Kim Bobo, executive director of the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, found an appreciative audience at the "Good Works" conference on labor and faith in St. Paul May 1 and 2.

Bobo, the conference keynoter, was lead-off speaker for Wednesday's skill-building sessions as well.

Her qualifications for the role were hard-won. Bobo founded the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice in 1996 and has built a network of 60 religion-labor groups around the country. She originated the "Labor in the Pulpits" program, started the Seminary Summer program in partnership with the AFL-CIO and is the author of Organizing for Social Change, the best-selling organizing manual in the country.

In a talk spiced with wry humor, Bobo offered advice and encouragement to people working for social justice. And she took pains to remind the audience that good intentions are not enough.

Organizing for worker justice, she said, calls for strategic planning, persistence and an ability to build relationships across religious, racial and economic barriers.

"It's not easy," she concluded. "But what we believe in has to be bigger than what we're afraid of."

"Good Works: A conference on labor and faith" was sponsored by the Twin Cities Religion and Labor Network.

Diane O'Brien is communications director for the Minnesota AFL-CIO.