Skip to main content

Old, Nonviolent Tactics

Tactics means doing what you can with what you have. In the world of give and take, tactics is the art of how to take and how to give. Our concern is with the tactic of taking, how the have nots can take power away from the haves. Saul D. Alinsky had some of the best tactics to use.

The symphony tactic: the plan was to buy tickets for workers and feed them baked beans before the symphony that the wife of a corporate mogul’s attended. The workers won.

The O’Hare Airport tactic: organizers counted the number of stalls in the restrooms of the airport and then give union members money to tie up the stalls. At the time it cost 5¢ to use the toilet and the user could stay as long as they wanted. The organizers also got men to line up to use the urinals. The workers won.

The gum tactic: when college students were unable to reach an agreement with the college administration, the students, who were not allowed to have fun, dances or drink beer on campus, were asked what could they do? They said they could chew gum. So gum became the weapon. The plan was to get three hundred students with two packs of gum a piece. This amounted to five hundred “wads” and they dropped them on the sidewalks of the campus.

Now we know that it would be rare if we could even use these same tactics again, but these are just to make us think about what we have and how to use what we have.

One other tactic that was used on a hotel was that the workers invited a group of people sit in the lobby and pray day and night. Soon the hotel manager asked if the hotel owners met the demands of the workers would they stop praying in the lobby. The workers said yes. The workers won.

So keep a list of what you have and start using it to start fighting back. We also must remember that a tactic that goes too long will not work. However, a fun tactic is usually a good and will work. Also remember, the GOP cannot live up to their own rules so use their rules against them and hit them over the head with them!

One other tactic, I like, is to make the enemy think you have more than you actually have -- Art of War.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Now is the Time to Prepare

I hope that I am wrong, but what I see at this time is our unions are going to be in the fight of their existence. This is the most perilous time of our life. The life we had is threatened like never before. Unions are the largest organized group of people who can save our country if things keep going the way they are heading at this time. We need to all stand together for power, but we each must prepare and plan to take care of ourselves and our families. We can fight the big fight and not be distracted by worry about things that can and should already be taken care of. For instance, stashing at least one month’s pay and at least a month or even a year’s worth of food, whether the food is staples (pasta, rice, canned goods) and meat or chicken in the freezer. Keep your vehicles' tanks full and if possible a gas can full. It’s in your best interest to also save money for house or rent payments plus extra. This is not new thinking for us old trade workers who had to prepare when...

They'll Be Coming For All Of Us

Yes, they are coming for us. Workers need to have one another’s backs because no one else will. Neither the broader labor movement nor the Democratic party are prepared to meet the urgency of this moment. So it’s going to fall upon the rest of us to mount a real resistance against Trump’s authoritarian takeover. We’re going to have to get our hands dirty. I don’t care if you have a good, well-paying union job and you are in the middle class now—if you see a worker being dragged out of his workplace regardless of how skilled the job and potentially taken to another country, you should be ready to be there for that worker. When I.C.E. shows up, gather around and shame them into leaving. It has worked in other places. America is sleep walking into authoritarianism, and if there’s anyone out there who is a member of a labor union that is safe—at this point— and doesn’t think this applies to them. Understand that they just haven’t gotten to you yet. They’re coming for all of us. There are ...

We Are the Power

Looks like there is hope for the union workers and our country for the union people who believed Trump’s lies, who now know that he was just full of bullshitting all of you. He said the he would bring more work to this country, but took away money from job projects, and the ones that were too late to stop, Trump put his name on it and is taking credit for the work done. Trump is not a union supporter and the people who work for him do not support unions either because they all get their money from big corporations, who are notoriously anti-union. The entire GOP is bought and paid for by large corporations, such as Home Depot, Walmart, Chamber of Commerce and many other nonunion selfish companies. We all have a chance to change things and take it all back if we dare by voting blue in the mid-term elections. If we vote for things that are what we really need like healthcare, good pensions, living wages, voting rights, more affordable housing, and rent control. In other words, let’s get a...