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The Yale Workers Club is made up of  workers at Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital in the clerical, maintenance, hospital, and graduate teacher unions.  It is a place that rank and file workers in all sectors can come together. We discussed the document on Party and Press building, focusing on the section “Grassroots centers of action, unity, education, social solidarity and culture” (pp. 32-33) .

Our experience confirms the document:  “A grassroots club at its best, with a neighborhood or workplace focus, makes a real difference in the lives of people.” (p. 32)  Our club is a go-to place to problem solve, to get people informed and involved on workplace issues, but also on community issues and state and national issues.

In 2008 we held activities all year that helped union members understand the issues and get involved in the election campaign for Barack Obama.  We worked in New Haven and traveled to Rhode Island, Philadelphia and Virginia. We were a “point of entry” into involvement and for every person who got involved, ten or 20 more were kept informed.

During the health care reform battle some union members were confused on the issues. We were able to expose the Republicans and help clarify who would benefit from health care reform.  We all know someone who does not have health coverage. Now, the big struggle for good jobs forces everyone to come together, just like in the struggle for health care.

Our club meetings and the classes in Marxism prepared us to talk with people.  Club members register co-workers to vote, bring to information to work (including the PW and special leaflets), and encourage co-workers to sign petitions, come to rallies and events, and be more active in the union and political campaigns. So it is not surprising that people turn to our members to find out what is going on and to understand the issues. We need more and bigger clubs like this to overcome Fox News. 

Yale and Yale-New Haven Hospital are the biggest employers in New Haven.  As such, the Yale unions are constantly standing in solidarity with other unions.  People in the community want to know what our union is all about.  They ask when they see us wearing our union buttons.  We explain that there is strength in numbers.

Last year the University did not force a strike.  They signed an early contract with the unions, guaranteeing few or no layoffs of existing workers.  But when workers leave or retire, new workers are not being hired.  The positions are left open and the workers on the job have to do more work. 

We are a part of the union struggles at Yale.  We play a role in educating members about workplace issues in a way that builds the union.  Members from other New Haven clubs turn out to support the union and the work of our club. 

We have won respect from workers at Yale and the hospital who read the People’s World and enjoy the larger PW/Party events we invite them to.  The People’s World is considered like an affiliate in the union because of the solidarity.  Every struggle that has come along we’ve been a part, including reaching out to co-workers and neighbors about our own activities.

Our club was first formed in the 1980s at the time that the clerical and technical workers won union recognition and made history.   Members of different neighborhood clubs in New Haven who worked at Yale were brought together to form the new club. Some new members joined.  The club provided a center of activity during the strike. Our experience since then demonstrates that a workplace club can make an imortant cotnribution to strengthening the union and building the Party. Each week, club members personally distribute about 50 copies of the CT mini-print edition of the PW to co-workers, while other clubs distribute an additional 100 copies at a building with a high concentration of Yale workers. This is the base we look to for further growth.

Sustaining our organization is very important, especially over many years.  In the last two years our club has sustained and we have grown.  This is very important in any organization.  Going forward we must maintain our club.  Every member has two or three contacts.  The most important thing is to keep the growth and bring people into activity. 

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