There Are Three Fundamental Principles Of Direct Action:

1. Win concrete improvements in people's lives.
2. Make people aware of their own power (by winning victories).
3. Alter the relations of power between people, the government, and other institutions by building strong permanent local, state and national organizations.

We all have ideas about how society could be better in the future, but when we say "win improvements", we mean today, here and now concrete improvements, like wining smaller class size in school, getting doctors to provide better services, forcing the city to build affordable housing, or requiring utilities to produce energy from such renewable sources as wind and sun.

When we say that we want to give people "a sense of their own power", we mean that people themselves are involved in winning the issue. If an advocate goes out and speaks for you, or if a lawyer sues for you, you get a sense of the power of the advocate or the lawyer, but not of your own power. Direct Action Organizing brings people directly into the situation in large numbers so that they know that they won. Why does it matter? Because people who develop a sense of their organized power are more likely to stay active and take on larger issues.

When we say that we want to "alter the relations of power", we mean building organizations that those in power, at all levels of government, will always have to worry about. Whenever they decide to do anything that has an impact on your group, they are going to have to say "wait a minute", how will that organization react to this? We also know from sad experience that what is won this year can be taken away next year if the organization that won it disappears or is weakened. In Direct Action Organizing, building an organization is always as important as winning a particular issue.

The Six Steps of Direct Action Organizing

When we engage in Direct Action Organizing, we organize a campaign to win a specific issue, that is, a specific solution to a problem. We have observed that an issue campaign usually goes through this series of stages.

1. People identify a problem

The people who have the problem agree on a solution and how to get it. They may define the issue narrowly: "Make our landlord return our rent deposits when we move out." Or, they may define it more broadly: "Make the city council pass a law requiring the return of rent deposits."

If the landlord owns only the one building, the tenants may be able to win on their own, but if the landlord owns many buildings around the city, then building a coalition to pass a law might be the best way.

2. The organization turns the problem into an issue.

There is a difference between a problem and an issue. An issue is a specific solution to a problem that you choose to work on. You don't always get to choose your problems. Often your problems choose you. But you always choose your issues, the solution to the problem that you wish to win. Air pollution is a problem. Changing the law to get older power plants covered by the same air quality requlations that apply to newer plants is an issue.

3. Develop strategy.

A strategy is the overall plan for a campaign. It is about power relationships and it involves asking six questions:
1. What are your long and short term goals.
2. What are your organizational strengths and weaknesses.
3. Who cares about this problem?
4. Who are your allies?
5. Who has the power to give you what we want?
6. What tactics can you use to apply your power and make it felt by those who can give you what you want.

4. Bring Many People To Face The Decisionmaker.

Use large meetings and actions to force the person who can give you what you want to react. That person is the decision maker. The decisionmaker is often refered to as the "target" of the campaign. The decisionmaker is always an individual person or number of individuals, never a board or elected body as a whole. Decision making bodies must be personalized. So, if you are trying to get something passed by the City Council, for example, you don't say the decisionmaker is the City Council. Rather you need specific members of the council to vote on our issue. Who are they? Name them. What is your power over them. Do you have members in their districts?

5. The Decisionmaker reacts to you.

You either get what you want or you have to go out and organize still larger numbers of people for a second round of the fight. Sometimes it takes several rounds before the fight is won. That is why we think of organizing as a whole campaign, not just as a series of one shot events.

6. Win, regroup, go on to next campaign.

This is a quick summary of what you will learn at the Midwest Academy five day workshop. Each session will go deeper into one of these points through a combination of exercises, role plays and presentations.

By The Midwest Academy