London Talking with organizers in France and England about hiring and recruiting organizers exposes some interesting paradoxes and time lapses. In France, the preferred field to plow was often the university and post-university demographic. The recruits, when identified, would usually be asked to start as volunteers with perhaps just expenses paid. They used …
Category: ACORN International
Creating Global Capacity for Organizing and Campaigns
Grenoble Walking through the center of Grenoble my friends pointed out the statute in the plaza that heralded the French revolution. They reminded me that Grenoble took the pride of place in France that Boston, Concord, and Lexington claim in the American Revolution. Citizens began holding protest meetings and detailing their grievances with the regime …
The Tough Process of Organizational Change
Grenoble Over the last week from Birmingham to Edinburgh to London and now in Grenoble, it’s amazing how often conversations and questions focus as much on organizational change as organizing programs and prospects. Talking to Martin Smith, the organizing director for the GMB in London, he made the point as clearly as anyone saying that …