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As part of the UNI Breaking Through strategy, UNI Global Union launched the UNI GROW (Get Recognition – Organise Workers) Initiative, creating a new strategic dimension to our affiliates’ and to UNI Global Union’s campaigning and organising results.

· What are innovative strategies to build activism & membership as part of collective bargaining campaigns?

· What are successful strategies & campaigns to GROW with domestic & global employers (companies)?

· What are proactive GROW initiatives in new sectors / workplaces where union density is low?

These were the questions focused upon in the first inaugural GROW Initiative, which brought together about 30 strategists and organizing directors from 28 UNI affiliates all over the world, joined by UNI global GROW staff here, in our head office in Nyon, at the end of May.

“Strategic change to GROW is the basis of our strategy; it has become the central focus in a number of our unions and has led to organizational change, reinforcement of resources, and new and successful strategies, which are different depending on the context, the workplace, the sector, the country, or the region. We don’t want a long academic discussion on what the difference is between organising and recruitment; instead, we want UNI GROW, which is part of our culture of breaking through,” said General Secretary Philip Jennings.

Grant Williams, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), USA, said his union is focusing on growth and this process required innovation, creative thinking about the way they work, and strong decisions, including recently shifting 25 percent of branch staff and 50 percent of international staff to dedicated union expansion positions. The resources we put in were actually paid back with our growth,” he said.

Risto Sorsa, Service Union United (PAM), Finland, discussed not only the successes, but also the serious institutional challenges that many unions, as well as his own, are facing nowadays building active members and ensuring mobilisation.

“Like UNI, our union PAM celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year. We want to be a modern and proactive organisation. We need to reverse the downward trend and increase our membership and influence nationally, regionally, and globally. Therefore, our union is actively working to support all initiatives of UNI in the GROW area,” he said.

Building activism is an essential part of all changes to grow, explained Mari Martens, FNV Bondgenoten, Netherlands. He presented a recent campaign with the cleaning sector that resulted in a significant pay increase for members. He attributed the success of the campaign to giving the workers respect, getting the public involved in their fight, and crossing boundaries by involving workers, employers, and customers. He noted that by the end of their campaign, they had won the support of the public, the national parliament, and important clients.

UNI has set a target of signing 50 global agreements to protect union rights with multinational companies. These agreements form the cornerstone of our drive to ensure that corporate giants respect international labour standards and basic rights for workers and that they do not ignite a race to the bottom by choosing to employ workers in the countries that offer the least protection.

“Together with our affiliates, we are targeting union recognition in the global service industry because we understand that international union solidarity is essential if we want to ensure a better future for the world’s workers and their families. We should have as many people covered by global agreements as there are in UNI; so, 20 million people in UNI, 20 million people covered by global agreements,” said Philip Jennings.

Keith Jacobs, UNI GROW Africa, Marcio Monzane, Director-UNI Americas, and Eduardo Pérez de San Román, FAECYS, shared how key strategies of the “common efforts approach,” the significant role of “mother country unions,” and global union alliances resulted in recent UNI - Shoprite Checkers and UNI – Inditex Global Agreements, ensuring recognition for unions and organising rights for about 200,000 workers.

“UNI Global Union Alliances are key to building our power base in these global companies, and we all should work toward ensuring that they are in place and are strong,” said Marijke Persoone, vice president of LBC-NVK, Belgium.

Joining UNI GROW via video conference from Washington DC, Ed Sabol, Communication Workers of America International Union (CWA), USA, explained the union’s comprehensive and ground-breaking approach to USA's CWA and Germany's ver.di trans-Atlantic organizing at Deutsche Telekom where, in close coordination with UNI Telecom global union, there is a campaign to get a Global Recognition Agreement and organize workers in the US.

Michael Bride, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), USA, discussed a recent campaign on an important and strategic domestic company, highlighting the importance of growth. “Our power is not only sitting at the bargaining table. Our power is our members out there in the community.” These active community members, referred to by UFCW as “member organizing armies,” were instrumental in staging several events benefiting their business, showing management that the union can be either helpful or a powerful enemy.

Mohamed Shafie, President of the UNI Malaysian Liaison Council and organizer, said his team is recruiting new members 24/7, working toward registering the 51 percent of workers necessary for a Malaysian union to be recognized and to one day sign a collective agreement.

“This is a good challenge for us,” Shafie said. “It is really a dangerous game in our country and we are operating in a high profile political climate. We think we will achieve the 51 percent. It is only a matter of time.”

When Walter Palmer, with The European Elite Athletes Association (EEAA), explained the strategy to grow in the new Sport Sector, he discussed the “Italian strike“of his union members, which was applauded loudly by UNI GROW members.

Adriana Rosenzvaig, head of UNI Score, presented the UNI GROW – 8 initiative, in which the main focus is cross sector synergy in a number of countries with great potential for growth. “One week ago we met our affiliates in South Africa, and they decided that from now until the UNI Congress in Cape Town in 2014, a strategic plan will be adopted and developed to double the number of members in the several sectors affiliated to UNI Global Union in this country.”

“We have the extraordinary opportunity to unite all of our experiences and determination, and think collectively to find the most effective strategies for growth," said Adriana. "In UNI we are building the key pillars to GROW. Today, more than 70 percent of the resources received from the Trade Union Solidarity Support Organizations are dedicated to the strategic objectives set by the sectors and regions," she added. "The Organising Fund will allow us to take a further step in allocating key resources to build strategic power.”

The importance of being able to measure and communicate successes within the organisation, as well as in the wider world is essential, as underlined by many UNI GROW members.

Innovative and creative ways of communication with our potential members, especially young ones, in new sectors of the economy are crucial,” said Petra Deutschbauer, GPA-DJP, Austria. “Whatever we call it – marketing strategy or propaganda, we are targeting the same idea – grow.”

”We started a number of innovations to reach our members and potential members by moving digital interactivity toward the center of our organising strategies, substantially reshaping our processes and skills,” said Fredrik Nilsson, Unionen recruiting director.

Sharing with UNI GROW members on our new media strategy, UNI’s Rachel Cohen stated that a new communications plan will include email campaigns, electronic petitions, “get actives,” and other technological communications that will support campaigns that have a direct impact on improving the lives of UNI members.

The first UNI GROW was enthusiastically supported by our affiliates and it was decided to have it on an annual basis.

While discussing UNI GROW together: focus, breakthrough goals 2011 & way forward, UNI GROW members emphasized that commitment is high. For the next 12 months we have developed a number of joint initiatives on strategic campaigns, organising, research, and building expertise, which will support and strengthen the implementation of UNI Breaking Through and other ongoing campaigns.

“The vital role of UNI is to build a community of action by reaching out to the grassroots and assisting affiliates to overcome differences and get on the same page, while speaking the same GROW language,” said CEP’s Duncan Brown.

”Our new department devoted to Strategy, Campaigns, Organizing, Research, and Empowerment, called UNI SCORE, is in place to spearhead the work to build synergies and focuses. The implementation of the UNI Breaking Through GROW strategy requires the involvement of absolutely everybody. It is an inclusive process of global, regional, and sectoral teamwork, involving all UNI affiliates, their rank and file members, union representatives, and leading officials, as well as all UNI staff to achieve results. Our team is convinced that strategic change to GROW is strongly related to action and results at the workplace,” said UNI’s Olga Vinogradova.

For more information on UNI GROW together: focus, breakthrough goals 2011 & way forward, please contact olga.vinogradova@uniglobalunion.org