Organized Labor’s Secret Online Weapons

And 5 Things You Can Do Now to Defend Your Company

Prepared By Projections, Inc.

www.projectionsinc.com
T
Today, there are over 1.5 billion internet users worldwide. 70% of the people in North America are online.
Almost 3 billion people use mobile phones, and 1.8 billion utilize text messaging. The majority of workers
in the U.S. have mobile phones and/or computers with Internet access, and the capabilities of these devices
increase every day. Your company may keep up with the latest technology and advances of the Internet to improve
production and performance, but with large budgets and manpower, unions are usually many steps ahead in their use
of technology to find and organize workers.

Web-based technology, including social networking sites, are being used more often in union organizing campaigns
because of the effectiveness in spreading information to a wide audience and because employees have immediate
access to union organizing material through the internet. The unions can reach not only employees in this way but
also their families and spouses – strong influences on employee attitudes about pay, benefits and working conditions.

Who… are you?

Becoming more popular with all demographic groups, large social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Seesmic)
provide instant networks for people to join. It’s important to note the way in which sites like LinkedIn create direct
connections between people who would otherwise never meet. The bottom line is that these social networking sites,
along with the use of blogs, wikis, and microblogging sites like Twitter make user-generated content and peer-to-
peer information sharing possible.

These tools (you may have heard them

A SHORT LIST OF UNION-FOCUSED RESOURCES
www.unions-america.com - Union websites, hosting, internet
service and web communication tools for unions.
communicateordie.com - Our mission is to build a network
of passionate individuals who are serious about discussing
and developing solutions that allow unions to realize the full
potential of Internet technology.
prometheuslabor.com- Prometheus builds union websites that
they claim are revolutionizing the way unions and labor-friendly
organizations use the web.
www.uniondemocracy.com - offers multiple resources,
including how to build your own “rank and file” website, t-shirts
for sale, as well as a book on organizing tactics called “The
Troublemaker’s Handbook.”
www.irle.berkeley.edu/library/index.php?page=24 - List of
official union websites
www.union-organizing.com -designed to provide help to U.S.
Workers in their efforts at organizing themselves and their co-
workers into labor unions. Encourages workers to “Research
your employer.  Find out information as to who, what, where,
and when about their business interests and finances.  Are they
as poor as they claim? Discover where your employer is making
political contributions at Federal Election Commission (FEC)
information.   Are these labor friendly candidates?  Knowledge
is power.”
www.unionplus.org - Offers union members discounts on
everything from auto insurance and mortgages to pet services to
cruises, as well as an independent Health Savings program. Also
dedicates multiple pages to helping union organizers promote
unionization by promoting the Union Plus programs- organizers
can even win cash prizes for talking about the benefits of Union
Plus.
referred to as “Web 2.0” technologies)
have changed the way people – and
organized labor - use online media,
encouraging collaboration among potential
union members in ways that have before
been possible. Unions are also heavy users
of Pay-Per-Click advertising available
through Google AdWords, Yahoo, and
others, meaning that with a single search
for ‘how to get a union,” your employees
are well on their way.
Set ‘em up, knock ‘em down.
Savvy and powerful unions have been,
from the beginning, early adopters of the
tools and technology that allow them to
communicate en masse with little effort.
For years, we’ve watched them wage
online corporate campaigns to wear down
their targets. Organizers have created
press releases, offering false information,
that have caused irreparable damage to
companies worldwide, even when their
allegations prove false. Organized labor
has nonetheless established a pervasive
presence online, with a vast network of
resources and connections.
Union organizers are now tapping into this
network to organize workers much faster
and in greater numbers than ever before.
Unions establish websites with online
forums, and encourage employees to vent,
rage and otherwise rally others to the cause
of unionization. These sites often take the
form of an online petition – even an online
authorization card.
Those Who Can’t Do, Teach.
Many sites exist to make sure union leaders have the technology they need to “bring a voice to working families,”
with computers and Internet access. Union organizing groups have their own electronic mailing lists and other
e-communications systems (including blogs with RSS feeds, podcasts, and video and photo sharing) to help them
share information and to collect signatures online. Union leaders are using SMS to text directly to workers’ mobile
phones. Organized labor has adapted the conversational nature of these new internet tools to share their tactics and
their methods – what works and what doesn’t.

Union Websites as Ranked by Alexa. Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.
com, that is best known for operating a website that provides information on the web traffic to other websites.

Traffic Rank is based on three months of aggregated historical traffic data. The lower the rank number (ie: the closer to #1), the more visitors a
site is receiving.

Union Site Address Traffic Rank Sites that Link In Online Since
Steelworkers USWA.org 4,444,707 274 7/24/1996
Unite Here Unitehere.org 1,126,606 185 2/23/2004
Machinists GoIAM.org 815,954 108 8/18/2000
Electrical Workers IBEW.org 449,429 316 4/13/1998
Teamsters teamster.org 766,807 415 1/9/1996
Service Employees seiu.org 617,444 600 12/2/1994
Operating Engineers iuoe.org 1,038,967 191 12/5/1996
Auto Workers uaw.org 476,295 560 10/4/1996
State, County & Municipal Employees afscme.org 767,015 917 4/5/1995
Laborer’s liuna.org Not Available 131 4/22/1996
Food and Commercial Workers ufcw.org 870,326 349 11/2/1994
Transportation Workers twu.org 4,708,186 74 3/9/1996
Mine Workers umwa.org 1,091,680 200 4/11/1997
Farm Workers ufw.org 1,697,595 430 6/25/1997
Plumbers & Pipefitters ua.org 1,816,071 121 5/8/1996
Sheetmetal workers Union smwia.org 2,652,345 158 5/28/1995
Office & Professional Employees opeiu.org 6,898,824 84 9/11/1995
Communication Workers cwa-union.org 784,564 415 9/21/1995
Carpenters & Joiners (UBC) carpenters.org 1,774,481 101 3/9/1996
California Nurses calnurse.org 1,395,675 124 7/24/1998

Your Implicit Endorsement

Your company’s public website can do little to present information that counters this powerful ongoing dialogue.
And company intranets, filled with Human Resources information on benefits, PTO, and employee birthdays, are
not helpful to address this either. Despite their positive nature, these company websites simply cannot address the
immediate issues employees have on their mind on a daily basis – the issues on which union organizers are able to
base their campaigns. By not answering a union’s claims, questions, and accusations, you are creating an implicit
endorsement of what’s being said about your company and your management. In the absence of any source of
employee information directly from the company, the union’s efforts are given additional credibility.

So how does a smart company get ahead of the extensive groundwork unions have already laid? In the face of
their professional knowledge, it’s easy for a company like yours to feel as though they’re already behind the curve.
However, while unions are using these new technologies and tactics to find and unionize workers, there are effective
and reliable methods by which an employer can begin pro-actively communicating about the possible effects of
unionization, and the reasons to remain union free.
Here are 5 basic but vital first steps in this process:

1. Start a Dialogue

The first - and most important - step is to approach the topic of unions in an open manner. Too many employers are
afraid of the “u” word, but the goal here is not to make any employee feel threatened or intimidated (as that will,
more often than not, backfire). What’s needed initially is an “Icebreaker,” a straightforward and frank discussion of
why your company believes that third party intervention is not only unnecessary, but can also carry with it risks that
employees may not otherwise consider. This preventative discussion is most effective before any union approaches the
company’s employees.

Your labor attorney may also recommend sharing your union-free philosophy statement with new employees, starting
on day one, as well as putting into place a non-solicitation policy and other similar protective measures.

2. Open the Door

Second, invite communication between managers and employees regarding the workplace and unionization. Make
sure managers demonstrate that employee concerns are important. Realizing that not every supervisor or manager
may be as people-oriented as you might like, consider positive employee relations training for supervisors. Make sure
that the training includes information on labor unions and how they can affect your company and their job. Plus, your
supervisors need specific tools on making unions unnecessary, and how to communicate with employees.

You may also want to explore a dedicated website for your supervisors or managers, one that provides a consistent
voice and lets them know that they are fully supported by upper management. This site can include tools that will keep
upper management informed, as well as ongoing information for supervisors, your union-free philosophy, and facts on
the union(s) most likely to target your company.

3. Establish a Presence

Next, establish a consistent online presence for employees – one that reinforces positive employee relations by
providing the very information employees and their families are seeking. Employees must have a source that they
know will provide ongoing information about the things that are important to them – one that is not just relevant but
trustworthy, timely and solid.

Establishing a web presence like this can be tricky. You’ve got to not only provide the resource, but communicate that
it exists and encourage employees to make use of it. Your online presence should allow employees to gain information
and share their thoughts. It should also contain relevant interactive elements, such as calculators. Remember: positive
employee relations must be undertaken as a two-way street. The unions will be all too willing to hear employee
grievances if you aren’t.

4. Provide “Useful Information”

Fourth, it’s important that the online information you provide is useful to employees. The question is, how do you
define “useful?” An employer should define it as the information employees need to understand how a union could
affect the daily workings of the company, the support and communication channels available to employees, and how
they can be affected personally by an organizing attempt. In short, employees need to see current, relevant truth. They
need to know about the things that can affect them, including their specific benefits, changes at the company, and up to
date trends and events.

In addition, they need to know that upper management really is aware of the challenges they face on a daily basis. This
definition of useful information could include such things as a benefits calculator that shows the true value of what
the company provides them with, letters from management and upper management, information about unions, even
calculators that demonstrate what they would lose if they were to go on strike. Many options exist, and the definition
of “useful” will vary from employer to employer, but having an established online communication vehicle in place can
be vital if a team of union organizers starts soliciting your employees.

5. Maintain Ongoing Communication

Finally, companies cannot simply create an online communication tool, launch it, and walk away. Pro-active employee
relations efforts that keep companies union-free are only effective if they are ongoing. Make sure that the channels
you open remain so – a website must be updated as frequently as possible (weekly, at least, daily if feasible), online
dialogue must be conducted in a timely manner, managers must be well-trained and available to address employee
concerns.

Your dedicated online resources can provide information to employees and supervisors that a public site simply can-
not for security reasons, and that an intranet is not capable of, by simple virtue of the sheer volume of information an
intranet usually houses. A “UnionFree.com” website can provide employees with everything they need to get their ques-
tions answered and understand the company’s union free philosophy. A site of this nature should be kicked off by your
supervisors, with positive employee meetings that include reinforcement of the company’s union-free philosophy. These
meetings (and subsequent orientations for new hires) can include a consistent video message on the topic of avoiding
unionization, forthright discussions with well-trained managers, and even providing mentors for new employees until
they feel comfortable asking questions on their own.

When the largest majority of employees – starting with the hourly production worker – can firmly say “we don’t need a
third party here,” that’s when the threat of a union is diminished, and companies can focus on the business of meeting
customer needs and exceeding expectations, union-free.

Now that you understand how adept unions have become in making use of the newest technology, keep in mind that
there are a select few companies, such as Projections, who can help you communicate your specific issues to your unique
workforce by sharing knowledge gained from 30 years of helping employers communicate with employees

PROJECTIONS
Connecting Through Employee Communications
Since 1979

For more information on our products, please contact us at

770-448-9741
or info@projectionsinc.com

Visit us at www.ProjectionsInc.com
Appendix:
Sources of Information on Unions and Web-based Technology

Background and Demographic Information:

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
World Internet Users and Population Stats

http://www.punchkickinteractive.com/blog/index.php/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-statistics/
A new Experian study revealed a number of mobile marketing and text messaging statistics.

Union Organizing Informational Websites (including Corporate Campaigns):

http://www.union-organizing.com/
Resources for Labor Union Organizing is designed to provide help to U.S. Workers in their efforts at organiz-
ing themselves and their co-workers into labor unions. It is also a resource for Union Leaders to assist in their
operations, organizing, and bargaining efforts.

http://www.unionorganizing.net/
Are you a non-union worker? Then this site is for you! Here, you can get all the information you need to orga-
nize your workplace by joining a union.

http://www.laboreducator.org/gameplan.htm
This series of eight articles on union organizing by Harry Kelber contains some fresh ideas, including a detailed
plan on how to involve a union’s most precious and largely neglected asset — its own members — in order to
multiply the number of campaigns and win more of them.

http://odepotunion.tripod.com/index.htm
Thanks for checking out the site. As many of you know the Office Depot employees at store 386 in Florence,
AL are trying to form a union. It is our goal to assist employees in other stores into starting their own union
campaign. There are many reasons we, the employees, are organizing.

http://www.ueunion.org/org_steps.html
To begin organizing a union at your workplace there’s a simple starting point before going through the steps
listed below: quietly talk to a few of your co-workers who you think may be interested in organizing.

Social Networking and Union Organizing:

http://briarpatchmagazine.com/2008/11/01/labour-enters-the-facebook-matrix/
Union Organizing 2.0: Labour enters the Facebook matrix

http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/02/08/unionbook-a-social-network-for-labor/
UnionBook: the social networking site for trade unionists. We know that UnionBook will never be as big as
the giant commercial networks like FaceBook, but once we have several thousand trade unionists using it, I’m
confident that it will become a powerful tool for our movement worldwide.

http://www.strongerunions.org/2008/12/social-networking-union-style/
It seems that no campaign is complete these days without someone setting up the ubiquitous accompanying
Facebook group.
Using Texting Services to Reach Prospective Members

http://www.ntu.org/main/press.php?PressID=1088&org_name=NTU
Although text messaging, or SMS (Short Message Service), outreach has been popularized by the entertainment indus-
try, political campaigns, and other policy organizations, NTU Director of Government Affairs Andrew Moylan believes
NTU is the first grassroots taxpayer advocacy group to utilize it on a national level. “It’s well known that President
Obama successfully used text technology during his campaign, but few -- if any -- taxpayer watchdog organizations are
using it to mobilize their members,” Moylan said. “Now, with the push of a button, citizens nationwide will be able to
call their elected officials -- from Members of Congress to state legislators -- and voice their concerns on or support of
certain bills.”

http://followme.vox.com/library/post/the-unions-are-texting.html
The unions are texting: The title of this post refers to one keynote session led by Andy Stern of SEIU. At the end of his
talk, he pulled out a cellphone and asked people to text 35328 to answer a poll question. I knew text messaging had ar-
rived when a union guy asks you to text.

http://communicateordie.com/node/615
Steve Sloan is a shop steward in Chapter 307 of CSUEU, the California State University Employees Union at SJSU,
San Jose State University, San Jose, California. He uses cell phone photos/blogs to raise health and safety issues and
videopodcasts to share interviews with union officers about issues and debates within the union. In this blog entry (from
his My Unions blog), Steve advocates using the newest of the new media.