Institute for Organizing Unions

Kellogg plans to permanently replace some workers as strike enters eighth week (Reuters) -Kellogg Co said on Tuesday it plans to hire permanent replacements for some of its U.S. breakfast cereal plant workers who are on strike, after lengthy negotiations with the union again fell apart. The workers went on strike on Oct. 5 after their contracts expired the previous day, as neg...

Get to know our IOU certified trainers!

Alex Riccio is a staff organizer with the Philadelphia Joint Board of Workers United. He has previously worked as an organizer for a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, and the United Steelworkers. He believes, in the words of Stan Weir, that an organizer should not “let people feel that their job is to sit back and admire someone else.”

Kataryna Restrepo is a staff organizer with the Philadelphia Joint Board of Workers United. Formerly involved in USAS and with upstate NY farmworker justice movements, she is excited to organize workers in the greater Philadelphia region.

Liz Medina is the Executive Director of the Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. She has been working since the age of 14 and has over six years of experience with labor unions. She believes in class struggle unionism and that all workers can and should be organized!

Since July, the IOU has held multiple workshops on union organizing and has trained workers in food service, manufacturing, warehouses, libraries, and non-profits on how to form a union in their workplaces.

We provide these workshops for no cost, and you can sign up for an in-person or online training at the website.
organizinginstitute.net/trainers

Meet Our Certified Trainers | Institute for Organizing Unions Connect with one of our trainers to learn best practices for organizing.

Now it's easier to send Institute for Organizing Unions a message.

Institute for Organizing Unions updated their business hours.

The red paper is especially subtle.

Our union library is off to a good start! Which books are missing for an essential union reading list?

Since July ‘21, the IOU has held 6 workshops training 20 workers on organizing. Now multiple union campaigns are in the early stages of organizing initiated by these trained workers!

Our workshops are open to all workers and cost free. They occur on a rolling basis, so register today! https://www.organizinginstitute.net/courses

IOU Courses | Talk to us! Ask for Alex Riccio The IOU hosts organizing trainings for workers looking to form a union.We also offer programs for existing union members who want to deepen their labor organizing skills.If you work or live in the Greater Philadelphia area and are vaccinated you are invited to attend one of these trainings.There is....

Starbucks Faces Rare Union Challenge as Buffalo Workers Seek Vote The organizing campaign, if successful, could upend the company’s labor model. Employees say chronic understaffing has long caused frustration.

This flyer was distributed by Jimmy John's workers during a campaign for paid sick leave in 2011. Some of the workers were fired and the NLRB eventually ruled in the company's favor.

https://www.employmentlawworldview.com/federal-court-overturns-nlrb-says-jimmy-johns-employees-disloyal-conduct-not-protected/

Excellent news! And evidence for coffee workers everywhere that you too can unionize your workplace!!

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE!! With today’s results, Colectivo becomes the largest Unionized Café in the country, a record we hope to hold onto for only a short period of time! 😉 We couldn’t have accomplished this without the unimaginable amount of support we’ve received. Savoring this victory today, and soon, we’ll begin writing our first contract!

We believe it can!

EWOC: Can Popular Education Help Organize One Million Workers? Eric Dirnbach joins the show to discuss his experience as an advanced organizer with EWOC, the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee.

Hope the workers are reinstated to their jobs but this is not yet a victory!

Also, this article makes one very dubious claim about the organizing “lesson” to learn it that it advises workers to “Go Public” in your workplace campaign. That is not a decision to make early on or before you have a super-majority committed to unionizing!

Take one of our trainings where we cover the nuts and bolts of what it takes to win a workplace union!

Fired Philly baristas won their labor case against Starbucks. Here’s how. Here's what workers and managers can learn from the organizing campaign and National Labor Relations Board trial.

Work for an as***le? File a report at organizinginstitute.net/report

Got a bad boss, but are too afraid to make waves? We've created a confidential form for reporting employers in the Philadelphia area. File a report at: https://www.organizinginstitute.net/report

Report an Employer Form for anonymous reporting of poor employers and working conditions.

A worker organizing committee is the backbone of all successful union campaigns.

Learn how to build a workplace committee in our no cost workshop "How to Form a Union."
tinyurl.com/TheIOUrsvp

Register for an IOU training The Institute for Organizing Unions hosts multiple trainings on all things union organizing. Our trainings are on a rolling basis, so please register below and tell us your availability and we will schedule a date for the training you want. We aim to have trainings with no less than 3 people in atte...

The first step of a union campaign is to learn the issues by talking to your coworkers. This isn't just casual conversation. There's a method for learning the issues.

https://www.organizinginstitute.net/talk-to-your-coworkers

Talk to your coworkers

It is your RIGHT to join or form a UNION!

If you want to change the world, start by changing your workplace.

A half century ago, employers wouldn't dare f*ck with their union employees; because they knew that the community would rally behind the workers. We, OUR generation, must build back this sense of solidarity✊

*Use the Comment Section or Private Message if you have questions or want to discuss labor issues further.*

I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week Hundreds of workers at the Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas are striking for the first time.

👏👏👏

Thanks Boots Riley for boosting us!

Check out his amazing film Sorry to Bother You and his great tracks with The Coup!

Part-time & Full-time Faculty voted 99% YES for a to be truly supported & valued, because Faculty are the LIFE FORCE of The University of the Arts!
We are ready to bargain a strong first contract.
Enough of disrespectful delays from President David Yager, VP Stephen Lightcap, and HR Director Christine Schaefer!



AFT - American Federation of Teachers
AFT Higher Education
AFT Pennsylvania
AFT Academics
Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO

Stages of a Union Campaign: Map your workplace.

Workers are already organized within the workplace, but not in a way that is empowering. Each day they go to work there is an established system for where they will work and what their job assignments will be, and based on this they will interact with some coworkers while never speaking to other coworkers.

As you begin to build toward a union you will want to map where every one of your coworkers is physically located in the worksite, and you'll also want to know which coworkers are socially connected to each other.
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By doing this you'll begin to see patterns and notice which of your coworkers are influential among your peers.

Learn more by registering for our training on How to Unionize Your Workplace 101 & 102 at https://www.organizinginstitute.net/map-your-workplace

Canada Goose’s Image Is Challenged by Union Effort Production of the company’s parkas was once fully unionized, but labor organizers say the owners have taken a harder line in recent years.

Stages of a Union Campaign: Talk to your coworkers

Ask open-ended questions about work to learn the issues they care about.

Avoid using the "union" word at first. Build trust b4 talking union.

Register for one of our trainings to learn more!
https://www.organizinginstitute.net/talk-to-your-coworkers

Talk to your coworkers

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Today is the launch of the Institute for Organizing Unions (IOU)!

The IOU provides education and mentorship under the guiding principle that a union campaign is a journey we travel together where every worker has a role to play.

The IOU hosts organizing trainings for workers looking to form a union. We also offer programs for existing union members who want to deepen their labor organizing skills.

There is no cost to attend. Trainings occur on a rolling basis upon number of registered attendees.

Visit our website for more information at instituteorganizing.net

If you work in the Greater Philadelphia area and are ready to form a union at your job, then fill out the form on our website and one of our staff organizers will connect with you asap!