It is “our” program because it has taken the energy of the Field Organizers along with their initiatives to build this 21st century model of market development.
A couple more milestones have been hit this past week with just over 600 total participants going thru the Labor Rising training and hitting over 5,900 Likes on Facebook.
We have also now had 2 International Organizing Directors thru the program and we sincerely appreciate those Directors attendance and input.
Strip away all the self-ingratiating comments we in the Building Trades heap upon ourselves and every single hard number measurable over decades say we are getting our butts kicked.
That will not change unless we change the current culture, strategy and mission of the unions and the members of the Building Trades.
In building a capacity to accomplish that goal the combined Labor Rising program will be going online soon and be accessible to the rank & file organizers and market development reps.
We unfortunately have to be in the position of a vendor to do this, which has never sat well with any of us. For those that have dealt with us, they know our hard numbers and costs, and have had no complaints to date.
This program still has huge hurdles with senior leadership in most of the Internationals who just won’t confront the reality of the numbers. That arrogance kills any attempt to build energy and momentum with some Internationals for a new direction.
Nothing short of the “middle class” is on the line, and we cling to old worn methods that have failed across the board.
It is long overdue to respectfully challenge those that will not change, or do so marginally.
It is also long overdue to provide the much needed balance to big capital and reassert the rights of workers, and not be totally dependent on politicians and management.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Danny L Caliendo
Organizer
Labor Rising Group
