Congratulations to December’s Organizers of the Month at Okinawa International School 

The General Union proudly recognizes Paul, Matt, and Jimmy as December’s Organisers of the Month for their outstanding work at Okinawa International School.

These members joined the union individually over a period of time, but their journey to becoming effective organizers began when Paul attended our Step Zero individual organising training. After learning essential skills like how to approach and engage colleagues, Paul and his fellow members committed to the workplace organising training program – an intensive course involving three 90-minute sessions with homework between meetings.

What stood out was their dedication to the process. Despite working in a small workplace where they knew their colleagues well, they meticulously mapped out all employees, categorizing potential union support levels. They crafted their message in both English and Japanese, successfully reaching out to both foreign and Japanese teachers.

Their commitment paid off remarkably quickly. Within just two weeks of completing the training, they had organized 11 new members. By December, they had submitted their first demands to the employer – an impressive achievement for a group that only started their training in October.

As Paul noted, one of the most valuable aspects of the training was learning concrete information about union activities like collective bargaining, which helped them explain to colleagues not just why joining a union is beneficial, but specifically what the union can do.

Thanks to their methodical approach and dedication, Okinawa International School now has a strong, new union branch representing both Japanese and foreign teachers.

If you are interested in the Individual Organising Training please see sp.genu.cc/outline. Have a small group of members interested in creating a better workplace, contact us at union@generalunion.org