Updated August 2024 by Bill Barry
199 pages DIGITAL VERSION (PDF)
The new edition of From First Contact to First Contract: A Union Organizer’s Handbook recognizes emerging developments and strategies organizers are using today, with a focus on new organizing.
Referencing the experiences of various organizers, the book looks at all the steps of campaign activity, from targeting to getting a first contract. Special chapters on raids and decertifications, internal organizing, and personal issues for organizers add relevant insight.
Innovative organizing campaigns can recruit union members to become organizers, dramatically changing the structure and activities of existing locals. New organizing can transform the labor movement to emphasize the importance of movement!
Bill Barry was a union member and organizer for 25 years and was Director of Labor Studies at The Community College of Baltimore County-Dundalk for another 15 years. He is a volunteer organizer with the Emergency Workers Organizing Committee to help campaigns succeed.