Field and team go together naturally in sports, but TWU believes the two words will also work well together in the political and legislative arena. The goal is to boost member involvement in the union’s political and legislative activities by coordinating Washington lobbying with what’s going on in the states and localities where members live and work.

In a pilot program approved this spring by International President James C. Little, TWU created the position of Legislative & Political Field Representative to oversee the process. Alex Garcia, formerly Political Representative in the Washington office, was named to the post. Working with him will be two Field Service Assistants: Terry Daniels, a former President of Miami Local 291, and Gwen Dunivent, a Local 556 Executive Board member, President of the Dallas Central Labor Council and former TWU legislative intern.

International Administrative Vice President Hubert Snead, TWU’s COPE Director, will supervise the field service program.

While it will be innovative in many ways, TWU Political & Legislative Director Portia Reddick White notes that the field service program will also advance many of the union’s longstanding goals. “The idea came out of recommendations by the Committee on the Future, which were subsequently endorsed by the last Convention,” she said. “It’s a team work concept that should be a win-win situation for our locals and members.”

TWU’s state conferences, through which locals join together for common legislative and political goals, will be an integral part of the field service effort. California has long had a successful conference. Now, with full-time staff in the field, the union can nurture similar structures in Florida, Pennsylvania and New York and create new conferences in Texas and other states with sizable TWU memberships.

Administrative VP Snead emphasizes that the field service program will be a year-round effort not just at election time but will lay the groundwork for successful campaigns by laborbacked candidates. “The Field Representative and Assistants will work directly with the locals and rank-and-file members to spur greater involvement in state and local labor bodies,” he said. “We want to build an army within the union movement and also forge ties with like-minded community groups. It’s more than just being a presence on Capitol Hill. We’re completing the circle to also be a strong presence where our members live and work.”

Alex Garcia, as the Field Service Representative, is already putting together pieces of the puzzle in his home state. He has been meeting with TWU locals in the Florida State Conference to help them set goals. “We want all locals in the state, regardless of industry, to be involved in setting legislative agendas on the state and national levels,” Garcia said. “It’s important for TWU locals to support each other’s issues, as well as pursue broader TWU and labor goals. When all state conferences are up and running, it will enable a real mobilization of our grassroots power.”

Garcia said the Field Service Assistants would be working with TWU locals throughout the country, with Dunivent primarily handling the Western part of the country and Daniels the East. He said they would also be working to establish ties with like-minded community groups.

Snead said the field service program should also allow TWU members to play a lead role in many local labor campaigns. On the national level, the Political & Legislative Department is teaming with Organizing director Frank McCann and his department to build support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Citing a White House and Congress that are more worker-friendly than at any time since the Johnson Administration, Snead said TWU’s new initiative will dovetail with labor’s ability to play offense after years of simply warding off attacks. “We need to be √¢‚ǨÀúin the know and on the go’ so we can eventually change laws that affect our members.”

He said that greater political coordination is also a natural tie-in with the union’s COPE program. “Members will know that their COPE dollars are going to build a better Congress,” Snead said. “We’ll make sure our issues are taken to heart.”