Cover: via https://unitehere.org/press-releases/largest-canvass-operation-in-nv-az-and-pa-sees-path-to-victory-vs-maga-republicans/
New Labor Press || Canvassing is a basic tool for any organization seeking to expand its membership. Labor unions, political parties, non-profits, and even social clubs canvas. Canvassing just means systematically soliciting people for their opinions or support, generally in a public place or in a residential area. It can be utilized at any point in an organizing campaign in order to win over new supporters, popularize demands, or simply gauge the existing level of support. Because of the public character of canvassing, it comes with its own risks and potential rewards in contrast to 1-on-1 conversations. If it is done incorrectly, it can result in both public embarrassment for the organization and legal repression for those involved. On the other hand, a well-executed canvassing operation can massively increase the presence of an organization locally, strengthen our connection to the lowest and deepest masses, and strengthen the class-consciousness of the local working-class.
In our labor organizing, we always try to apply the mass line. The mass line is summed up as, “from the masses, to the masses.” This means we gather ideas from the unorganized masses, synthesize these ideas and give back to the masses concrete plans that serve the movement. Canvassing is a basic tactic that allows us to assess people’s attitudes while sharing the perspective of our organization with them. A well-organized canvassing operation educates the masses and educates us about the masses. There is no simpler way to assess and begin the process of raising the level of class consciousness at a plant or warehouse than going to it and talking to the employees. Here are some basic guidelines to adhere to in putting together a canvassing outing.
Planning
–Scouting. As stated below, know where you can and can’t go legally and look for where workers naturally gather. This may be somewhere obvious, like employee parking lots, but it can also mean nearby gas stations/restaurants during break periods and shift changes, or public areas like strip malls and transportation hubs.
–Inside Contacts. The production and distribution of propaganda among workers is much easier if at least one worker is already sympathetic to the New Labor line, however, this is not a requirement. Verify beforehand whether or not you will be working with inside support.
–Research. An inside contact can be used to gauge the feelings of the targeted workers, but even without that, extensive research must be done to prepare propaganda materials and ensure the people canvassing are actually able to respond to workers’ questions on the spot. At the very least, everyone involved should have some idea of the following:
-WHY should the workers listen to what the canvassers have to say? What is the goal of the canvassing outing?
-WHAT are the workers’ grievances, and how do these align with any existing collective bargaining agreements or state union framework or the broader practices of the firm? What are the labor market standards of the industry and what is the firm’s role in that industry? Seek out financial info of any relevant state union and the firm and any political connections between these two and the government, as well as the political line of any existing organizing structure if canvassing a specific work site. Prepare a “cheat sheet” for organizers if necessary.
-HOW can the workers resolve their grievances and what are the obstacles to doing so? What are we advising the people being canvassed to do?
Preparation
–Propaganda Materials. THE QUALITY OF THE PROPAGANDA MATERIALS IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN ANY CANVASSING OUTING. Just showing up with nothing to offer and soliciting workers to join the organization is what every revisionist and state union does when a picket line pops up nearby. We do not want vague, ill-sourced materials that can “fly under the radar” of anti-communist union officials. We want material that will inform the workers and allow us to clearly demarcate between the advanced and the backwards. The way this is accomplished is by explaining to as many workers as possible our perspective on whatever struggle is happening, backing up our line with concrete facts, and gauging the workers’ reaction. For further information on writing, see “A Worker’s Guide to: Shop Organizing”, Part 2) Forming a Shop Floor Organization, section B) The Shop Paper for tips on writing quality propaganda. Take the research from the above step and make a simple script that the canvassers can study/hold on to that has the most important ideas/facts, most importantly a shared political goal. Propaganda should connect back to the NLOC as well. This can be done by advertising an upcoming event, a campaign, or including the organizations’ contact info. Online surveys or specific demand letters are good ways to make new contacts and can be linked on posters/flyers.
–Communication. This is particularly important to prepare in cases of a large group canvassing together or spreading out over an area. Communication can be done by phone, although the downside to that is coverage issues and surveillance. Two-way radios (“walkie-talkies”) are also an option for rapid responses between organizers, a megaphone is good for addressing a large crowd, and so on. Figure out ahead of time who needs to be able to communicate with who and how it can be done. ALSO PLAN FOR NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS—if it is known that many people in the area speak another language, appoint a translator who speaks that language and can facilitate communication between the canvassers and non-English speakers. Translate any propaganda materials ahead of time if possible.
–Transportation. Generally, it is suggested that organizers group up ahead of time and travel to the canvassing location together. If there are multiple sites being canvassed simultaneously, or different entrances to the same site, or organizers are spreading out over an area, make sure everyone involved is accounted for being transported to and fro and there is an agreed-upon regroup location before leaving or in case someone gets lost.
–Recording. This means at a minimum a clipboard with a sign-up sheet or a pocket notepad to write in. Depending on the size and traffic of the target site, multiple people dedicated exclusively to recording may need to be chosen.
–Contingency Plans. Understand that there is always the possibility of police or private security to become aggressive towards organizers engaging in legal, protected concerted activity. Contacts for medical and legal emergencies should be arranged beforehand.
Canvassing
–Legality. Canvassing is legal, however, trespassing, sometimes soliciting, and tampering with mailboxes are not. If you are dropping off flyers at private residences, DO NOT PUT THEM IN THE MAILBOX, slip them under the door or leave them somewhere visible. If someone asks you to leave, assess who they are and on what grounds—if it’s a state union official telling you to leave a public picket, they can be ignored. If it’s a security contractor warning you that you’re trespassing on private property (for instance, many logistics hubs have large staging areas people sometimes wander into and pose a threat to drivers), or a homeowner asking you to leave their lot, they should not be ignored. DO NOT EXPECT THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT FROM ANYONE. Know where you can and can’t go legally and stick to your guns. A worker distributing organizing materials in their employers’ parking lot is a protected concerted activity.
–Canvassing Methods. The following are some basic suggestions, but do not be afraid to experiment: door-knocking around a park, flyering around a protest, rally or event, flyering at a social hub like a grocery store or near employee entrances to large job sites, or tabling at a community event. In general, the best locations to canvas for labor are at large sites of large employers during shift changes. However, this will vary by locality—look for your area’s largest employers, and among those, seek out those sections of the working class that are the least organized and most exploited.
–AVOID EXPOSING WORKERS TO RETALIATION. This is why research ahead of time is so important. If you give materials advising workers to take a legally questionable action that is unlikely to succeed, or give them propaganda in full view of their manager, or anything irresponsible like this, that is AGENT PROVOCATEURISM and WILL result in isolation from the workers.
–DO NOT BE OVERLY AGGRESSIVE. It sounds like common-sense, but remember that you are talking to workers who have no idea what our line is, the line struggle in the labor movement over the last several decades, and most likely have little to no information about their employer and their union. If someone is not interested in what we have to say, do not force it. That just wastes time and energy on a disinterested worker that could have been better spent on someone else. We are not looking to force workers into service to the NLOC the way the AFL-CIO forces workers to pay dues and work under sellout contracts. We are looking for workers who understand the shared interests of the working class, want to study the conditions of the working class, and implement that knowledge in a militant union struggle. When canvassing, stress quality over quantity—one intelligent and hardworking militant worker contact is worth more than one thousand state unionist contacts.
–RECORD CONTACTS AND TAKE NOTES. This is extremely important, ESPECIALLY if canvassing a picket line during a strike. Canvassers need to be gathering contacts sympathetic to our line that are looking to actually organize in the event of a sellout of the strike. They should also be gathering information that could be useful to our movement, including: what are the main demands and are they coming from the workers or any state union organizers—is there tension there between militant demands from the masses and limited to no demands from the picket organizers? Has support for the picket line (or other action being canvassed) changed over time? What has been communicated to the workers, have the full language of the union/company’s proposals been shared? What do the masses expect to happen? The information gathered during a canvassing outing should be primarily subjective information concerning the workers, while the information prepared beforehand should be primarily objective information concerning the material conditions of the workers, the firm, and the industry.
-Call to action. For interested contacts, make sure there is something for them to do afterwards. This may mean inviting them to an upcoming meeting or event, giving them more in-depth New Labor materials to read on their own time, or requesting their participation in an ongoing campaign.
Follow-up
-ALWAYS FOLLOW UP WITH CONTACTS IN A TIMELY MANNER. This cannot be overemphasized. Way too many contacts are lost simply because nobody followed up, or they took too long and the contact got a job somewhere else, or lost interest, or whatever. This is especially important during a contract campaign, when the window of opportunity to take action is extremely tight.
–Summarize and Report. There will always be some level of experimentation in a canvassing outing. It is important to communicate to higher levels what happened, what worked, what didn’t work, what could have been done better, etc.
