By Doug Cunningham

The Alliance@IBM is a unique organizing effort that doesn't go the

usual NLRB stacked against the worker route to organize workers.

Ralph Montefusco is the national organizer for Alliance@IBM. He says

the model this CWA affiliated local is using is minority union

representation - just signing up members without an NLRB election.

[Ralph Montefusco] : "Being a non-majority organization we're kind

of a strange being. because while we are trying to build membership all

the time we're not necessarily immediately pushing for a vote and

pushing to have cards signed. And we're doing a lot of advocacy on

behalf of our members and their concerns, instead of waiting to

become recognized through the NLRB process."

Montefusco says Alliance@UBM has some 7,000 members nationwide.

There are more than 130,000 IBM employees. So while this effort is

nowhere near the point of sitting down across a bargaining table with

IBM management it's nevertheless building unionism among IBM

workers.