The building trades can be a tough place for union reformers. Union business is typically conducted behind the scenes, with little involvement from members, while the bosses stall and derail negotiations.

But here in Austin, Texas, our Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 520 got off the hamster wheel and got members active like never before—spurred by the organizing of members like me who had joined the national Caucus of Rank-and-File Electrical Workers (CREW).

Through an unprecedented amount of outreach, actions that brought members in to confront the bosses head-on, and good old-fashioned raising of stakes and expectations, Local 520 won a contract that put decades of closed-off negotiations to shame.

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