WHAT IS A NARRATIVE?  The union narrative is the story people hear about who we are and what we do.  Our story has largely been defined by others, in a way that damages our ability to move workers’ interests forward.

CHANGING THE NARRATIVE  Through this project, we aim to change the narrative so people see unions for what they really are – workers standing together.  This new narrative will position us “on offense” so we can be more effective for workers.

METHODS The California Labor Coalition worked with nationally-known neuroscience and political expert Dr. Drew Westen to:  Conduct research on the public’s attitudes toward unions now  Develop the messages that move voters to where they could be

RESEARCH FINDINGS  The opposition branding of public sector workers has been effective.  BUT, we have an opening to re-brand unions.  Our new messages beat even the toughest opposition arguments.  We can move people by repeating the new messages that stick.

YOUR OPPORTUNITY  Together with your union, you are:  Among the first to use our new, groundbreaking messages and tools.  Pivotal to the success of our new union narrative. Working together with the whole labor movement, you can help change the way people think about unions and move the worker agenda forward.

OUR NEW NARRATIVE Drawing on our research, our new narrative:  Rebrands unions as “working people standing together. ”  This phrase resonates with people who have negative views of unions or think they are irrelevant.  Refocuses voter concern where it should be: on corporations and CEOs.  Voters understand the inequality resulting from CEOs who negotiate their own compensation but won’t let workers do the same.  Puts a human face on workers.  The “spell” of the right is broken when we paint pictures of real people, help voters identify with them, and evoke gratitude for what they do.

OUR NEW NARRATIVE 1. Rebrands unions as “working people standing together.” “The great American middle class didn’t just happen. In our grandparents’ generation, workers stood together in their unions to create the 40-hour work week, vacations, and wages that were the envy of the world.”

OUR NEW NARRATIVE 2. Refocuses voter concern where it should be: on corporations and CEOs. “Before we cut another dime from the wages and benefits of working people in California, we need to talk about the 15 million dollar retirement packages for CEOs, who don’t believe in letting their workers negotiate for retirement but do a pretty good job negotiating for their own.”

OUR NEW NARRATIVE 3. Puts a human face on workers “The sanitation workers who pick up our trash and the people who come to our homes at 3 a.m. when the water lines burst are no different from the rest of us. One in 10 has lost their jobs and the rest are struggling to get by like everyone else.”

OUR NEW FRAME WORKING PEOPLE STANDING TOGETHER.

OUR NEW NARRATIVE  In our grandparents generation, working people stood together in their unions to create the 40-hour work week, paid vacations and good, American, wages.  Sitting across from employers at the negotiating table, they made American companies the envy of the world and built our middle class, brick by brick.

OUR NEW NARRATIVE  But now that middle-class is being systematically dismantled by:  Wall Street bankers and their lobbyists outsourcing our jobs and slashing wages and health care to get bigger bonuses for themselves (private sector)  Big corporations and CEOs demanding more corporate tax breaks even if it means teachers who challenge our kids and firefighters who put their lives on the line lose their jobs (public sector)

OUR NEW NARRATIVE  With no one sitting across from them at the table negotiating for working families, CEOs walk away with bigger bonuses and workers walk away wondering how they’ll feed their families.  Today, the only thing that stands in the way of the CEOs and corporate lobbyists is what stood in their way in our grandparent’s generation: working people standing together.

OUR NEW NARRATIVE  That’s why workers and their unions are innovating to keep California competitive by retraining workers for new industries, partnering with small businesses to keep jobs here at home, and fighting alongside parents for smaller class sizes so teachers can teach and students can learn.

USING OUR NEW NARRATIVE  Our new narrative messages are worth repeating! See how our strong messages can be used to:  Reframe the attacks on workers  Position workers on offense

REFRAME 1. Unions might have made sense in our grandparents generation, but now we have laws to protect workers. Working people are losing ground in today’s economy because CEOs are outsourcing our jobs and slashing our wages to give themselves bigger bonuses. They’re systematically dismantling our middle class, and the only thing that stands in their way is workers standing together.

GO ON OFFENSE My paycheck doesn’t go as far as it used to and feeding my family means watching every penny. It’s too bad our town is losing its character as all the mom-and-pop stores are closing up, but the big box stores make it a whole lot easier to stretch a dollar. Working people are losing ground in today’s economy because CEOs are outsourcing our jobs and slashing our wages to give themselves bigger bonuses. They’re systematically dismantling our middle class, and the only thing that stands in their way is workers standing together.

REFRAME 2. Unions are killing our economy by making American companies less competitive. Companies are sitting on record profits and CEOs are hauling down $15 million bonuses. That’s what happens when no one is sitting across from them at the table negotiating for working people.

GO ON OFFENSE I keep hearing on the news that the economy is improving, but where are the jobs?! My sister has a degree and tons of experience and she’s been out of work for 2 years. I’m worried things will never get better. Companies are sitting on record profits and CEOs are hauling down $15 million bonuses. That’s what happens when no one is sitting across from them at the table negotiating for working people.

REFRAME 3. Public sector unions use their political clout to buy politicians so they can get gold-plated retirements and perks those of us in the private sector will never see. The problem isn’t that the teachers who challenge and educate our kids can count on $25,000 a year in retirement, it’s that the rest of us can’t.

GO ON OFFENSE Our parents and grandparents never expected to get rich but at least they knew after working for 30 years they’d have the security of a decent pension. With the way the economy is now, only government workers have any security. I’ll probably never be able to retire. The problem isn’t that the teachers who challenge and educate our kids can count on $25,000 a year in retirement, it’s that the rest of us can’t.

MATCH THE WORD TO THE DEFINITION  1. Frame  2. Message  3. Narrative  A. The story being told  B. Describing an issue from our perspective  C. The specific words & phrases to communicate your point