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Shenandoah Socialist Collective
Organizing a workplace in rural Virginia isn’t easy. Some may say it isn’t worth the time and energy; dig a little deeper and the truth will emerge. Virginia is for unions.
Anyone that has worked in a distribution center in Weyers Cave, an apple processing plant in Mount Jackson, or a superstore in Christiansburg knows that if ever there was a place ready for unionization, it’s here. Since the introduction of the institution of capitalism in the early settler-Republic, the western part of Virginia has been used and abused for its resources and labor. Capitalist cartels like Blackrock, Vanguard, and the governor’s own Carlyle Group turn screwing workers into a sport — and the winners are whoever can crush more people while, of course, their profit margins grow.
It’s easy to accept the economic assaults on our communities as inevitable. There’s no shortage of stories in the media that detail the impacts of decline and treat the south, by and large, as a wasteland of backward ideas. But is that true? Is the American South merely some benighted, agricultural and coal hinterland? Or is that the story the capitalists need to sell to keep us divided and complacent? Under the surface, away from the prying eyes of CNN and Vice producers, there’s a different story. A story about workers; a story about bosses.
Today, workers refuse to accept the “right to work” lies. As recently as the 2020 Legislative session, the ruling Democrats in the State Senate broadcast a message via legislation that unions will never work in Virginia. These Democrats had no issue with blocking bills that would have removed the current prohibition on state worker collective bargaining and outright refused to hear discussion on the elimination of one of the most punitive “right to work” laws in the nation. While those same Democrats allowed a bill to pass that would give local governments the authority to vote on whether or not their employees can engage in collective bargaining, limiting the scope to local government workers while leaving over 100,000 state workers behind sends a signal that workers rights are not a priority even for those who consider themselves to be the most “progressive” elements of the capitalist regime.
Today, unions nationwide are seeing a revival of popular support and organizing energy, with the rank-and file leading the charge. Workers have developed strong and growing organizations like the Amazon Labor Union and Starbucks Workers Unite. Labor is recovering from the long winter, stretching and ready to fight.
The relationship between organized labor and the left has been strained since the days of Samuel Gompers’ (Founder of the American Federation of Labor) and (first President of the AFL-CIO) George Meany’s “business unionism”. Business unionism was developed as a major component of the growing wave of anti-Communism stretching across the United States, exhibiting unions deference to the capitalist system. Meany once confronted non-union workers by saying “we didn’t want the people…; we merely wanted the work. So far as the people on the work were concerned, for our part they could drop dead.” Although communists once played a major role in labor organizing, years of red scare campaigns have often left Communist organizations at odds with unions. According to Fletcher and Gapasin in their book Solidarity Divided, the AFL-CIO barred Communists from the membership and (with U.S. government funds), developed anti-Communist institutes to train unionists on the supposed benefits of “free-trade”. AFL-CIO institutes like the American Institute for Free Labor Development would become players in the efforts to overthrow the democratically elected governments of Guyana in 1964 and Chile in 1973. Although labor federations like the AFL-CIO have begun to reverse their outright anti-Communist messaging of the 20th century, the U.S. labor movement is a far cry from the days of Eugene V. Debs and Mother Jones. Given the growing assault on workers in the United States by capitalist oligarchs and private equity, a rapprochement between the left and organized labor has become a necessity — but a necessity on Communist terms.
Unions have seen a sharp decline in total membership, shedding 712,000 rank-and-file members since 2010 according to Radish Research. In spite of a multi-billion dollar war chest, many unions are still embracing fortress unionism and failing to invest in actual organizing and organizers. From the Communist left, a lack of a coherent workers party shows that the current state of worker organizing needs a new approach. Unions are the school of Communism; it is through organizing labor into effective forms that can withstand the pressure of the capitalist bosses that we learn how to defend ourselves. Without the Communists’ presence in the unions, they will return to “business unionism.”
Organizing isn’t easy. Even figuring out where to begin is a stumbling block for many. While many approaches have been tried, the most successful ones are based on structures that have been developed scientifically. The organizing methods developed by the Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union —District 1199 — have been studied extensively by labor theoreticians like Jane McAlevy. 1199 grew from a niche union local to one of the most powerful unions to walk the picket lines during the American Civil Rights era. The lessons they left behind are applicable now more than ever.
United Campus Workers of Virginia uses the 1199/McAlevy model to train members on how to organize. UCWVA is a rank-and-file union meaning that the union members themselves are the ones doing the hard work to organize. Union members lead organizer training sessions on a regular basis so that all members have an understanding of what it takes to win fights against the boss. They place an emphasis on this training and education so that all members have the tools needed not only to grow the union but make it sustainable.
The methods used by the United Campus Workers of Virginia, while highly effective for labor organizing, can be applied to organizing broad sections of the working class outside of an industrial context.
The Shenandoah Socialist Collective, based in Harrisonburg, Virginia, has begun experimenting with this model in their efforts to organize houseless community members. SSC operates a free breakfast program that feeds approximately 50 unhoused community members twice weekly. These meals are meant to meet some of the most basic needs of the community while offering opportunities for SSC organizers to understand their community’s needs, wants, and political goals.
Although SSC’s experiment with the 1199 method is in its early stages, positive developments have been made in efforts to organize houseless residents in their fight for shelter. Recently, UCWVA members invited Shenandoah Socialist Collective to participate in a training session on how to use Structured Organizing Conversations (SOC’s) to find out people’s needs and build solidarity with them. SOC’s allow organizers to approach a conversation with someone methodically, keeping a goal in mind while focusing on listening to someone’s story.
Jane McAlevy states that an SOC should be 70% listening and 30% talking. It encourages us to hear stories and respond to them in a way that agitates people without focusing on anger. Agitation in the conversation then moves to inspiration by having the person leading the conversation put forward a grounded vision for change. This allows people to see that despite the issues in front of them, solutions exist and those solutions can be achieved with their involvement. This grants the opportunity to make a hard ask of someone. Whether they are being asked to join a labor union or to contribute their labor to a Red Aid program, the SOC conditions us to ask people a direct question; a question that respects their agency to make the right decision for themselves.
The event was well attended and allowed SSC members the opportunity to see how the lessons learned through labor could be applied to organizing in a socialist context. As a nod to their comrades, the UCW members added training scenarios that would be applicable to SSC’s body of work, particularly around issues impacting the unhoused. This training will aid SSC in their efforts to organize Unhoused Councils that will work to address community needs proactively, rather than relying on reactive campaigns that have happened in the past with limited success.
It has always been and will always be essential for Communists to organize the masses. However, the task of organizing doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel everytime a new campaign is begun. Through relationships of solidarity and skill sharing, the task of organizing the working class becomes more tangible and realistic. When we apply the lessons of 1199 to the theories we learn as communists, we can put time-tested organizing tactics to the test. These tactics prioritize scientific organizing and encourage organizers to listen more to the stories of the working class. They help us keep our organizing work sustainable and grounded so that more workers join to carry the workload together. They help us to teach the working class that the victories ahead can only be won through their own labor. If we can use the lessons of the past to influence our future, a better world is sure to be on the horizon.
