U.S. Newswire
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0829-123.html
29 Aug 2001 : 13:53
AFL-CIO Hosts World's Greatest Online Labor Day Festival
To: National Desk
Contact: Lauren Cerand, 202-637-5295
Matt Painter, 202-637-5245
both of the AFL-CIO
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- "The AFL-CIO opened its
second annual Online Labor Day Festival, billed as the "biggest
hometown Labor Day festival in the USA," at www.aflcio.org/laborday.
It will run through Sept. 21, 2001."
"Cyberspace offers immense new possibilities for working people
to make their voices heard and build 'community' in an entirely new
way," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. "This festival brings
together the best of our culture and history in a powerful way
that's building for the future."
"The AFL-CIO's second annual Online Labor Day Festival is part of
a broader trend of cyber unionism, as unions find new ways to bring
together working people on issues that are important to them.
Today's unions are using technology to help new members organize,
mobilizing members and activists, and celebrating union culture.
Many workers who are forming unions are using an online presence
to keep in contact with each other, and to update supporters.
National INS agents, Delta flight attendants, SBC and Verizon
workers, part-time community college teachers in California, and
SecurityLink workers isolated in trucks all day have all used the
Internet and e-mail successfully to come together in unions.
Mobilization has reached new potential online -- activists
e-mailed their Congressional representatives to oppose Fast Track
trade legislation, commercial actors utilized email and the
Internet to win their strike, and worker activists have used Palm
Pilots for political campaigns and member mobilization.
Some 60 percent of union members have computers, according to a
poll by Peter D. Hart Research, Inc., conducted in January 2000.
The survey also found that 74 percent of union members with
computers have Internet access."
Copyright 2001, U.S. Newswire
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