Three steps to joining and participating in unions

Transcription

1 Anger hope action Three steps to joining and participating in unions 1. Anger The first condition for joining or becoming involved in the union is anger. Many people are uncomfortable about expressing their anger directly. Being concerned, annoyed, irritated, dissatisfied o stirred up are all ways of being angry. Once you ve found out what their issues are, get their feelings of anger to the surface by questions or comments such as How do you feel about that? Do you think that is right? That s terrible. Would you like to tell me more about it? That seems unfair to me It must be hard working under those conditions. 2. Hope making a plan The second condition for joining a union or becoming more involved is hope. Hope is a realistic plan or pathway in which the person has a role as part of the union. You need to work with the person on the proposed plan. What you try to do is get the worker to say yes to the plan. Providing hope is not always an easy step because the changes necessary to address the problems may not be quickly or easily won. Because workers are not used to having a lot of hope, sometimes it will be enough to ask the question Do you think if some of us got together and just shared information about the problem it would help? Some other questions to generate hope: Anger can overcome fear Would it help if we got together and talked about it? Would it help if we found out who else is affected? Do you think it would make a difference if the boss knew we were all united? Did you know that we were able to solve a similar problem in the other section? How would you like us to work together to get something like that happening here?

2 We are planning to would you like to join us? If there is no hope, workers will not want to join or become more involved, even though they are concerned or dissatisfied. Hope can overcome apathy 3. Action asking the worker to join or participate The third condition is action. If you have been successful in steps 1 & 2, you can assume the worker has agreed that there are issues that you need to get together on to change. The action step involves getting the person to do something (including join the union). The action can be a small step. Here are some suggestions for the action stage: So we ll see you at the meeting? Here s the form and here s where to sign. Would you like to pay up front for the year or by fortnightly direct debit payments? We re glad you re concerned. Could you give us the names of anyone else we might talk to about it? If the worker says no, they do not want to join or participate, it is important not to argue. Rather, return to the earlier discussion with statements such as I thought you said you were fed up with and that you thought it would make a difference if we If it turns out that the worker is not really concerned, or thinks it isn t possible to change anything, you may need to go back to step 1 an ask if there are other issues they are concerned about. If the worker thinks it is impossible to make changes you may need to go back to step 2 and ask whether they have ever seen anything change, or if they think that together you can make some sort of difference. If the worker says no, us the 3 times rule. Three times and you re out. It is frustrating and counter-productive to argue. Move on. Don t waste time and energy. Talk about something else to that person. Or go and talk to someone else.

3 Handling Objections We hear many objections when speaking to workers about joining the union or getting more actively involved. They say things such as: I can t afford it I ll think about it Unions go on strike all the time I get the benefits anyway I m only casual here We can look after ourselves I m not going to put my head up I m too busy I don t want to cause trouble OUR REACTION When we hear these types of objections we have a reaction as we are human beings. Sometimes the reaction is here we go again, I ve heard this one before, through to defensiveness and anger that people say or feel this way. For example, the people who are working under a collective employment contract and say I get the benefits anyway and therefore don t need to join often really infuriates us. These reactions affect our tone of voice and often our body language. The worker often picks this up or senses it somehow and reacts to our reaction. Before we know it, we can end up in an argument. We know when we re in an argument that any chance of achieving our objective greatly diminishes. When handling objections, it s easy to say don t argue but hard to do. REMEMBER OUR OBJECTIVE When having an encounter with a worker we are often trying to get them to either join the union or get more actively involved. The objection is a wall or barrier that gets in the way of us reaching our objective. Sometimes when we handle our objection we end up even further away from our real objective. When handling an objection the aim is not necessarily to win the debate about that objection. If we understand human nature there are ways to more effectively achieve our objective even if we cannot totally get around the worker s objection. WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT Have you ever watched two people argue? When one person is saying their piece, what is the other person doing? They are usually thinking of their next line to make and not listening at all. Arguments often get more heated and escalate and only seem to settle down when one party says something like I don t fully

4 agree with you but I see where you are coming from. Unless one side of an argument listens to the other and unless they in some way acknowledge the other party s point of view (that doesn t necessarily mean agree) an argument only escalates. We all know when you re in an argument that both parties dig their heels in and there is often little chance of bringing a person around. Isn t that our objective to move the person, not win an argument? OBJECTIONS CAN BE REAL When we hear a lot of objections our reaction is to be very dismissive of the objection because we know it s not so. When a worker says to us they ve had a past bad experience with a union, may this be true? Could someone be genuinely worried about going on strike or losing their job for getting involved in the union? Sure, sometimes the objection is a fob off or is a front for another real concern but often the objection is real for the person who is saying it. If we remember this it can help us empathise with the person. THE LINES VERSUS THE TECHNIQUE Most of us have lines we use when we hear standard objections. For example, the one about we can t afford it, people might have a line they run about you can t afford not to or how you can more than cover your dues if you achieve a pay rise or use the services. The aim of this paper is not to go through the various lines that you can utilise. The key is to use a technique which allows you to move the worker. A technique based on our understanding of human nature. THE TECHNIQUE We have found a technique which often helps us to handle an objection and most importantly better achieve our purpose or objective. The technique is: 1. Explore or question 2. Equalise or acknowledge 3. Elevate or handle the objection and move the worker. EXPLORE Explore is an optional step. Sometimes people throw in an objection which is very difficult to get a handle on. For example, someone might say I don t believe in unions. To try and respond directly to this objection almost inevitably leads to an argument. By exploring an objection you may then have a hope of handling it. For example, What is it about union that you are not comfortable with? The person may respond I don t like the fact that unions go on strike. We then have an opportunity to actually handle the objection because we have got something tangible and real to try to talk through.

5 The other benefit of exploring or questioning is that it s contrary to what the person is often expecting when they raise an objection. They are often expecting an argument and when we respond by asking a question we are demonstrating a willingness to listen to the person and understand them. EQUALISE This is an essential step in handling objections that many organiser and delegates miss. If you want a person to listen to your lines or be wiling to move from their position, human beings need to know and understand that you have acknowledged in some way their point. By simply adding an equalise or acknowledge line the potential to shift someone and have them willing to listen to your point of view significantly increases. For example, if someone says I don t believe in unions : Organiser: What is it about unions that you are most concerned about? Potential member: The fact that unions strike all the time. Organiser: I can understand that if unions went on strike all the time or went on strike without good cause that would concern you and other people. ELEVATE Elevate is a word we have used to try to suggest that you take the worker to a higher plain or to another position. The lines hat we often use when handling objections often are at the elevate stage. The suggestion is that we use those lines at the end however. For example, in the above dialogue the final elevate line of the organiser may be something like: Are you aware that our union only goes on strike as a last resort and that s only after members have voted that they wish to take industrial action. At this point, it is important to take the worker back to the main issues n the workplace and then try to move back to your close. I suppose the key thing in this workplace is whether we are going to be able to do something about the shift roster that you are concerned about. Do you think it s important that we try to get together with other people who are concerned about this issue and see what can be done?. SOME EXAMPLES The following examples are not meant to be perfect and you may be able to come up with better suggestions. What they try to do is demonstrate the concepts of exploring and equalising. You will notice in some examples we explore first whereas in others we go straight to the equalise stage.

6 1. Potential Member: The boss doesn t like unions and I can t afford to lose my job. Organiser: Yes, of course, you d think twice about joining a union if it meant you were going to lose your job. The issue we discussed earlier affects a lot of people doesn t it? If you went to the boss on your own and dais I m not happy with what s happening here what do you think they would say? Potential member: They d probably say if you don t like it you can get a job elsewhere. Organiser: What if we all raised the issue with the boss? The boss would have to take us more seriously then wouldn t they. Potential member: Yes. Organiser: So if we are able to get people together you d like to try and move on this issue wouldn t you Potential member: Yes Organiser: Well the first step is we need you to talk to three or four other workers in your area and get them to come to a meeting off site. 2. Potential member: I don t want to get involved in a union again. I had a bad experience in the past. Organiser: What was the bad experience you had? Potential member: The union I was in was hopeless and then chased me with debt collectors for the back payment of fees. Organiser: I can understand if you ve had an experience like that with a union you d think twice about getting involved with a union again. Potential member: Yeah, that s right. Organiser: I can t really comment on what happened with another union. All I can do is talk about how we operate here. You and a lot of other workers are concerned about the fact that you haven t had a pay rise for many years aren t you? Potential member: Yes.

7 Organiser: Do you think it s important we try to do something that will ensure you get proper recognition for the work you do here and ensure you get paid market rates of pay? Potential member: Yes. Organiser: Well our role is to support you and provide you the information and resources you need in order to achieve that. The first step is we need you to join the union and talk to others about the importance of being in the union. 3. Organiser: We need your help to talk to other workers here about the importance of getting involved and active if we re going to get a decent collective employment contract. CONCLUSION Member: That s what we pay our membership fees for. It s your job, not mine. Organiser: Yeah, you re right it is my job but I need your help if we re going to be most effective. This technique is not guaranteed to overcome all objections but we have found it can help a great deal. Good luck in trying the technique and if you come up with better lines and better approaches please let us know and share them with others.