VMOs: We Can Do It!
By Jon Melegrito
In AFSCME organizing campaigns across the country, volunteer member organizers are making a difference by helping unorganized workers join our union. During a featured event at last November's Western Regional Women's Conference in San Jose, Calif., some of them took part in a panel discussion about their experiences. VMOs constitute a vital and fast-growing part of the union's organizing efforts. They are our most valuable resource because, in an organizing campaign, there is no more credible voice than that of a union member. These women were eager to describe their activities and the satisfaction they gained.
Some of the campaigns where VMO power has been harnessed: child care providers in California, Oregon and Ohio; university workers in New Mexico; health care providers at Chicago's Resurrection hospital system; and workers in New York who assist people with developmental disabilities.
Created in 2001, the VMO program aims to increase the number of AFSCME members who actively assist in organizing drives beyond their own workplace. It includes classroom and field training on one-on-one communication and related skills. The participants' key contributions are relating their own personal experiences as members.
"When we gained the right to bargain collectively in Washington, I decided to get actively involved. I met VMOs from all over the country who had taken time out from their careers and families. The message I want to share is: You don't need to know everything in order to do this. All you need is to be committed, to care, to ask for help."
— Lisa Randlette, Washington Council 28; environmental planner
"What makes a good VMO is passion, and we have that! My council director called me to ask if I could help on the child care providers' blitz. Although I'm not a provider, I have a child, and I care about family issues, so I was happy to participate."
— Maria Gallegos, New Mexico Council 18; water quality analyst
"I've been a family child care provider for 10 years. Forming a union is the way to make our voices heard — to have power and a loud voice. We must let people know that we are child care providers, not babysitters. VMOs can help achieve that."
— Jamie Huang, United Child Care Union/California
"We've worked with Chicago's Resurrection Hospital to help the workers there organize. One of them was fired for just being ill! In that campaign, I learned to speak up, to ask more questions, to be visible. Don't be afraid. Get up and do it: Educate, agitate and organize."
— Rosie Carter, Illinois Council 31; public library clerk
"As a VMO, you get to display the energy and motivation needed to take the union message to non-union workers. I can't think of anything more satisfying, and it's the greatest thing you can do for them."
— Carol Stahlke, Oregon Council 75; customer accounts specialist
