Transcript How to build a sustainable grassroots resistance movement Jill Reese, The Alliance for a Justice Society The Alliance for a Just Society’s mission.

How to build a sustainable
grassroots resistance movement
Jill Reese, The Alliance for a Justice Society
The Alliance for a Just Society’s mission is to execute local, state and national campaigns and
build strong affiliate organizations and partnerships that address economic, racial, and social
inequities.
The Alliance is a national network of 14 racial and economic justice organizations.
Strategies for Making Progressive Change
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Direct action
c3 and c4 civic engagement and electoral strategies
Consistent dues paying membership outreach
Deep investment in leadership development
Power mapping for strategy development
Coalition building
State legislative work
On line organizing / engagement
Framing and strategic message development
Engagement with labor
Grassroots Organizing: Building and Challenging
Power
• Power relationships are unequal
• In order to challenge power, you have to present a
credible threat
• We cannot compete in the realm of money
• We must invest in organizing - building and
developing a base of people who are consistently
engaged in work
• We must confront power directly
Coalitions and Collaborations
• Building coalitions and collaborations are about building
power
• Coalitions are built around a common goal
• Collaborations are built around a specific issue
• Permanent, temporary, single or multi-issue, geographically
defined, limited to certain constituencies
Some Questions to Consider
Who is behind the coalition?
What’s your organization’s self-interest?
How can your members participate?
What is the decision making structure?
How will participation build your organization?
Benefits of Structured Alignment
• Win what couldn’t be won alone
• Build an ongoing power base
• Increase the impact of individual organizations’ efforts
• Develop new leaders
• Increase resources
• Broaden scope
Common Challenges
Distracts from other work
Weak members can’t deliver
Too many compromises
Inequality of power
Individual organizations may not get credit
Dull tactics
Messaging by consensus
Principles for Success
 Clear staffing roles, whether hired or contributed
 Choose unifying issues
 Develop a realistic coalition budget
 Understand and respect institutional self-interest
 Agree to disagree
 Be strategic with tactics
 Recognize that contributions vary
 Structure decision-making carefully
 Help organizations to achieve their self-interest
 Achieve significant victories
 Urge stable, senior board representatives
 Clarify decision-making procedures
 Distribute credit fairly
Power Analysis
Our assumptions include:
1.POWER relationships are unequal right now and this is key to
why we have the problem / issue that we are working on.
2.POWER is being exercised and there is an agenda at work.
3.A more systematic way of understanding POWER and how it is
exercised is necessary to making long term social change.
Power Analysis
We use this tool to map out current power relationships
and to then think through:
• how to shift those relationships to increase our
power
• how to move groups with power to our agenda
• ultimately, how to shift the power relationships to
pressure decision-makers to concede
Power Analysis
Strategic Power Analysis: Analysis of the political
landscape of a defined region including key problems,
conditions, strategic decision-making centers, major
battles, primary opposition forces, organized
progressive forces (actual/potential), and important
unorganized social groups.
11
STEPS TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC POLITICAL LANDSCAPE POWER ANALYSIS
STEP 2: Sketch the Competing Agendas. The
agenda of the forces who are causing or perpetuating
the problems, and your agenda (i.e. the conditions you
want to bring about)
10
STEP 1: Define the major economic,
political, and/or social Conditions which are
negatively impacting primary constituencies
Decisive
Decision
making
Power or
Influence
STEP 3: Sketch the major centers of
Decision-making Power over the
problem conditions
State Legislature
8
Active
Participant in
Decisionmaking
6
Power to
have Major
Influence
decisionmaking
4
Taken
into
Account
Could be economic conditions such as poverty, unemployment - social
conditions such as discrimination, persecution - political conditions such as
disenfranchisement - or a combination of all the above.
STEP 8: Analyze picture
(strengths/weaknesses,
organizing opportunities, etc.)
Board of Supervisors
City Council
STEP 4: Sketch Major
Issue/Policy Battles related
to problem conditions which are
going on
STEP 5:
Sketch major
organized
Opposition
3
Can Get
Attentio
n
2
Not on
Radar
STEP 6: Sketch
Organized Progressive
Groups
Die Hard
STEP 7: Sketch key
unorganized social groups
Active SupportInclined Towards
Inclined Towards Active Support
Environmental & Economic Justice Project Power Analysis Training - Chart 7
Die Hard
SOCIAL/ECONOMIC JUSTICE AGENDA
+ Decent Quality of Life for All
+ Fairness, Equality, Opportunity
+ Authentic Democracy
CORPORATE/CONSERVATIVE AGENDA
LOS
ANGELES
CONGRESS
LANDSCAP
E
State
Mayor
Legislatur
Board of
ANALYSIS
e
Supervisor
City
+ Creation of low-wage, unregulated environment
+ Cutbacks in social spending
+ Use of Public Capital to subsidize agenda
10
Decisive
Decision
making
Power or
Influence
8
s
Council
Active
Participant in
Decisionmaking
MAJOR
CORPORATIONS
6
Power to
have Major
Influence on
decisionmaking
4
Taken
into
Account
METROPOLITAN
SEIU 1877,
ALLIANCE
AGENDA
Upper Middle
Class
CHURCHES
Community Other Unions
Coalition
LAANE
“Middle Class”
Businesses
17%
Rightwing Think
Tanks
COMMUNITY
GROUPS
Poor & Working Families
People on Public
Assistance
Active Support
DEVELOPERS
25%
Small
UNIONS
CFJ
Progressive
Progressive Churches
Academics
Die Hard
BANKS
434B, 660, 347
3
Can Get
Attentio Metro Alliance
Grassroots Groups
n
2
Not on
Radar
BUSINESS
ASSOCIATIONS
Large Non-Profits
Inclined Towards
17%
47%
Inclined Towards
Environmental & Economic Justice Project Power Analysis Training
Active Support
Die Hard
Resources and Fundraising
Looking beyond foundations
•Membership dues
•Small donor / large donor
•Grassroots fundraising
•Mapping in-state money