> Geez-- how many times on LBO have people railed against "labor
> bureaucrats"? Complained about lack of union democracy? Demanded the
labor
> movement launch some broad organizing drive?
> So SEIU opens a site soliciting comments on its largest new
organizing
> effort, targetting the Wal-Marts of the country, and I've only seen
one
> LBOer post over at the SEIU site.
I want to chime in on this (using slightly less strong language :) ).
I've been a subscriber to LBO off & on for a number of years. I've repeatedly seen posts by people who complained that the union movement needed to reach out to the community more and to learn to listen more. The conversation we're having -- on our blogs and a few other blogs across the Net -- is an experiment at doing exactly that. So far, the LBO crowd it's been mostly been silent.
I'm one of the coordinators of the Justice at Work project, which is holding this online conversation. If you say what you think, we are going to take it seriously. In fact, we planned on having this online conversation early enough in campaign planning so that if we got great feedback, we would have enough time to make changes in our plans.
So please join in! You can post on our blog or talk/argue/kvetch about it on LBO. Either way, if you've ever wanted to be a labor armchair quarterback, this is your chance. You can always argue over Bush/Kerry/Iraq/etc. some other day.
In Solidarity, Anders Schneiderman The Justice at Work Project SEIU International
P.S. In case you missed the announcement the first time, I've included it here:
Starting a Dialogue: Conversations to end the "Wal-Martization" of the economy
On Monday, SEIU kicks off the first phase in a new campaign, called Justice at Work, to mobilize the power of the web to stop what commentators have called the "Wal-Martization" of the American economy. We're starting this campaign with a cross-blog discussion, asking people to share their ideas about our strategy.
What's the Scoop? In this experimental dialogue, we will raise questions, ask for feedback, and solicit creative ideas on this blog and ask that other blogs help spread the word. The schedule for the conversations is:
Part One: Define the Problem & Proposed Solutions Part Two: SEIU and the Community, Online and Offline Part Three: Shaping the Public Debate Part Four: The Road Ahead
In each of these weeks, I will frame the questions and ask you to engage in a broad dialogue about tackling this issue.
We need your help to make this happen! Please share your ideas with us on our blog! Lurkers, don't be shy! Also, if you run a blog or listserv that takes comments, start a discussion there.
If you are involved in a conversation on another blog or listserv, please send an email flagging the highlights to blog at seiu.org. We will post the best of the discussions from other blogs and ours and discuss their role in shaping our plans.
Help us use blogs to start the movement that will improve the lives of working Americans and their families by fighting for a fair economy that provides equal opportunity for everyone.