The anti-war affinity group “Collateral Damage”. The seven were sentenced on 4 December 2002 on professional trespass in part time jobs 2 to grade to occupy the office of Senator Allard to protest the impending war in Iraq
An affinity group affinity or club is a small group of activists (usually from 3 to 20) who work together in direct action, forming a club. It is a non-hierarchical group, jobs in usually consisting of sales jobs trusted friends and other like minded people. They provide a method of organization responsible, flexible and decentralized.
The affinity groups can job search be based on a common ideology (eg. anarchism), a concern shared by a subject (eg. anti-nuclear) or an activity, role or skill common (eg. doctors of the street). The affinity groups can be part time open or closed membership, consultants although the latter is much more common. Basically it is a club activity or policy initiatives. A set of affinity groups is called bunch or rhizome.
History
The term was coined and first used in the twentieth century by Ben Morea (UAW / MF) in the context of the peace movement, later, activists on college agencies campuses organized around their interests or backgrounds (religious, gender, ethnicity, etc.).
The use of affinity groups may have various sources at different times, one of those dating from the nineteenth-century Spain, where gatherings were called by the Spanish anarchists. It became popular in the antinuclear movement in the United States and appeared in the peace movement of the 60s, and 70s. The occupation of 30,000 people and the blocking of the nuclear power Ruhr in Germany in 1969 were organized on the model of the affinity group. Today, the tool is used by various activists: the animal rights, environmentalists, anti-war or anti-militarist, and anti-globalization, to name a few.
The Seattle protests in 1999 that shut down the WTO meetings coordinated by the organization included many clusters of affinity groups. Currently many of the anarchist collectives (ie specific associations) are in principle groupings.
Also in business associations, you can use affinity groups to divide tasks, how adhocracy business. These groups may be appropriate in cases of self-management business, for its fluid organizational and internal democracy, although not a requirement. For example there are several private companies that stimulate the creation of affinity groups by department, ethnicity, gender, etc.. to motivate staff to socialize with each other.
Organization
The basic idea of how to organize associations of affinity is to start by building trust, interest and mutual support, teach each other to create affinity groups, develop their own political course and participate in the conflicts of life.
External
By definition, affinity groups are autonomous. The coordinated efforts and cooperation among various groups of affinity, however, is often achieved using a flexible form of confederation.
Cluster: The cluster is the basic unit agency of organization among affinity groups. A cluster consists of several affinity groups and organized in a non-hierarchical. A cluster can be permanent, but is most often ad hoc group organized for a specific task or action. One can organize around a shared goal (eg. blocking a driveway), a common ideology (eg Quakers) or place of origin.
Spokescouncil: the council of spokespersons is an aggregate of clusters and affinity groups. Each group or cluster of affinity nominates a representative (often called ‘vocero’o “spokesman”) to participate in the council. The councils are bodies spokesmen often the most time possible, committed to achieving a task or event.
Internal
The affinity groups tend to be organized freely, however there are some formal roles or positions that management jobs commonly occur. A given group can not have affinity all, some or none of these positions. Both Tyco and MCI have worked with is a member of: American Arbitration Assn. They may be permanent or temporary and the group may choose to rotate these roles, or assign a role to a person.
Spokesman: The individual with the representative office of the affinity group ata meeting of council of spokespersons or cluster. Occasionally, the Speaker is accorded the role of “ambassador” in general by the affinity group.
Facilitator: One or staff more persons performing duties of the facilitation in the process of group consensus and also varying human resources degrees, acts as arbiter of internal disputes.
Media Contact: An individual representing the group to the media.