A Dynamic Membership Organizing Drive!

WSWA volunteers on a membership canvass in a low-income neighborhood
Canvass_7
WSWA volunteers on a membership canvass in a low-income neighborhood
WSWA volunteers on a membership canvass in a low-income neighborhood
WSWA volunteers on a membership canvass in a low-income neighborhood
WSWA volunteers on a membership canvass in a low-income neighborhood
WSWA volunteers on a membership canvass in a low-income neighborhood

Canvassing
Door-to-Door

House-to-house canvassing in low-income worker neighborhoods is the primary way Western Service Workers Association (WSWA) signs up new members and keeps current members informed about what WSWA is doing. WSWA canvass teams hit the streets 52 weeks of the year, without fail, generating active membership participation in the organization. 

This dynamic arm’s-length organizing method to join low-paid workers together offers the ability for members to participate in independent organization to fight for living wages and safe and decent working conditions. WSWA volunteer canvassers meet and speak with working people doing in-home care, domestic work, security guard work, temp jobs, fast food work, independent contractors and other jobs with low pay and few benefits if any. Call WSWA at (916) 456-1771 today to find out how you can join WSWA’s canvass campaign!

Membership House Meetings

WSWA canvassers convey the message that we must become a united group first – an actual power that can speak in a voice loud enough to be heard on its own behalf. Canvassers recruit interested members to host membership house meetings in their homes. They then invite newly signed members and other neighbors, family and friends to learn more about WSWA and how to join with others of like mind to fight for better living and working conditions.

House meetings offer an opportunity for new or potential members to ask more detailed questions, raise concerns and get immediate input. This builds material hope through organization, run by and for members themselves. Members are encouraged to invest time in learning organizing skills, recognizing the need for systemic change, and are invited to attend Workers Benefit Council meetings, open to all WSWA members.

WSWA Volunteer speaks at House Meeting
WSWA members speaks at house meeting
WSWA volunteer speaks at house meeting
Workers Benefit Council Meeting

Workers Benefit Council

 As active members participate in weekly meetings of the decision-making membership leadership body, called the Sacramento County Workers Benefit Council (WBC), they are asked to formalize their roles as WBC delegates, representing their neighborhood and/or workforce on the council. WBC delegates engage in discussion to determine the course of practical and political action, bringing input from fellow members into the planning and prioritization of WSWA’s Benefit Program and organizing campaigns. 
 
The WBC concerns itself with how the Benefit Program will grow in the interest of economic and political betterment of Sacramento service workers. It is a forum for members to bring problems for collective solutions and actions as well as membership policy enforcement. Delegates are equipped with membership signup kits to sign new members, take written benefit requests, and agree to promulgate organizational decisions, needs and demands to fellow members.