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General Meeting

September 14^th, 2023

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Call to Order

Call to Order
Roll Call
Introductions
Minutes of the previous Session
Reports of Members Sick or in Distress
Reports of Officers & Committees
Unfinished Business
New Business
Financial Report
Announcements
Adjournment

Proposed Order of Business

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Roll Call

Meeting Leader(s)
Steering Committee
Quorum

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Introductions

An opportunity to introduce ourselves to new members and for them to introduce themselves

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Approval of Minutes

2023-08-28 WCU General Meeting Minutes

https://chat.workingclassunity.com/t/2023-08-28-general-meeting/105

Prepared by Roby H.

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Reports of Members Sick or in Distress

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Reports of Officers and Committees

Secretary
Membership Coordinator
Campaign Coordinator
Treasurer

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Financial Report

Receipts

Dues
Donations
Proceeds from Events

Disbursements

Bills and other costs

Balances

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Unfinished Business

4th Internationale Paris Nov 3-5
Union Organizing Campaign with DSA North Central Valley (EWOC)

Cultural Corn Day
WCU Social: Board Game Night

Presented By: Harpreet

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Cultural Corn Day

Presented By: Chris/Paolo

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Board Game Night

Sunday, September 17th at 5-7pm OR 6-8pm

Need volunteers to bring:

Food
Board Games
???

VOTE

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New Business

WCU Tasks
WCU Tenant Union Campaign Update
Bylaw Modification Notice
Privacy Statement

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WCU Tasks

Presented By: Harpreet

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WCU Tenant Union Campaign Update

September 17th: Tenant Canvassing at CalVilla
September 21st: TU Committee Meeting
September 28th: Tenant Canvassing at ???

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WCUTU Canvassing

When canvassing for a tenants' union, unlike political canvassing, the focus is on directly influencing our relationships within the community.
We aim to enhance collective action and transform how we interact with each other, rather than mediating these relationships through politicians or policies.
This direct approach to community improvement is a distinctive aspect of our canvassing efforts.

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AHUY

Ask/Agitate/Anger: Ask questions, identify issues, and tap into righteous anger.

Hope: Share your plan to win or examples of success.

Urgency: Now is the time to act.

You: Can we count on you? (the ask)

ATTACHMENT: DEVELOPING A RAP

Nobody should follow a script mechanically. We need to talk to people like human beings. However, organizing conversations are not gripe sessions.

An organizing conversation has specific goals: to identify the issues this person cares about, connect them to a plan of action, and get this person to commit to participating. The organizer follows a structure we call a "rap."

Firstly, organizers need to understand the issues that people care about through inquiry. This begins by asking open-ended questions like, "How's your day going?" or "What's it like living here?" In later conversations, you'll likely be organizing around a specific set of issues that have been aggregated. Your questions might become more specific and direct, for example, if there are general maintenance issues that you've noticed through your canvassing, you might ask if they're having troubles getting repairs or dealing with rent increases.

It's also important to share struggles that specific tenants are having, either in the same building or in a separate one, to build unity and solidarity. You always want to try to relate their specific troubles to what you've heard from other tenants and get the issue on the table before you suggest any action. This way, when you are suggesting an action and putting together a demand delivery, it's a comprehensive list where everyone's grievances and needs are addressed.

Once the issue has been broached in conversation, react to what you're hearing. Ask follow-up questions like, "How does this make you feel?" or "How long has this been going on?" By listening and reacting to the responses, you're agitating in a way that allows folks to vent and feel emotion. This process is important as many times tenants think that their problems can't be changed. Helping them realize that bad conditions didn't fall from the sky will empower them.

Now that the tenants have identified their problems, it's time to offer hope. Hope comes from having power in numbers and from having a practical plan and strategy to win. You may arrive at a point where you're capable of moving tenants to act, there's general unity on a lot of demands. However, some might still be apprehensive. It's important to acknowledge their fears and concerns and to inoculate to the ways that landlords and property management companies might react and retaliate against tenants for organizing and demanding better living conditions.

Now the tenants are committed to act. You've addressed these risks and challenges and started to talk through the possible outcomes. You can continue to encourage them and their continued participation. In going through all this work, you can help the tenants decide to act and generate immunity to the property owners' attacks, distractions, and deflections.

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Types of Questions

Intro Questions

Identify yourself: I’m a member of Working Class Unity Tenant Union. We’re volunteers from all across San Joaquin County. I’m a tenant near X.
We are asking our neighbors in this area to complete this quick survey about living conditions.
Well, we just wanted to know if there were any issues with pests, mold, or repair issues or anything like that.

Agitation Questions
Polarizing Questions

Nobody likes to be talked at or told what to think, but you can go really far in a conversation just by asking the right questions.

Let's review and brainstorm types of questions that are useful for having organizing conversations.

Intro questions: What are some good questions to start a conversation?

(Brainstorm.)

Examples:

• How is your day going?

• How long have you lived here?

• How have things changed since you moved in?

Agitating questions: Once the other person has mentioned some issues, what are some agitating questions you could use to get this person fired up and figure out how strongly they care about an issue?

(Brainstorm.)

Examples:

• Is that okay with you?

• How long has that been going on?

• Is that how you would do things, if you were in charge?

• What would need to change to make living here really feel like home?

• What would need to change for you to feel respected by your landlord or in this neighborhood?

• Why do you think we're having this problem?

• What does this mean for your neighbors?

Polarizing questions: What are good polarizing questions you could use to get your neighbors to lay the blame for the problem, and move towards getting a commitment to action?

(Brainstorm.)

Examples:

• Who is in the position to fix this? What would they have to do?

• Do you think this problem is going to fix itself?

• How much longer are you willing to put up with this?

• Is that ever going to get better if we do nothing?

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Inspiring Hope, Creating Urgency, and Calling the Question

A great way to inspire hope is to have a plan. It's the difference between praying it doesn't rain and having ponchos and umbrellas ready to go. Having a plan inspires confidence.

What makes an organizing conversation different from a gripe session is that we plan a solution and end with an ask.

What examples can we share to inspire hope? Hope comes from having power in numbers and from having a practical plan and strategy to win. That means we also have to learn a little bit of tenant rights like you have the right to a habitable environment. We don’t need to be lawyers, but we should know the basics and what it takes to actually enforce those basics.

(Brainstorm.)

The next step is urgency - connecting the plan to win with the need for immediate action:

• We can't sit on problems.

• We have a timeline and we have to show the landlord we are serious.

Getting a commitment is the "You" in AHUY

What kinds of questions can we use to ask for a commitment? (Brainstorm.)

• Can we count on you?

• Are you on board?

• Are you coming to the meeting?

Don't shy away from being direct. Don't move on until you get an answer.

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The Plan & The Ask

The Plan

From what we’ve seen, the best way to address this is if the tenants get to together to talk about the issue. Because usually lots of people have the same problem.

The Ask(s)

We are going to be holding a meeting here with the tenants early next month. Would you be interested in joining?

You can press: Other neighbors have expressed X issue; I think it’s really important to get everyone together.
Can I get your phone number or email so I can keep in contact?

We’re going to be canvassing again on the 28th. Would you like to join us and help us talk to some of your neighbors?

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Adjournments