President's Perspective
Random Acts of Solidarity

(Dec. 16, 2009) If you remember the “Get Smart” TV series or movie, you’ll also remember how the good guys of CONTROL had to do battle with the arch-villains of KAOS. Not that those were abbreviations for anything. But it sure was fun!

But at the November General Membership meeting of the Washington-Baltimore Guild, the local’s human rights coordinator, Elise Bryant, suggested RAOS, or Random Acts of Solidarity, as a way to go to make progress in the labor movement.

All too often, we are presented with choices in our lives that aren’t really choices at all. When given two or more options, we take one because it’s the easy, or politically expedient, thing to do. When it happens in the labor movement, it must be because of something picked up from employers.
 
But while RAOS may score political points for you or for our union, the real good stuff comes from the feeling you get when you do something that nobody else was expecting you to do, but you knew you had in you all along.

The first-ever “street heat” campaign in our area took place in Burtonsville, Md., in 1996, as UPS workers were on strike amid reports that long-time employees from a highly profitable company were still being given part-time hours, making it virtually impossible for workers to make ends meet for their families. The demonstration outside the UPS facility in Burtonsville was a huge success, and UPS ultimately gave in to union demands for more full-time positions. The Teamsters and UPS should not have had to go through a strike to secure economic justice, but the strike also paved the way for a stronger working relationship between the union and the company.

In 2004, the Washington-Baltimore Guild was hosting a springtime conference for Guild leaders and activists from every region of the United States east of the Rockies. Based on the UPS experience and other “street heat” rallies, I asked someone at the Metropolitan Washington AFL-CIO what kind of “street heat” we could engage in close to our hotel for the benefit not only of local workers, but for Guild leaders to take back to their own communities. The staffer identified a parking garage a few blocks from the hotel. The owner was involved in a lengthy labor dispute with the parking service workers, but past “street heat” rallies had taken place at downtown garages during the morning rush hour. An afternoon rush hour rally at a previously “chaste” site was a big surprise for management – but a tonic for the workers.

These are just two examples of RAOS. To learn about other ways you can perform Random Acts of Solidarity, go to www.dclabor.org and sign up for the “ Union City” e-newsletter. You’ll be glad you did.