LabourStart: What Do Unions Need to Do Online?
 |
||||
|
||||
At this week’s LabourStart conference—much like at last week’s Netroots Nation conference—union communicators, activists and bloggers are taking a close look at how the union movement is approaching new media. Where are we doing the right thing, and where are we lagging behind?
LabourStart attendees agreed we as labor communicators need new studies of what the union movement—in the United States and around the world—is doing online. Today’s morning session highlighted the healthy debate about how to go forward—do we need a scholarly study or a practical handbook to use on the ground? Do we need to focus on broad, large-scale campaigns that attract a lot of attention, or do we concentrate on small, focused local campaigns where we can have more of an impact? And how do we utilize new media tools to get people engaged and get leverage in campaigns?
Labor Department Employees Welcome Hilda Solis
 |
||||
|
||||
We’ve heard tell that after eight years of the Bush administration, employees in more than one federal governmental department have welcomed the new Obama team members as though they were a liberating force.
Yesterday, the welcome was especially heartwarming when employees greeted Labor Department Secretary Hilda Solis, confirmed just two days ago.
As Chris Garlock at the Metropolitan Washington (D.C.) Council reports, sustained applause and enthusiastic cheers erupted when Solis arrived and workers crowded around as she worked her way toward the Labor Department entrance, shaking hands and embracing employees as they greeted her under a big banner proclaiming “Welcome to the Department of Labor.”
