Organizing a Branch in a Union

A Union is distinctively different from other forms of business. We are non-profit, and we are staffed by volunteers. That is, there is NO financial reward, other than a salary for the work one does. And no one has the authority to tell another what to do!

That is, unless one runs for office. At that point, we may run into a conundrum. Candidates who run for office are saying to us that they would like us to give them the AUTHORITY to decide who does what, when, how, and why. And we, the members who vote for the candidates of our choice, are telling them we want THEM to do it! We are delegating authority to the elected Officers of our Branch, and we are asking them to make the decisions about managing the BUSSINESS of our Branch. That is, if we like how they are doing it. And, if we don't, we simply elect other individuals, or groups of individuals, that we think will do a better job of it. Hence, the importance of Election 2005...

The complication comes like this: as an organization based on volunteers, we are INDIVIDUALLY not used to telling others what to do, and we are STRUCTURALLY not designed to do so! Furthermore, as individuals, we may not like being TOLD what to do! How can we surmount this challenge?