By GREGORY N. HEIRES

With thousands of members scattered throughout the five boroughs in over 20 hospitals and treatment centers, Local 420 faces an enormous task in reaching out to rank-and-filers. “As an activist local, our goal is to involve as many members as possible in the union,” said Hospital Employees Local 420 President Carmen Charles. “This is a constant challenge for us when you consider that our membership is as big as many American towns.”

To strengthen communication with its members and spread the gospel of unionism, Local 420 is creating “member action teams.” While shop stewards generally handle contract issues, grievances and labor-management relations, the local envisions that the member action teams will be responsible for spreading the union message throughout the workplace.

Helping stewards and elected leaders, this new group of activists will inform co-workers about key issues ranging from workplace disputes and demonstrations to collective bargaining struggles and politics. “In some of the institutions where Local 420 members work, 1,000 members on three shifts may be spread out in nearly ten buildings,” said Beryl Major, the local’s director of membership development. “We took a serious look at this reality and decided that the local really needed to add to its organizational structure by developing a new layer of activists with unique responsibilities. We view our MAT activists as communicators and organizers.”

About 50 members attended the local’s first MAT training session, which was held at union headquarters Sept. 4. That day, Ms. Major and Local 420 intern Chris Watson presented the participants with the nuts and bolts of the “Power @ Work” plan. DC 37’s national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is using the plan to create member action teams at work sites nationwide.

The intensive, six-hour training session included an overview of the program, a video, freewheeling discussions about the role of the union and strategies
for communicating with members. Participants learned how the diversity of the membership can be both an obstacle and a vehicle for better communication.

In small-group exercises, participants explored how to identify potential new leaders, recruit activists, establish workplace networks, and plan an activist campaign. “I learned a lot about how to motivate people to get interested in politics,” said Denise Dwyer, a Certified Nurse’s Aide at Coler Memorial Hospital. “We have since got some people here to register to vote.

The work of the action teams is very important when you think about the war and the economic problems facing us.” At Coler, the local has set up MAT teams to represent different title series. Housekeepers and Dietary Aides also have teams, which include a leader and a couple of other activists.

Reaching a new generation
An outgoing person, Ms. Dwyer said the communication skills needed to be a MAT activist come naturally to her and that she relishes bringing the union message to her coworkers. “I am a people-person,” she said. “I walk through the building and talk to people, I know people on my shift, and I will talk to everyone I pass in the hallway. Communication is not a problem with me.”

Certified Nurse’s Aide Anita L. Thompson, the local’s chapter chair at Coler, also participated in the training. As a long-time unionist, Ms. Thompson said she is excited about bringing new faces into the union family.

“A new generation of workers has come in. They don’t know the history of our struggle and don’t have a voice in the workplace,” Ms. Thompson said. “The local wants to train them. At the same time, we want to hear what they have to say and learn from them.”