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Off to YKos. Why? |
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Several of us here are off to the second annual YearlyKos convention, which officially begins tomorrow through Sunday. The convention sprung off the netroots community created around the nation’s most-visited progressive blog site, Daily Kos, and within two years has become a major gathering place for the progressive netroots and the presidential candidates (all Dems) who come to court us.We helped organize several workshops, and a few of us are on other panels as well. In addition, we are heading up the first YearlyKos Labor Caucus. The caucus is important because we in the union movement need to share strategies for reaching out to the netroots and join forces to advance our mutual progressive agenda. We have started that process here, with this blog, and by making one-on-one contacts with many in the blogosphere. (The Labor Caucus is at 2 p.m. on Aug. 2, and members of all unions are invited.)
The importance of creating blogs or diarying and commenting on other blog sites is clear when you realize that by getting workers’ issues out on blogs, we reach reporters and others in the mainstream media who increasingly are turning to blogs to set their own coverage. It’s critical we in the union movement recognize this “echo chamber” effect, and utilize this new medium that enables us to cut through the mainstream media (MSM) spin and break past the MSM distortion we know all too well when it comes to coverage of workers and their unions.
Here’s the rundown on what we are taking part in and hosting at the YearlyKos (the full schedule is here.). It will be a busy time, but we plan to provide updates as we can.
Bread, Blogs and Roses
Our good friends at American Rights at Work are holding a frank discussion on unions and the fight for workers‘ rights. The worker advocacy group recognizes the netroots and the union movement are in the same fight against corporate greed and elite conservatives, and led by American Rights at Work Director Mary Beth Maxwell, the workshop will break down stereotypes of unions to win justice for America’s workers. Blogger Nancy Scola, who blogged for us during the Employee Free Choice Act campaign and who spoke with workers at Resurrection Health Care seeking to join a union, will speak about working with the movement and how we all can better connect.Friday, Aug. 3, 1:00–2:15 p.m., 10c
Working America: Slugging it Out with the Christian Right
for the Hearts and Minds of the Working ClassThe AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America recruited 1.6 million members in the past 3.5 years, got them to take half a million actions and vote overwhelmingly for working family candidates—even though many describe themselves as NRA members of the Christian right. Working America Director Karen Nussbaum and Working America gurus Max Toth and Tahir Duckett will be joined by political activist and blogger Cliff Schecter.Friday, Aug. 3, 10:30–11:30 a.m., 10c
The Middle Class: The Problems it Faces and Progressive Solutions
As part of a panel highlighting the assault of the U.S. middle class and providing solutions, I will share how strengthening unions is one of the keys to strengthening and expanding the middle class (after all, 80 percent of union members have health care, compared with 49 percent who are not in unions…and the union advantage is clear across the board.) Thanks to Hale Stewart for setting up this panel, which will include Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), Progressive Policy Institute co-founder Rob Shapiro, tech CEO Vic Uzumeri and DMI Executive Director Andrea Batista Schlesinger.Saturday, Aug. 4, 10:30–11:30 a.m., 404a-c
What It Means to Be Progressive in a Global Economy
AFL-CIO Policy Director Thea Lee will join a distinguished panel to discuss progressive solutions to the global economy and find ways to make it work for working people in America and around the world. They will explore how to shape the power of the global economy to use it as a force to further, not undermine, basic progressive values. The panel includes progressive journal founder and co-editor Andrei Cherny, former presidential adviser Gene Sperling, economics professor Austan Goolsbee and film producer Julie Bergman Sender. Friday, Aug 3, 1 –2:15 p.m., 101b
The Data Spillover and Rise of Political TechnologyJudith Freeman from our Political Department is co-moderating this panel with Josh Hendler, director of dtata and analytics at the Democratic National Committee. They will discuss how bloggers, blog readers and the netroots can tap into new methods of polling data, grassroots data integration, feeds, formats, widgets and more. A results-based scientific approach in which all types of innovative applications of technology to politics have made it possible to use this data in ways unheard of just four years ago. Friday, Aug. 3, 10:30–11:30 a.m., 10d
Spinning Unions—Mainstream Media Has It Wrong about Teachers’ Unions
The AFT and National Education Association are joining forces for this workshop, which will feature Joel Packer, NEA director of educational policy and practice, and Chuck Porcari, AFT director of public affairs. They will be joined by former Washington Post reporter Linda Perlstein, who recently wrote: Tested: One American School Struggles to Make the Grade. The group will discuss why, contrary to the media spin, unions are vital for improving public education and hear what’s going on with the upcoming No Child Left Behind authorization—and why changes are needed in the current law. Friday, Aug. 3, 4–5:15 p.m., 106a.
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I am glad that you are going–winning the hearts and minds of working people in this country will take all of us coming together to create the “frame” for talking about the important issues of our time.