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SEIU pulls plug on "Future of Labor" discussion
Submitted by V Boggs on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 00:59
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"Unite to Win" is dead, of course, and so is its website www.unitetowin.org. Launched by SEIU, the website included a blog with uncensored commentary - something previously unheard of at that level of the union leadership. But the time for innovation appears to be over. According to SEIU president Andy Stern, "UniteToWin.org …was set up to help stimulate discussion during a period of intense debate within the AFL-CIO… That debate is now over." Visitors are now instructed to go to the website of the Change to Win Coalition.
Change to Win's website has no blog and offers no space for commentary or discussion nor are there counter proposals or links to dissenting views, as there were on Unite to Win. From the classically-titled proposal "Restoring the American Dream," to the self-congratulatory press releases, Change to Win is very much in the tradition of the old-style official union website: top-down, one-way, promotional material.
SEIU’s retreat from the brave new world of online discussion may go even further. Andy Stern’s “Blog for the Future” - which preceded Unite to Win - has also disappeared from the SEIU website. There is still a “blog” link in the navigation bar, but it just leads back to the home page. (Technical note: some of the material from Stern's Blog for the Future is still available via the Wayback Machine, but UnitetoWin's owners blocked the Wayback Machine from archiving the site's contents. Not only has it been discontinued, its contents are no longer available.)
The AFL-CIO website still hosts "Strengthening Our Union Movement for the Future" a cumbersome arrangement of proposals and documents that includes comments from unionists, but it is buried in the site. A look at the (undated) posts from union members suggests that the "Voices from our Movement" have been silent since before the AFL-CIO convention. The "AFL-CIO 2005 Convention" page makes no mention of the comments page and mirrors Change to Win's seamless self-promotion.
Discussion of the future of labor may have stalled in the Federation and the Coalition, but it is very much alive on rank-and-file and independent websites. Former National Writers Union president Jonathan Tasini's website is one example. Working Life centers on a Daily Blog where Tasini's frequent posts draw lively and articulate commentary from posters like Kate Bronfenbrenner, Bill Pearson, and Jane Slaughter. Hot topics like the AMFA Northwest strike are debated with passion but little “flaming”. (See too the recent exchange on union democracy.)
For a frequently updated list of websites and blogs see AUDLinks on this site and our list of feeds from labor blogs.
Cyber-democracy: your legal rights online.(handout)
See also:
AUD's 50 Guidelines for building an effective rank-and-file website, and the sample homepage.
The labortech tag on del.icio.us.
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