A Return To Our Roots: SWU Moves Back To A Strong, Active Membership

Written By SWU Justice

In 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, Southwest Workers Union (SWU) moved to meet the needs of our communities and members and turned to more mutual aid based operations. We saw that the government and infrastructure had failed to protect us from, not only the spread of disease but also, the fall out of lockdowns. People needed food, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), and community support. This is how our Free Food For The People program started. SWU staff and a strong team of volunteers came together to coordinate buying bulk produce, assembling hundreds of produce bags, and then delivering them to those in need across San Antonio. During this time we also were able to harvest crops from our own Roots of Change garden to give away during no contact produce pick ups. Our Trabajadoras en Acción (currently known as Circulo de Abuela) also worked on distributing cleaning supplies. We also held several utility assistance clinics where we signed people up for discount programs and covid relief programs to help pay their bills. Eventually lockdowns lifted, people returned to work, and things began to go back to a new version of normal. 


That brings us to today in 2025. 5 years later our food distributions are still going strong but have shifted to what we called Community Days. Soon we began to see that our communities were being influenced by intentional misinformation campaigns used to divide communities so we decided to incorporate Popular Education workshops into our Community Days. We wanted to educate, inform, and build trust in our members and communities. We also wanted to do more than provide a service to our members-we wanted to educate, activate, and organize them to be a strong and active membership base. Our historical work at SWU was so successful because we had such a strong, organized base of members. They were active in the campaigns and were invested in working together to win. 


Part of this shift back to a strong and active member base is a return to members paying dues. Dues are an important part of any organization because they help give members a sense of ownership for the campaign work, give the organization autonomy and power over their work, and help fund the campaigns. 


So what does it mean to be a member at Southwest Workers Union?

  • Attend Member Meetings and voice their ideas and help further the campaigns chosen by members

  • Attend Popular Education classes and workshops. We call these classes SWU Escuelita and they cover a range of topics that affect our members. These classes aim to break down barriers between people by educating each other on our lived experiences and how systematic problems that affect each of us have root causes. These include:

    • Workshops on worker’s rights

    • Classes on navigating current events 

    • Environmental issues and how they affect us

    • Classes on how to make Public Comment and write effective Op-eds

    • Community gardens and food sovereignty 

    • And more

  • Pay member dues ($5/month). Dues help in many, many ways including:

    • Help fund campaigns

    • Help finish construction on our Resiliency Hub

    • Help print educational materials

    • And more

  • Receive monthly produce bags

  • Receive organizing and leadership trainings

  • Receive access to member only assistance options. These programs happen as funding becomes available and are not always available. In the past, these have included:

    • Utility assistance clinics that helped members sign up for CPS Energy discount programs, weatherization programs, and covid relief/bill pay assistance

    • CPS Energy vouchers 

    • Fan distributions during the summer

    • Heater distributions during the winter

    • HEB gift cards

  • Join círculos that interest you. Círculos are groups that meet consistently to build community, work on common goals, and build skills together. These include: 

  • Vote for Board Members and help with the governance of the organization at the annual member gathering, generally at the end of the current year. 


Who Can Join: 

Anyone who believes in our mission, neighbors, families, advocates, and allies. We start at $5 but you can choose to add additional donation levels. Memberships are by Individuals which translates to one person, one vote during the annual member gathering. 


Ready to Join: 

It takes just a few minutes to sign up, but will make a great impact!

  • Fill out our Membership Form and be up to date on your Member Dues 

  • Get ready to make a change!

SWU Justice
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