You can get a lot of information on union organizing from the IWW. They have a course they teach called Organizer Training 101 (OT101) which is extremely useful. Dues are cheap ($11, $22, or $33 a month, based on your income, but you choose which increment), and there are special unemployed/hardship dues rates (half of the lowest rate [$7.5/mo] down to $0/mo), you just have to be a member in good standing and appeal to the local if dues become a hardship.

However, you don't have to be a member to get outside help from the IWW, as you can contact them on their website and they will contact your local branch to get in touch with you.

After completing OT101, as a member you can work with ongoing campaigns as an External Organizer, where you meet with people who are trying to organize their workplaces and coach them through the process. This bit is very rewarding (and also very frustrating, of course). There is also an OT102 class for experienced organizers. However, it's important to note that wobblies are paying to be EO's (in the sense of dues), not the other way around. The only paid full time IWW members are the Secretary and Treasurer, as well as a few administrative positions that can't be filled by volunteers or part time workers (these positions are unionized).

This may either satisfy your desire to be an organizer or get you some experience to use in a business union. The IWW does not have any rules against dual-carding (although unions like IBEW do).

Anyway, join the . There's getting to be too many libs in it and I can't convert them all myself.