Educating, empowering at MOSI
OSEA’s revamped Member Organizing Summer Institute (MOSI) program prepared 11 member-leaders to speak about and be active in their chapters.
“This year’s curriculum was influenced by the success of the new worksite organizer program,” OSEA Director of Organizing Richard Ramirez said.
Held Aug. 26-28 at the OSEA State Office in Salem, MOSI provides preparation for membership recruitment, worksite engagement, and working with chapters to install trained worksite organizers at each site. Attendees also learned time-tested skills to assist in contract campaigns and community support efforts.
Members learned the nitty-gritty of how to conduct one-on-one conversations about the union, conducting roleplays with one another and later putting those skills to the test by visiting OSEA-represented classified employees at their homes and asking them to sign membership cards. The visitors informed would-be members of the benefits of joining the union, such as occupational liability insurance and the ability to vote on their contract.
These home visits gave them a chance to practice new skills with a supportive environment for post-trip feedback.
Roxanne Petersen of Roseburg Chapter 21 said the three-day event helped her bond with fellow union members while also stepping out of her comfort zone.
“This class also gave me the tools that I needed to build a stronger union for me and my fellow members,” Petersen said.
OSEA’s organizing team gave facts on OSEA’s structure, history and past and present leadership. Ramirez said members also learn the year their chapter was founded, giving a new appreciation of their contract and where it came from.
Understanding the background of OSEA and the larger labor movement gave Melanie Garrison of North Clackamas Chapter 71 an appreciation of what it will take to move forward collectively.
“I now feel empowered to move forward to help achieve the goals of my chapter,” Garrison said. “We are strong together.”
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