, USPA and Women of Steel.

ACTIVISM AND INVOLVEMENT

• Partner will other locals in your area.
• Join USW activist groups like Rapid Response or Political Action.
• Connect with other community groups in your area.
• Invite new members to local and national functions like phone banks, memorials and protests.
• Organize a social event for members in your area - don't just engage with folks when you need them to do work, but build lasting relationships.
  
• Learn about the electoral process in your local and help identify leaders with which to engage, and if necessary, target.
• Participate in USW actions of all types - traditional on the ground as well as online - and help mobilize people to fight for a better world.
• Learn to fight smart and strategically through the Building Power and other USW programs.  Then pass this knowledge on to fellow young people.
• Get involved in organizing campaigns to help grow our union and our movement.
• Get involved with Workers Uniting and other global activism to show global solidarity as well as to help us in our fight against global capital and anti-worker goverments around the world as most of our employers are multi-national corporations.

COMMUNICATION

• Start a local newsletter if your local doesn’t already have one.
• Start a local Facebook group or offer to manage Twitter or other social media sites.
  
• Talk about the USW and Next Generation with friends and co-workers.
  
• Attend community events with information to distribute.
  
• Wear Next Generation clothing and buttons.
• Join USPA to improve skills and help our local communications networks grow.
• Be good representatives and spokespeople for the union movement to help put a fresh face with the social justice movement that often gets unfairly portrayed and sensationalized.  We can do this through a variety of ways, from the media to in our churches, schools, community and other areas.