We are the Union:
Organising to win big!
Online Seminar Series & Reading Group
PEN Scotland is happy to be working in collaboration with Organising for Power and the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung to sponsor this seminar series discussing Eric Blanc's most recent book, We are the Union (2025).
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The book explores patterns of labour and trade union organising in the United States over the last decade. He describes and analyses a model of union activity called ‘worker-to-worker organising’, explaining what it is, how it differs from other organising models, and the successes and challenges experienced by those involved in it.
Blanc’s discussion is not just about how working people can secure better wages and conditions in their own workplaces, but also how the labour movement can ‘scale up’, coordinate itself, and begin to push back against the power of owners, managers, capital, and the state.
In this reading group, composed of four sessions, we will be discussing the relevance of Blanc’s arguments and findings to our own organising work in UK trade unions and other fields of activity.
We welcome participation from any and all who have an interest in the history, sociology, and contemporary organising practices of the US labour movement. We particularly encourage trade union members who have an interest in deepening their knowledge and understanding of their own role in the labour movement to register for this seminar series.​
Seminar Dates & Materials...
Each seminar will take place online and led by a facilitator who will help draw out questions and points of discussion in the group. Generally, we will spend 10-15 minutes gathering ideas and themes for discussion and then use this as the basis for the main discussion and activity section of the seminar.
The last 15-20 minutes of each session will focus on what we have learned and how we can take these ideas into our own activity.
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You can read more about how the seminars will be structured by reading this overview.
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Below you can find details including dates and times for each of the four seminars. Each of the four readings associated with each seminar can be downloaded as well as associated questions.
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​You can also buy hard copies of the book from Hive.co.uk, an ethical online bookstore which supports local retailers.
Session One: Worker-to-Worker Unionism​
​In this session, we consider how we can make sense of changes in the labour movement since 1945, particularly the phenomenon of globalisation in a neoliberal age. We try to understand Blanc's model of 'organiser-to-organiser' unionism and how this contrasts with other models of organising.
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When?
7.00-8.30pm
Thursday 5 June
What to read?
Introduction (pp. 1-34), Part One (pp. 35-66).
Session Two: Ways to win big!
This session considers how different forms of organising can lead to real wins for workers. Each of us will choose a chapter that most closely relates to our activism and use the seminar to explore those ideas with others in a similar situation. These chapters include: how putting power into the hands of grassroots union members can result in real wins for workers (chapter 3); worker organising prior to formal recognition agreements are in place (chapter 4); and how various strands of activism can be brought together to organise workers (chapter 5).
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When?
7.00-8.30pm
Thursday 19 June
What to read?
Choose ONE of the three chapters from Part 2:
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Chapter 3 (pp. 67-90)
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Chapter 4 (pp. 91-116)
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Chapter 5 (pp. 117-154)
Session Three: Models & tactics to win big!
​This session explores contrasting models of organising and considers the evidence that supports these. We will also consider the differences between models and methods of organising, as well as consider how our assumptions and practices concerning both have affected our activity -- and results!
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When?
7.00-8.30pm
Thursday 3 July
What to read?
Part Three, (pp. 153-205).
Session Four: Power back into our hands
Our final session draws many of the strands of previous discussions together by looking at what empowers and constrains our current ability to organise. We will draw upon examples from the USA to consider how government policy and legislation, digital tools and youth activism shape worker-to-worker organising.
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When?
7.00-8.30pm
Thursday 17 July
What to read?
Part Four (pp. 207-262).