EBDSA Union Democracy Platform

The primary role of socialists in the workplace is to organize our co-workers to engage in militant fights against the boss, and to engage actively in their union and in the broader labor movement. We play that role best when we identify demands that are felt both broadly and deeply among our co-workers, and engage in collective struggle to win those demands. By growing the ranks of active, militant co-workers within our unions in the course of such struggles, we foster a living culture of solidarity and class-consciousness.

In that context, internal struggles for union democracy can be a critical factor for building militant, class-struggle unions. Reforms in this direction often depend on organizing workers in reform caucuses and activating them to challenge tendencies such as bureaucratization, business unionism, and labor liberalism. Socialists have a central role to play in this. While building “big tent” broad unions, our knowledge about ways to overcome the constraints of capitalism are hugely valuable for the success of union struggles. Our vision of a society based on solidarity and economic, racial, and gender justice helps to make sure that the struggles for “bread and butter issues” are closely connected to the fight against all forms of oppression to unite our class in struggle.

To enhance our work in advancing union democracy, EBDSA shall adopt a set of democratic principles to guide EBDSA members when these issues arise within their unions. This will help EBDSA members in unions as they assess their organizing work within their own unions, and as a guide for internal political education of EBDSA members. These principles should provide a positive vision for workplace militants to build their unions into democratic, member-run vehicles for working class struggle and organization. Whether and how to apply these principles within a union is a matter we leave to the deliberation and sound judgment of that union’s members.

In following these principles, EBDSA encourages its members to adhere to the approach articulated by William Z. Foster in Organizing Methods in the Steel Industry when he advocated “Not mechanical blue-print tactics, but flexibility. The degree to which the proposals below can be applied depends on local conditions; the workers’ mood and strength of organization, the attitude of the bosses and government towards the campaign, etc.”

To again quote Foster - in union campaigns there must be, “a strong discipline among the organizers and workers… The necessary discipline cannot be attained by issuing drastic orders, but must be based upon wide education work among the rank and file and the development of confidence among them in the cause and ultimate victory of the movement.”

Finally, we keep in mind the words of comrades Mike Parker and Martha Gruelle who, in Democracy is Power, pp. 37-8, identified five “benchmarks of union democracy”:

The members look to the union for power in dealing with the employer, the community, other unions, politicians.
The members decide how the union deals with these forces.
“The union” is “we,” not “they.”
The issues facing the union and options for action are discussed openly:
Mechanisms exist for issues to be voiced.
Decisions are made openly, in the forums established for that purpose (such as executive board meetings or membership meetings).
Expression of dissenting views, and organizing to promote them, are encouraged rather than punished.
Leaders and followers are strongly linked.
Leaders act in the interests of members.
Members easily organize themselves, without waiting for marching orders.
Members move easily into activist and leadership positions.
Leaders encourage participation and help new leaders to develop, and there are many sources of leadership.
The members trust the leaders and the leaders trust the members.

With regards to building a democratic culture within unions, this set of principles shall include:

A good democratic union educates and trains its members, has a path to leadership that is transparent and known to all members, and is more than a collective bargaining project; it engages with the community, the labor movement and the general public in struggles for the common good.
The right of members to run for election, and to elect members who will control and manage the whole process of collective bargaining and the strategy around it. This includes members being consistently informed about the process and having democratic discussions and decision making on the content of proposed agreements and possible workplace actions, before, during and after negotiations.
Campaigns (issue, contract, etc.) should involve democratic consultation and engagement on strategy questions and decisions with site / shop-floor leaders and rank-and-file.
Regular meetings (such as membership or steward meetings) to provide a space for meaningful member-to-member coordination, discussion, decision-making, and debate.
All worksites ought to have elected shop stewards or representatives. Union staff or officers will work with sites or departments that lack representation by recruiting and training leaders.
Workers facing disciplinary action should receive the same quality of union representation whether or not they are critics of union leadership, as required by law.

With regards to democratic procedures, rules, bylaws and policies, this set of principles shall include:

All members to receive a copy of the CBA; prior to any contract vote, a complete copy (not just “highlights”) of proposed changes to the CBA will be available to all members, with time to review
Suspending or ending a strike should be voted on by the striking workers themselves.
Bargaining committees to include rank and file members and to present a clear mechanism to ensure transparency on what is negotiated. For example, open bargaining where all members can Zoom in, or immediate reports to shop floor representatives of rank and file members on bargaining proceedings.
Avoiding confidentiality agreements regarding negotiations with employers.
Direct election of officers at all levels – local and national. Right to recall or replace all officers at all levels.
Officer salaries should be set close to that of the people they represent.
Meetings, CBAs, constitutions, etc, to be translated (or conducted) into languages spoken by at least 5% of members.

The concrete actions EBDSA will take to implement this platform include:

EBDSA will always stress the need for building an independent rank and file base around a class struggle program, while clearly articulating the need to build worker power and support unions.
EBDSA generally, and the Labor Committee specifically, will work to support workers seeking to move their unions in a more democratic direction in line with the principles laid out above, by connecting them with Labor Notes trainings, readings and conferences, and providing skills trainings and space for discussion (such as workers circles), including for EBDSA union members whose unions have fulfilled these requirements on paper but whose democratic practices leave something to be desired.
Holding trainings and discussion groups on union democracy and how to form a reform caucus for rank-and-file workers and other militants (ideally in conjunction or consultation with other aligned organizations like Labor Notes and the Berkeley Labor Center), with an emphasis on organizing on the shop floor and on how to put forward a positive vision to inspire coworkers to action.
EBDSA members within unions are expected to adhere to the EBDSA and DSA code of conduct in how they treat each other in union and DSA settings, to limit the extent to which interpersonal misconduct or conflict interferes with EBDSA’s ability to carry out our chapter labor platform and priorities.

The points above do not exhaust what it will take to make unions democratic, but they do provide a basic framework DSA members can take into just about any union.