Organise Now! Launches today!
Bakers, Food and Allied Workers, Strike Map and Notes from Below launch new organising project, Organise Now!
Today (24 September), The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), Strike Map UK and Notes from Below launch a new union organising project called Organise Now!
This project is inspired by the Emergency Workplace Organising Committee (EWOC) launched in the USA a few years ago, which has seen tens of thousands unorganised workers contacting them looking for help in building a union in historically low unionised areas, like Starbucks and Amazon.
The Organise Now! website launches with two forms. One form is for workers who want support and the other is for volunteers to sign up. Within 72 hours of filling out the form, workers receive a call back from a volunteer. They are assigned an experienced organiser who will coach them through their organising at work.
Sarah Woolley from BFAWU said:
“Through Organise Now! we want to take the renewed militancy across the country into new workplaces, and connect to the wider union movement. This is about giving workers the confidence and resources to fight, and for existing organisers to learn from and be inspired by these new struggles.”
Henry Fowler from Strike Map UK said:
“Since the launch of Strike Map in 2020 we have mapped over three thousand strikes. The growing cost of living crisis means workers have to collectively fight to win the pay rises needed for heating and eating. Organise Now! aims to harness the potential of the labour movement to reach the unorganised and activate workers in taking the power at work. We would urge all unions, campaign groups and individuals to support this project.”
Jamie Woodcock from Notes from Below said:
“One of the biggest challenges facing the labour movement is how to start organising in new sectors. This project brings people together across existing unions to help workers find out how to build their own power. It is very hard to get advice on organising anywhere else. Organise Now! gives that opportunity and makes the connections we need across the movement. We want to share what works and inspire others to take action.”