Fred Ross - House-Meeting Organizing

House-Meeting Organizing

It was during his organizing in Southern California that Ross developed the house-meeting technique that he would soon teach to Cesar Chavez; it would become the hallmark tactic of the UFW. Although many sources state Saul Alinsky trained Ross and Chavez Ross claims it is not true. He says, “I’d been at it over a year before I met him.” The house-meeting technique involved about a three-week period in which Ross would hold small house meetings to build up to one large organizing meeting to set up temporary officers. Then there would be more house-meetings for several more weeks to lead up to another larger meeting to set up a working CSO chapter.