Sweeney Thanks LabourStart for Pioneering Role

by Seth Michaels, Aug 17, 2009

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney welcomed international trade unionists at the 2009 LabourStart conference.

Today marks the start of the annual conference of LabourStart, the online news network for the international union movement. Dozens of bloggers, union staffers and labor communicators from the United States and around the world will be meeting at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C., this week to meet and discuss online tools and strategies and issues affecting union members around the world.

The conference includes union communicators from India, Canada, Finland, Switzerland and Australia as well as writers and activists from across the U.S. union movement. They’ll discuss how they’re mobilizing, connecting and communicating online and how to expand LabourStart’s wide variety of resources, including customizable newswires in 15 languages, e-mail outreach campaigns, the Radio LabourStart network and Unionbook, an online social network for union members and activists that has grown to thousands of members in just a few months of existence.

Introducing the conference, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said LabourStart has been a pioneer of building union presence online and reporting on breaking news and everyday challenges facing working people around the world:

LabourStart recognized early on that new communication technology would play a critical role in how trade unionists would move forward, giving them a place to gather and share their experiences.

In an age of globalization, Sweeney said, international trade union solidarity is essential, and for more than a decade, LabourStart has been a model and a pioneer in setting an example for unions to connect and learn from each other online.

Eric Lee, the founder of LabourStart, said he hoped the conference would be an opportunity for LaboutStart writers and participants to meet face to face and for LabourStart to build a stronger relationship with the U.S. union movement.

		Become a Fan on Facebook			Follow Us on Twitter			Subscribe to YouTube			Subscribe to Blog RSS

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (0)