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Stephanie Lee April 30, 2007

STUDENTS FOR STAFF and the complexities of advocacy, empowerment, leadership, and community-building. Stephanie Lee April 30, 2007. The Rhizome. Imagine the rhizome, with its reproductive nodes, producing interconnecting fibers that strengthen over time.

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Stephanie Lee April 30, 2007

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  1. STUDENTS FOR STAFFand the complexities of advocacy, empowerment, leadership, and community-building Stephanie Lee April 30, 2007

  2. The Rhizome • Imagine the rhizome, with its reproductive nodes, producing interconnecting fibers that strengthen over time • Unlike an aborescent model, the power of grassroots organizing is its rhizomatic potential: lateral roots whose blossoms continually reappear, never able to be stomped out • Viral, self-sustaining growth

  3. 2 projects, 2 stories of empowerment • With staff • Financial literacy classes • Within SFS • Building a student movement and power base

  4. A history of involvement:With Staff • Spring 2006: CPAC presentation • Spring 2007: CPAC petition • Union membership drive • Staff/student parties ==> Financial literacy classes

  5. Financial Literacy Classes(the beginnings of a public project) • What? Why? - sub for job enrichment • Stakeholders: staff, administration (Hauser, Hodge), SELF (Jeff Diver) • Rationale - empowerment • Research - talked to workers • One-on-One • Future implementation…

  6. One-on-One #1:Jeff Diver, SELF • Purpose: determine interest, extent of collaboration, set out roles and goals • Discussion: • Sharing backgrounds • My research and understanding of workers’ situations, complaints • Proposed remedy (the SELF connection) • Logistical planning • Follow-up/ more research needed: • Determine interest among staff (SATSS test) • Who’s in charge of job enrichment?

  7. Follow-Up on Financial Literacy Classes • Meeting with Carol Hauser to determine job enrichment logistics • Further research and probing of staff next semester • Logistical / planning meeting next year with Jeff Diver, Pres. Hodge + Hauser

  8. A history of involvement:Within Students for Staff • Weekly meetings • Dinners / relational meetings = building a power base one relationship at a time • Planning mtgs • Research • Incorporating younger students = sustainability

  9. Weekly actions

  10. Mtgs with the administration • Unwilling to collaborate/ offer advice or resources • Hodge doesn’t want to create a living wage committee b/c it would “give [a living wage] the impetus he doesn’t want it to have” Reminded of Sara Long’s New Student Politics:

  11. :. SFS has had to be creative • Realizing we were not getting help from the administration, we turned to students and workers themselves • Movement-/Coalition-/Community-Building • Membership • Relational organizing • Mentorship • Establishing trust • Accountability • Leadership

  12. LIVING WAGE WEEK 2007! Components: • Living Wage Forum; • Living Wage Rally! Goals: • education; • build membership; • create presence on campus

  13. LIVING WAGE FORUM Dr. Stephanie Luce, living wage expert from U-Mass Amherst • Structure • Intro, speakers, small groups + staff! • Purpose: did it meet the 3 goals? • Education • Membership • Presence (national and local) Dr. Christian Weller, senior economist from the Center for American Progress

  14. LIVING WAGE RALLY! • Structure • MC, staff/student speakers, chants, march, deliver letter • Purpose: did it meet the 3 goals? • Education • Membership • Presence

  15. What next? • Dealing with leader loss • Summer = killer of momentum • Distance = destroys cohesion • Reflection - how to reroute and refocus in the next year? • How to revitalize the campaign?

  16. The Summer:Maintaining Our Momentum • Summer reading group • Informing practice with critical reflection and studies in theory • Staying engaged and active, promoting a radical mindset • Phone ring • Various projects • Documentary • Living wage proposal

  17. US Social Forum ‘07 • June 27 - July 1 • ~5 SFS members • Workshops and seminars • SFS-organized presentation/ panel on university living wage movements(?) • Opportunity to reconnect and re-energize over the summer (a retreat of sorts) • Strategize and network, build working relationships and coalitions

  18. One-on-One #2:Hannah Pocock, first-year organizer at U.Va • Purpose: to share experiences, talk about our progress, swap strategies, brainstorm ideas for summer and fall (how to save our momentum?) • Discussion: • Sharing backgrounds (how we got involved, how we stay motivated) • The student/staff relationship (with vs. for) • Direct action, leadership, membership, organization, media coverage • Now + Later • Follow-up: final group meetings + plans for summer

  19. Follow-Up with Hannah • Summer mailings • Target new students when they arrive early (Big party! Meet new people!) • Board of Visitors meeting (an early show of power - “look really good”) • Email/ phone rings • “Activism is a personal thing” • “90% of organizing is follow-up”

  20. Commitments • Telephone follow-ups • Swap names and #’s of other organizers • Share our conversation with our respective groups at next meeting • Discuss need for collaboration or coalition-building • Possibility of meeting at USSF and organizing a youth organizers’ caucus

  21. Wrap-Up • SFS has its last planning meeting TODAY! • Goals mapping • Summer plans • Follow up • On the agenda: – Role redistribution – Activists’ handbook – Farewells :-(

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