Abstract
The Art of Organizing is a book that draws you in. Even if you are not usually an avid reader, Michael Raysson’s congenial, conversational tone and vivid descriptions of personal experiences as a founder and long-time officer of Museum Independent Security Union (MISU) will lead you to devour the book in two or three sittings. Raysson’s tales of workplace events and personalities, grievances, discourse during contract negotiations, and creative demonstrations to gain public support comprise a narrative of seventeen years of struggle by the low-paid museum guards for better compensation and, above all, workplace dignity. The museum guards faced many of the major issues that beset labor. Indeed, the story of the 120-member MISU, an independent union with no paid staff, is labor’s story in microcosm.
The Art of Organizing is part occupational memoir, and, in its last chapters, it verges on being a commemorative yearbook for the union. Although Raysson admits that his snapshots of the various union members’ portraits or actions are not great photography, these pictures, nonetheless, visually introduce you to the cast of characters and the setting of events.
This is not a step-by-step instructional guide, but Raysson’s book educates readers nonetheless by relating his concrete challenges and how he dealt with them as a worker who had to become a unionist out of sheer necessity. Raysson is totally unpretentious. He candidly describes his own learning curve, including moves and mistakes when new challenges came up. He discusses the need to build the leadership capacity of members through training opportunities.
The security guards at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, like workers in many non-profits, had to contend with the transition of management’s philosophy from philanthropic to corporate bottom-line-oriented. The guards handily won an initial union drive, but after a couple of years, the guards had to fight to establish an independent union to escape being victims of a corrupt business union that was actually in collaboration with their employer.
The union had to oppose efforts to out-source the work of full-time staff to gig economy contractors. Because their employer would have welcomed a pretext to get rid of the unionized security staff, striking was not a viable strategic weapon for the security guards. But because the Museum needed to maintain a positive image for its donor base and visitors, the union could develop coalitional movement-building with the wider community—similar to teachers’ unions’ recent unionism for the public good efforts—through demonstrations and PR campaigns.
Even as a very small union, MISU had to deal with internal issues and divisions. The diverse membership included people of different races, immigrant and native-born workers, men and women, full and part-time workers, long-term older guards and younger hires, and transient workers, as well as just plain personality differences! There were workers with and without previous union experience. The union had to resolve disputes arising from divisions among the membership with tact and just decisions. Constant communication with members was facilitated by a lively newsletter, The Security Blanket, which included interesting content not strictly limited to union topics.
The Art of Organizing can be a useful educational resource. It provides organic learning from an elder’s experience. After reading the book, you feel like you just had a friendly visit and long conversation with Michael Raysson. It’s a lively verbal picture of how to organize, establish, and continue the fight to sustain a union. Shorter segments focused on contract negotiations, grievances, and other union processes can be pulled out as instructional tools. More than anything else, Michael Raysson conveys the flavor of life in the culture of unionism.