Unions’ Web Wake-Up Call - Blogs and sites let union organizers reach out to workers, but there are limits.
Submitted on Fri, 07/14/2006 - 3:26am
The Industrial Workers of the World uses the Internet extensively to get the word out about its projects, including organizing Starbucks employees. “We find the Internet has been a wonderful tool for outreach, education, and information,” says Mark Damron, general secretary and treasurer of the IWW. “In the U.S., a shop cannot disallow organizing activity, but the Internet provides a good anonymous way for someone who is worried their workplace may frown upon union-organizing work.”
Todd Jordan could have taken to the streets to air his grievances with America’s bankrupt giant automotive parts maker, Delphi. But he’s got a better place to picket—online.
Mr. Jordan, a 29-year-old, third-generation autoworker, runs a blog called Futureoftheunion.com to keep rank and file Delphi employees informed about the latest developments in the company. The site is run by Mr. Jordan out of an office plastered with Che Guevara posters in Kokomo, Indiana.
Apart from serving as a rallying point for Delphi workers, the site calls for sweeping change within the United Auto Workers union. “It allows people not only to keep up to date on things important to them, but also enables workers to connect with each other who would otherwise not be able to,” says Mr. Jordan, a card-carrying UAW man who worked at Delphi’s Kokomo plant for nearly seven years. Mr. Jordan, who uses his blog to press for greater worker control of the union, says in a posting that he has “made a few enemies.”
Large unions like the UAW and Transport Workers Union, and smaller splinter groups like Future of the Union, have taken to the web to air grievances and organize employees. Especially in cases where companies keep tight controls on union-building efforts, web sites and blogs can serve as important platforms for union supporters, offering employees a confidential way to share grievances without fear of reprisal.
Read the rest of the story at - Red Herring