Strategic Action Center

Case Studies

The Ravenswood Campaign

The best way to get a good overview of this epic and successful campaign is to read the excellent book, Ravenswood, by Tom Juravich & Kate Bronfenbrenner.  The best way to get the real nuts and bolts on how the research was done, how the power structure analysis was assembled, how the strategy was arrived at, and how the tactics were implemented and executed is to read the Strategic & Tactical Case Study by Joe Uehlein & Richard Yeselson.  This case study, soon to be published, is currently only available via this website.  In its current form (printed on 8.5x11, double spaced) the case study runs 154 pages.  Here’s a synopsis:

The Battle of Ravenswood:
How did 2,000 aluminum workers, members of USWA Local 1777, locked out of their place of employment by union-busting management, track down and demand accountability from the largest metal trader in the world and the number one fugitive on the U.S. Justice Department’s white collar most wanted list?

In this case study we detail the process of research, power structure analysis, strategy development, and tactical implementation that led to victory.  The case study is considered to be a stand alone text, but is also a supplement and compliment to the fine book by Tom Juravich and Kate Bronfenbrenner, Ravenswood: The Steelworkers Victory and the Revival of American Labor.  The Ravenswood book tells the story of the lockout with a focus on the human interest element and implications for the labor movement.  This case study details the process of research, analysis, and campaign planning that is applicable to any campaign.

The case study details the research process from the Pike County Courthouse in West Virginia to Hergiswill and Zug, Switzerland to Amsterdam, The Netherlands and beyond.  Once the initial information was gathered a strategy had to be developed within a union structure that included the local union, a district that covered a large amount of territory, the international union with various departments such as legal, communications, international affairs involved, the Industrial Union Department (IUD), AFL-CIO, and two international trade union federations for metal workers, and chemical and energy workers.  If structure ever defied strategic action, this was custom made for a debacle.  But a visionary and aggressive leader, George Becker, then VP of the USWA, maneuvered this complicated structure with grace and forcefulness and led a large team to victory.

As Director of Special Projects for the IUD, I served as a chief strategist and advisor to George Becker.  I was tasked with assembling a team to conduct an in-depth power structure analysis of the adversary, and to work with the union to design and implement a strategy that would lead to victory.  My first hire was Richard Yeselson, who played a central role in the campaign, and helped write the Strategic and Tactical Case Study.  I then found private investigator, Jim Hougan, and the three of us comprised that team.

Marc Rich, the largest metal trader in the world, facing a 60+ count indictment for defrauding the federal government in the early 1980’s, fled to Switzerland where white collar criminals are protected.  From the Canton of Zug, he continued to build his empire.  How is it that Mr. Rich could be the #1 criminal on the U.S. DOJ’s most wanted list while at the same time be considered an asset by the U.S. State Department?  This case study tells that story.  Our lives were threatened on multiple occasions; the lives of our family members were threatened.

This tale weaves together the “how to” elements of developing a strategy that impacted our government at every level, a most wanted fugitive, banking interests in The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States, the global labor movement,, and even consumers of products that come in aluminum cans – all of this as part of a campaign that stretched to 22 countries on five continents.