Daily Kos: Rant: Let's Blog About Labor!

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/5/728220/-Rant:-Lets-Blog-About-Labor

by Union Review
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Tue May 05, 2009 at 04:45:28 PM PDT

I held a workshop today called Online Organizing. There were 30 local labor leaders in the workshop, it went well. What I find fascinating about talking with labor leaders is how far apart they are from one another in online experience. One brother said his local doesn't have a website, but wants one, another brother said he needs ideas on how to better use Facebook. I am more than 100% certain that some of the folks in the room never been on Facebook, but they sure enough heard about it ... from their kids, our future members.

* Union Review's diary :: ::
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I held a workshop today called Online Organizing. There were 30 local labor leaders in the workshop, it went well. What I find fascinating about talking with labor leaders is how far apart they are from one another in online experience. One brother said his local doesn't have a website, but wants one, another brother said he needs ideas on how to better use Facebook. I am more than 100% certain that some of the folks in the room never been on Facebook, but they sure enough heard about it ... from their kids, our future members.

The union movement needs to embrace online technology to educate, mobilize, organize. Some are fearful of the technology because they are not the best typists in the world -- others just think they have no time to take the struggle online. My response is that you have no choice, if you want to maintain your current membership and grow out the union, it is imperative that you bring your efforts to the online community.

Everyone has their own frustrations. While some folks are grappling with what content to push to their sites, others are grappling with getting their apathetic members to go to the sites in the first place. I used to hate when compassionate people would say, "My issues are similar, but different." But ... that's the case with me today. My frustrations are different in that I am dealing fairly well apathetic union members, it is not finding labor represented on progressive or democratic blogs that annoys me. (Not to do an unceremonious plugh -- but this was one of the reasons I started Union Review in the first place.

On May 1; May Day, there were a few diaries on Kos that were like a breath of fresh air, but then today I come and there isn't much being said pertaining to labor. (Disclaimer: I looked for about 10 minutes, if there is something there pertaining to labor, it wasn't on the few pages I scanned). So, I have a question (and keep in mind it is a loaded one as I prepare a little each day for Yearly Kos): Do you guys choose not to cover labor issues because you don't know enough about the issues we deal with? Is it because the union movement is a tasty bowl of alphabet soup and you can't figure out what the crap all the acronyms stand for: AFL-CIO, IBT, SEIU, UNITE, IBEW, UBC? Or is it something else entriely? As I help more and more local unions get online, they are going to look for progressive bloggers to help spread the word online -- I know this for a fact.

FULL story at link.