O4P's Core Fundamentals is a multi-week online training program that provides union members with the information and practice they need to build the organizing skills necessary to win changes at work, contract fights, and unionization efforts. The 2025 Organizing for Power class will begin in February, 2025.
Sign up here to be notified when registration opens for the 2025 class
The class is a little different each time. It's always been 6 weeks, but in 2024 they experimented with a slightly longer class time: a 2 1/2-hour class each week and as before offered at two different times to enable as many people as possible to fit it into their schedule. The classes have usually been offered at noon and at 8pm (your choice which you attend) on six consecutive Tuesdays, with a one-hour Maine orientation the week before.
We also offer an optional but highly recommended Maine debrief/prep session - 1 hour between each class and one final debrief at the end. The day/time will be determined by what works for the most members of the Maine group - instructions to indicate your available times are in the class application form.
Sign up here to be notified when registration opens for the 2025 class
INFORMATION FROM THE 2024 CLASS:
Organizing for Power: The Core Fundamentals in 2024 took place on 6 consecutive Wednesdays in May and June. Our Maine AFL-CIO Team met together once before the class started for one hour to prepare, and then met for 1-hour debrief and homework sessions weekly during the class, and finally once more after the class.
Classes in 2023 took place on six consecutive Wednesdays in February and March,
Each year offered a choice to participate at noon (Track A) or at 8pm (Track B). Each class in 2023 ran for 2 hours, in 2024 for 2 1/2 hours, and the same material was covered in both tracks.
To get the most out of the training, Maine Team's weekly one-hour debrief/planning sessions on a different day helped participants prepare for class and then apply what they were learning in the Wednesday classes to their own organizing goals, whether working within their union or organizing new workers and community members.
We highly recommend participating in both the classes and the debrief sessions. Those who did participate in both didn't regret it, and their organizing is stronger for it - but for those who really cannot commit the additional hour for the debrief we offer a "class session only" option to attend only the orientation and then the weekly classes.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
This training focused on the five core organizing fundamentals:
* Leader identification, or: understanding who can move people (it’s often not who you first think);
* Semantics, or: the words we use matter - they have to center each worker’s active participation as key to winning;
* Structured organizing conversations, or: what it takes to recruit the hardest-to-recruit leaders;
* Charting, or: a simple method to understand human social relationships, and to prioritize and systematize outreach;
* Structure tests, or: mini campaigns to build solidarity and site structure, and to know when you are ready to win.
These essential skills serve as the building blocks of all winning campaigns. The Core Fundamentals uses the same curriculum as past Organizing for Power trainings for the simple reason that the fundamentals of success do not change; the real key is our ability to master them.
Since September 2019, O4P has hosted nearly 30,000 organizers from 110 countries (over 120 people have participated in our Maine Teams). 75% of these attendees have been first-time O4P participants, while the rest are returning participants who understand that practice makes perfect. After all, if lead trainer Jane McAlevey never stops practicing the fundamentals, then neither should you! In The Core Fundamentals, a growing team of trainers from across the globe will lead you through a program to better prepare you for the struggles, and victories, to come.
The class and debriefs are entirely on Zoom. All events are free of charge. Maine team is primarily for Maine union members, others considered on a case-by-case basis (we have sometimes included organizers from other states and also community organizers from Maine in our team in the past)
Sign up here to be notified when registration opens for the 2025 class