1 / 21

Stephanie Lee April 30, 2007

Explore the complexities of advocacy and community-building through stories of empowerment with staff. Learn about financial literacy classes and the impact of grassroots movements within the student community. Discover the strategies and challenges faced in promoting living wage policies and sustaining momentum over the summer.

eharrison
Télécharger la présentation

Stephanie Lee April 30, 2007

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. STUDENTS FOR STAFFand the complexities of advocacy, empowerment, leadership, and community-building Stephanie Lee April 30, 2007

  2. The Rhizome • Imagine the rhizome, with its reproductive nodes, producing interconnecting fibers that strengthen over time • Unlike an aborescent model, the power of grassroots organizing is its rhizomatic potential: lateral roots whose blossoms continually reappear, never able to be stomped out • Viral, self-sustaining growth

  3. 2 projects, 2 stories of empowerment • With staff • Financial literacy classes • Within SFS • Building a student movement and power base

  4. A history of involvement:With Staff • Spring 2006: CPAC presentation • Spring 2007: CPAC petition • Union membership drive • Staff/student parties ==> Financial literacy classes

  5. Financial Literacy Classes(the beginnings of a public project) • What? Why? - sub for job enrichment • Stakeholders: staff, administration (Hauser, Hodge), SELF (Jeff Diver) • Rationale - empowerment • Research - talked to workers • One-on-One • Future implementation…

  6. One-on-One #1:Jeff Diver, SELF • Purpose: determine interest, extent of collaboration, set out roles and goals • Discussion: • Sharing backgrounds • My research and understanding of workers’ situations, complaints • Proposed remedy (the SELF connection) • Logistical planning • Follow-up/ more research needed: • Determine interest among staff (SATSS test) • Who’s in charge of job enrichment?

  7. Follow-Up on Financial Literacy Classes • Meeting with Carol Hauser to determine job enrichment logistics • Further research and probing of staff next semester • Logistical / planning meeting next year with Jeff Diver, Pres. Hodge + Hauser

  8. A history of involvement:Within Students for Staff • Weekly meetings • Dinners / relational meetings = building a power base one relationship at a time • Planning mtgs • Research • Incorporating younger students = sustainability

  9. Weekly actions

  10. Mtgs with the administration • Unwilling to collaborate/ offer advice or resources • Hodge doesn’t want to create a living wage committee b/c it would “give [a living wage] the impetus he doesn’t want it to have” Reminded of Sara Long’s New Student Politics:

  11. :. SFS has had to be creative • Realizing we were not getting help from the administration, we turned to students and workers themselves • Movement-/Coalition-/Community-Building • Membership • Relational organizing • Mentorship • Establishing trust • Accountability • Leadership

  12. LIVING WAGE WEEK 2007! Components: • Living Wage Forum; • Living Wage Rally! Goals: • education; • build membership; • create presence on campus

  13. LIVING WAGE FORUM Dr. Stephanie Luce, living wage expert from U-Mass Amherst • Structure • Intro, speakers, small groups + staff! • Purpose: did it meet the 3 goals? • Education • Membership • Presence (national and local) Dr. Christian Weller, senior economist from the Center for American Progress

  14. LIVING WAGE RALLY! • Structure • MC, staff/student speakers, chants, march, deliver letter • Purpose: did it meet the 3 goals? • Education • Membership • Presence

  15. What next? • Dealing with leader loss • Summer = killer of momentum • Distance = destroys cohesion • Reflection - how to reroute and refocus in the next year? • How to revitalize the campaign?

  16. The Summer:Maintaining Our Momentum • Summer reading group • Informing practice with critical reflection and studies in theory • Staying engaged and active, promoting a radical mindset • Phone ring • Various projects • Documentary • Living wage proposal

  17. US Social Forum ‘07 • June 27 - July 1 • ~5 SFS members • Workshops and seminars • SFS-organized presentation/ panel on university living wage movements(?) • Opportunity to reconnect and re-energize over the summer (a retreat of sorts) • Strategize and network, build working relationships and coalitions

  18. One-on-One #2:Hannah Pocock, first-year organizer at U.Va • Purpose: to share experiences, talk about our progress, swap strategies, brainstorm ideas for summer and fall (how to save our momentum?) • Discussion: • Sharing backgrounds (how we got involved, how we stay motivated) • The student/staff relationship (with vs. for) • Direct action, leadership, membership, organization, media coverage • Now + Later • Follow-up: final group meetings + plans for summer

  19. Follow-Up with Hannah • Summer mailings • Target new students when they arrive early (Big party! Meet new people!) • Board of Visitors meeting (an early show of power - “look really good”) • Email/ phone rings • “Activism is a personal thing” • “90% of organizing is follow-up”

  20. Commitments • Telephone follow-ups • Swap names and #’s of other organizers • Share our conversation with our respective groups at next meeting • Discuss need for collaboration or coalition-building • Possibility of meeting at USSF and organizing a youth organizers’ caucus

  21. Wrap-Up • SFS has its last planning meeting TODAY! • Goals mapping • Summer plans • Follow up • On the agenda: – Role redistribution – Activists’ handbook – Farewells :-(

More Related