Best Practices
PSEA's Best Practices: Retaining Members (PDF)
PSEA's Best Practices: Recruitment (PDF)
Request Employee Information from District
The local association can request a list of new hires before the start of a new school year. Typically, these positions will be approved at either the June or August School Board meetings. Some locals scour the minutes from the summer’s board meetings to find the names and positions of new hires. In consultation with your UniServ, your Local could seek a MOU that provides contact information for new hires to be reported to the Local annually.
Identify Who is Best Suited to Make the Ask
In most cases, the Membership Chair will initiate recruitment efforts, but that’s not always the case. If your new hires are in a different building or department from where the Membership Chair works, another member or building rep may be better suited to act as the point of contact to welcome that individual and share information with them about the Local.
A Little More Talk; Less Transaction
They say you can never make a second first impression, and the same is true with recruitment efforts. We can no longer operate by distributing enrollment forms in mailboxes and crossing our fingers that new hires will join. When approaching a new hire, consider this: They have likely never been in a union before and it’s likely they are not aware that the compensation, benefits, and terms of the job that they just accepted were negotiated by the union, not just given out by the goodwill of the employer. We are in a unique position to welcome new hires and to help shape their impression of the Association right off the bat.
End with an Action
For the first conversation with a new hire, be sure to end with an ask or an expectation for action. Ask them to join. Make plans to meet and review the contract together. Offer to send additional information on member benefits. It’s critical to have a follow-up method identified. If the initial ask is ignored, what happens next, who follows up? What happens if the person assigned to have a conversation can’t do it or it didn’t go well?
