Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1221 Broadway Street
Toledo, Ohio 43609
(419) 2433456
www.floc.com
GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
The primary goal of the FLOC movement is justice and selfdetermination for migrant workers. The
primary strategy is to change the structures of society to benefit those who have been isolated and
exploited by the existing system.
Throughout history, the existing social structures and rules have been designed to benefit the
advantaged. As with all successful people's movements, the balance of power shifts when enough
popular mass comes together for a cause. This is the case with the FLOC movement. It is when millions
of Americans joined with migrant workers in the struggle for justice that the FLOC struggles with Campbell
Soup and Mt. Olive succeeded. For example, a corporation's economic and political power does little
good when enough people boycott it's products that it's profit margins drop to the crisis point.
A FLOC Support Committees is a group who organizes its local community in support of the FLOC
movement by building a popular base and networks, educating the community about FLOC issues,
mobilizes the community for social actions, and raises funds. The group is an essential part of a social
movement at the local level, maintains close communications and coordination with FLOC, and builds
flexibly on local strengths to further the wider struggle for justice and selfdetermination. FLOC's job is to
organize migrant workers to have their own direct voice, and our job is to organize our communities to
change the balance of power for justice.
FLOC supporters have always made a critical difference... educating their communities about the issues,
mobilizing people to boycott, raising volunteers to stand with migrant workers on picket lines, raising
funds to help support striking workers and a small, dedicated, and overextended staff.
FLOC will continue to rely on this popular support in current and future struggles. Since FLOC represents
low wage seasonal workers, its internal resources are inherently small. The permanent base of
supporters in our communities will always be essential to maintain and expand the struggle for justice.
Sometimes this struggle is highly charged, as with strikes and boycotts, but most of the time the struggle
takes place in a continuous small but essential smaller scale. As grievances are resolved, working rights
are strengthened; as workers are trained to exercise their democratic voice, new leaders emerge; as
worker committees meet, the union's directions are debated and decided. Supporting this essential
movementbuilding process are local volunteers who drive workers to training meetings, masses who
mobilize against antiimmigrant hate and discrimination, and donors who help cover the expenses of staff
who drive hundreds of miles a day.
FLOC and its supporters has been involved in organizing for a third of a century, and with this experience
we have developed some guidelines on popular organizing, whether farmworkers, immigrants, or our own
communities in support of the FLOC movement. While there are different ways to categorize such
guidelines, the following summarizes the key points and processes involved in community organizing to
help local FLOC Support Committees develop their effectiveness in the struggle for justice. With your
experiences and help, we will keep learning and developing our approaches.
GOALS
The most important part of organizing is to have clear goals for longterm outcomes. The larger goal of
the FLOC movement is to change the structures of society to promote selfdetermination of migrant
farmworkers and immigrant workers. FLOC is also committed to nonviolence in achieving this goal.
The main goal of FLOC Support Committees is to sustain the FLOC movement in their local
communities. The successes of FLOC have always been based on widespread popular support. The
oppressed do not have the economic and political power to change their situation, but when millions of
Americans join their cause they can collectively shift the balance of power change society.
In organizing a local community, it is important to identify clear and achievable OUTCOMES, both long
term goals and shortterm objectives which help sustain and expand the FLOC movement. These involve
efforts to:
● Build community commitment to, active involvement in, and solidarity with the FLOC cause.
● Recruit individuals who will be involved in working for the FLOC cause at the local level and who
can be volunteers at FLOC events. The core activists flexibly draw upon different strengths, skills,
and energy levels for organizing, activities, and actions.
● Build and maintain local networks that are broad and integrated in support of the FLOC cause.
This includes involving different constituencies that represent a broad crosscut of the community
(churches, unions, community groups, students, etc.), and working with local organizations so that
they include FLOC in their missions.
● Educate and mobilize the local community in support of the FLOC cause, including organizing
events that educate, inspire, and organize supporters in popular actions for change, as well as
building relations with local media.
● Raise funds for the FLOC cause. The dues base of lower wage seasonal workers will never be
enough to sustain and expand the FLOC movement, so this is one critical area where supporters can
make a significant difference for justice.
Local support committees should also keep in mind that they do not make FLOC policy. Support
committees are also not a forum to use FLOC's name to promote other causes, ourselves, or our own
issues,
ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES
Some general principles to keep in mind about FLOC Support Committees are:
● We represent FLOC in our local communities. What we do creates a lasting reflection of FLOC.
Supporters should coordinate with FLOC before acting, to make sure the FLOC message and image
is consistent at all levels. In planning activities, we should assess the impacts of actions on the cause
and credibility of FLOC. We should first try to win others over, though at times we can confront
opponents if this will be more effective in long run. (As our support networks and experiences
develop, we will develop guidelines for where local groups can develop initiatives, but for now please
coordinate with FLOC as you develop actions.)
● We are volunteer social action groups. We want to build a broad base and try to crosscut different
segments of the community. (At the same time, we have to careful of people who are selfpromoting
and those marginal characters who are often attracted to social causes.) This calls for open working
relations where we share the same commitments, maintain a cooperative process in our actions, and
coordinate individual abilities. We have to keep the focus on the goals and on what can do effectively
together, be open in sharing ideas and thoughts, work for consensus, build on individual abilities,
respect differences in views and behavior, and agree to disagree on some points. It also helps to
make activities meaningful, relevant, and fun. Volunteer forums for social causes often attract
"strange" people, who may need to be contained to keep them from damaging the credibility of the
cause.
● Messages to the community should be relevant and connect people to the cause. For example, if we
eat, we are automatically tied to farmworkers, and if certain goods and services are available for us to
use is because immigrants are trying to support their families back home.
● We organize by doing, and every activity teaches us how to be more effective and helps us develop
our skills. Community organizing is onthejob training, and we learn as we go. We don't have to be
experts on everything, and should stay within the boundaries of our abilities. We can start at
whatever level our capabilities exist, and build from there. Also, if we don't know something, all we
have to do is say "I'll find out". In general, activities should be directly relevant to the cause,
meaningful to those planning and participating, and fun!
● Only do what we can do well, then do it well. We need to keep the focus on the effective outcomes of
what we can actually do, and then make sure that we achieve the effective outcomes. Every activity
should include assessment of the community context, our abilities, and different possible outcomes,
including negative consequences. After the activity, we should evaluate the actual outcomes and
processes, to help us be more effective the next time around. On both an individual and group level,
we should only commit to what we will actually do, then do it well and on time. There are different
levels of commitment and involvement, but everyone can do something.
We have to keep in mind what is not a support committee. Local groups do not make FLOC policy, and
do not use FLOC's name to promote other causes (though people can do as individuals). We have to be
cautious about overzealous people who want to use the FLOC movement to address their own issues, or
to promote themselves or their own causes.
STRUCTURES
Local committees develop structures that work the best for the people and community involved:
● CORE PLANNERS. Generally, only 35 dedicated people are needed as lead people for groups to be
effective in developing activities.
● CENTRAL ACTIVISTS. Another 515 are usually needed to help organize specific activities (logistics,
materials, etc.)
● GENERAL PARTICIPANTS. Then as many people as needed can be mobilized for particular activities,
whether this is a delegation for political advocacy or a mass demonstration where different community
groups are called upon to turn out their own constituencies.
● Consistent COMMUNICATIONS are also needed at all levels to effectively build working relations and to
coordinate activities.
STRATEGY
There are certain strategies that a consistently effective in making social changes for justice:
● Help people DISCOVER FOR THEMSELVES why changes need to be made and how these changes can
be achieved. This is usually better accomplished by asking and providing personal examples than by
lecturing or arguing. When they come to their own conclusions, they will be more committed and
involved.
● CONTRAST the ideal and the real. A powerful motivator for social change is when people have to
consciously recognize that the realities around us do not meet our basic ideals. For example, most
humans around the world see positive treatment of other human beings as a basic standard for
behavior. When we have to confront the indignities and inhumane way people are treated, this
motivates us reconcile this discrepancy... and opens us to consider new approaches for social action.
● Indicate how the changes have a PERSONAL RELEVANCE to themselves. All of life is interconnected,
and the benefits for others also benefits us. For example, when immigrant workers suffer hate and
discrimination, this makes it easier and for our society to be run by for people who use hate and
discrimination for their own narrow interests... and for us to experience hate and discrimination
ourselves. When immigrant workers realize justice and human rights, this ensures our whole society
will be based on justice and human rights which can be realized by us all (as Martin Luther King Jr.
once said).
● Indicate WHAT THEY CAN DO to help the ideals become a reality, in ways that are immediate and
achievable. For example, people can donate to help support a FLOC field organizer, can help
arrange a place to hold a local event, can invite five people to an event, duplicate fifty copies of a flier,
etc. This is where individual skills, networks, and resources can make important contributions to local
organizing. It is also important to recognize such contributions, because such recognition
encourages even greater contributions.
PLANNING PROCESS
Planning an activity is a collective process, where gathering all ideas and working through the pros and
cons of each idea ensues that effective outcomes are maximized. This process involves:
● Identify the specific objectives (shortterm outcomes which advance longterm goals). What can we
do well?
● Identify what tasks needs to be done to achieve the objectives. For example, making contact with
others, producing materials, logistical arrangements, pretesting possible impacts, etc.
● Identify a schedule for deadlines by when each task has to be completed, and also benchmarks to
assess how effectively the organizing process is going.
● Identify who is going to be responsible for which tasks, as well who will coordinate different areas,
and communications among organizers and with FLOC.
● Evaluation of the process and outcomes after an event or action to identify the lessons and
guidelines which can be used to make future activities more effective, including:
○ What works well (is the most relevant and effective)?
○ What does not work well (is the least relevant and effective)?
○ What can be done to make organizing more effective (ideas and suggestions)?
Ongoing assessment during planning and implementation is also important to resolve problems that
arise, particularly when benchmarks come up.
It is also important to keep in touch with FLOC and other support committees, so ideas and feedback can
be shared and even coordinated actions can be developed. FLOC asks that local support committees
send a summary report to FLOC, so achievements can be shared with networks, and lessons can be
shared with other support committees.
To gain more experience with the planning process, your group may want to arrange to observe FLOC
field organizers in their seasonal and daily planning process
SUPPORT ACTIVITIES
Local support committees have been very creative in developing activities appropriate to their community
context and the group's strengths. Local activities can include a wide variety of actions, events,
celebrations, and political advocacy, but both popular education and fundraising should be incorporated
whenever possible. FLOC has developed guidelines on some special activities like organizing a political
visit, for those who are interested.
FLOC COLLABORATION POLICY
Local groups often generate interest in people doing individual projects with FLOC, such as internships
and volunteer staff. These individuals should be aware of the FLOC Collaboration Policy, which calls on
interns and volunteers to enter into an agreement regarding their activities and resources. For more
information, please contact FLOC.
GROUPS WITH MULTIPLE MISSIONS
Some local groups involved with FLOC have multiple missions. We appreciate the efforts of everyone in
supporting the FLOC cause, and only ask that when such groups can identify themselves a FLOC
Support Committee when involved in FLOC activities. They should coordinate with FLOC on using
FLOC's name when involved in other causes.
SOURCE MATERIALS
Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals.
Nonviolent Action
http://www.vernalproject.org/RPapers.shtml
Applied Social Change
http://www.iupui.edu/~anthkb/a361/
Thank you all for your support of FLOC. Your efforts not only help us achieve justice for farmworkers
and immigrant workers, but you are helping change the structures that will make a better society for us
all.
Ken Barger
FLOC Coordinator for Support Networks
3174651980
kbarger@floc.com
Beatriz Maya
FLOC SecretaryTreasurer and Midwest Director of Organizing
4192433456x3
bmaya1@floc.com