BLOG

Working through Change

In 2009, Nexus was approached by a local union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26 (consisting of mostly janitors and some security guards) to support a pilot project in partnership with long standing Nexus partner Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC). The goal of the project was to help mitigate the impact of massive layoffs that resulted from stricter federal immigration compliance laws.

 

Nexus funds supported planning and implementation of member driven initiatives that met the immediate needs of these workers as they lost their jobs and helped them maintain and build assets for short and long term economic stability. The activities included:

1. Creation of a janitorial worker cooperative with 40 of the laid off workers with technical assistance from LEDC.
2. Implementation of the national Time Bank model, where participants volunteer their skills (carpentry, baby sitting, plumbing, cooking) and withdraw or deposit their "time" so that members who did not have income had another source of resources. SEIU reported that 50 members participated in this activity.
3. Hosting of resource fairs for 200 members so that they could have access to resources such as food banks and legal services.
4. Creation a formal Associate member status and ID card, which enabled the laid off employees to maintain a linkage with the union and allowed them discounts at some local retailers. Associate members were not expected to pay dues given their unemployment status, however they could still participate in union meetings and vote on actions.

SEIU recently provided a final report to Nexus, where they noted that one of the greatest impacts of their efforts to mitigate the impact of the layoffs was,

"It forced Local 26 to become a member driven union in a way that it never had been before. Our largest member meeting up to that point was around 300 people, but during this time we had consistent meetings every other week of 500 members or more that lasted for 4 months...It also pushed us to start to embrace our role as an organization beyond the needs of the workplace, and into our possible role in the community and to people who aren't our dues paying members. We are just starting down that path, but the cooperative, the time bank, and the associate ID card all made us ask the question: what if the glue that holds our union community together is something more than just who pays dues and is covered under a union contract, but is based on activists coming together across workplaces and communities voluntarily because this is the most effective organization in the community to protect ourselves and win what we deserve."

- From SEIU Local 26 report to Nexus Community Partners

This finding addresses a key piece for Nexus and that is how organizations (whether non-profit direct service, unions or for-profit corporations) begin to change and redefine themselves in response to community and community needs. Employee groups/associations and other social networks are often the strongest social fabric for their constituents and increasingly their roles will be challenged as the issues facing their constituents change too with the times. Nexus was pleased to have supported this critical phase in SEIU's evolution.

 

---