On the belief of the Church (, Disciples of Christ)

–Resolution on the Church and Labour, Disciples of Christ, 1938), “We believe in the right of laboring men/women to organize for protection against unjust conditions and to secure a more adequate share of the fruits of their toil. The right to organize implies the right to hold and wield power, which in turn implies responsibility for the manner in which this power is exercised.”

In the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades & Labour Union, we are rightly proud of our democratic tradition because our members run the Union and we are with them every step of the way.

In addition, we also teach different workers how to build and run their own Union. Nonetheless, let us move on by looking at a few basic steps to organizing a Union.

Step 1: Build an Organizing Committee. We here in the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades & Labour Union fully believe that leaders must be identified as well as an organizing committee representing the entire workforce. Thus, gender diversity in the workforce must be established.

However, Organizing committee training must begin immediately. Therefore, committee members must be prepared to work hard to educate themselves and their co-workers about the impending management anti-Union campaign that will sure to follow.

The Organizing committee must also be educated about workers right to organize a Union at their workplace and must also understand policies and principles of democracy.

Also at this step, basic information about the workplace must be gathered, which include the following:

· Workplace structure, departments, work areas, type of jobs, shifts

· Employees information such as their names, address, phone number, job title and department for each worker (employee list).

· Employer information, such as the parent company, product(s), customers, other local branch, and if they have a history of avoiding or dealing with Unions.

Step 2: Adopt an issue program. The Organizing committee must develop a program of the workers demands (For example, the improvements they organizing to achieve, and a strategy for the Union election campaign.

A solid plan for highlighting the issues at the workplace must be carried out through various sub-committees campaign activities.

Step 3: Sign-up the majority of the workers as Union card bearing members. In the case of the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades & Labour Union, we encourage the workers to join and give their support to our programmes. In fact, the goal is to ensure that we have a sizable majority (50+).

The organizing campaign must proceed quickly once it begins because it now becomes necessary to hold a Union election.

Step 4: Win the Union Election to be Recognized by the Employer. Those workers signed up information are used (and required) to help petition the Minister responsible for industrial matters or the Department through the Labour Commissioner to hold an election.

In fact when all of the process are followed, it should take no longer than at least two to three days for the competent authority to determine if the Union won the election and to advise the employer to recognize the Union as the bargaining agent on behalf of all the workers at the workplace.

Step 5: Negotiate a Collective Agreement. Even after being recognized, the organizing committee does not let up after the victory. The real goal of the campaign is the Collective Agreement (The document that the Union and the employer negotiate and signed, covering everything from wages/salaries, to how disputes will be handled) is still to be achieved.

Therefore, the workers must continue to be mobilized to continue to support the Union’s collective agreement demands (Decided by you and your co-workers) and put pressure on the employer to meet those demands.

Please keep in mind though that the result of this Collective Agreement belongs to you, so own it proudly.

As time is of the utmost importance, we will have to stop here for now but will continue to raise whatever issues that the workers of this our very beautiful Federation wish us to bring to the public view.

As we end for today we leave you with a quote by Pope Paul, 1971, and a song by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The important role of Union organizations must be admitted: Their objects is the representation of the various categories of workers, their lawful collaboration in the economic advance of society and the development of the sense of their responsibility for the realization for the common good.” – Pope Paul, 1971.