[p2p-research] Fwd: New Unionism... organizing 4 democracy at work

Michel Bauwens michelsub2004 at gmail.com
Sat Jul 17 05:54:37 CEST 2010 

dear kevin,

i'm already briefly covering this on the 19th, but I hope you can dig some
more info and offer some comments:

U-Cubed: A new model for occupational networking?
Union geeks (you know who you are!) have been intrigued by the development
of U-Cubed. It's unlike anything seen before. Unemployed people in the USA
are signing up and then linking themselves (if & when they choose) to others
with the same zip code. Together, six members form a cube. If they like,
this group can then join up with eight other cubes to form a
'neighbourhood'. And three neighbourhoods can join to form a 'power block'.
It's an ingenious way of bringing people together around occupation (in this
case the unemployed) and location (per zip code). This builds community and
voice in a natural way, and encourages activism at the base in a way that
traditional representative structures find difficult. They're only a few
months into the experiment, with about 2500 members, so it's too early to
learn any lessons. But for those interested in building occupational or
sectoral networks within their union, here's an intriguing experiment to
follow. More:
http://www.unionofunemployed.com/ucubed-resources/communicating_cubes/



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Peter Hall-Jones <phj at newunionism.net>
Date: Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 4:05 AM
Subject: New Unionism... organizing 4 democracy at work
To: Peter Hall-Jones <newunionism at gmail.com>




July 2010

*Work in Progress*

This newsletter is produced by the *New Unionism
Network*<http://www.newunionism.net/>to promote organizing, workplace
democracy, internationalism and creative
thinking in the union movement. Please feel very free to pass it on. You can
find out more about joining us *here*
<http://www.newunionism.net/join.htm>and/or supporting our work
*here* <http://www.newunionism.net/donate.htm>.




*Tales of the Psychosocial
*This year, for the first time ever, the ILO included "mental and
behavioural disorders" in its list of diseases caused by work.  The rise and
*rise* of workplace stress has been linked to depression, fatigue, anxiety,
cardiovascular disease, burnout and hypertension.  The ILO suggests these
hazards now affect about 30% of workers in developed countries.
More<http://bit.ly/9ayIWa>.
"Psychosocial hazards" (eg bullying, harassment, customer aggression and
fatigue) are growing and mutating rapidly, along with the rise of stress. *'By
2020 anxiety disorders and depression are expected to become the second and
third most important cause of human illness. ...absenteeism due to mental
problems has quadrupled – and is still increasing.'  *(European Network for
Workplace Health Promotion, 2009). Health and safety used to be about back
strain and blood-on-the-factory-floor. Today, we're wading through empty
boxes of prozac and beta blockers as well. But what does this all mean for
union reps? Workplace culture -- 'the way things are done around here' -- is
becoming a core issue. It is not a matter of balancing work and life; it is
a matter of balancing *life*, period. If workplace cultures are to be made
safe and healthy, they can no longer be controlled solely by the employer.

While we're on that note... ta-dahhh... the New Unionism Network is
developing a diagnostic tool to help workers assess the culture of their
workplace. It's still in beta, but we'd love our members and friends to
help us get it right. We'd also be happy to arrange a few workplace trials.
Email AlterErgo at newunionism.net if you're interested in getting involved.





*Workers networking across borders
**W00t!*  We've finally got our global union database searchable by sector.
Many thanks to a great bunch of volunteers from around the world. Soooo...
if you want to find out who your potential allies are for a global campaign
in (say) construction, click
here<http://www.younionize.info/directory/search.php?str=&country=&sec=6>.
Finance
and insurance unions are listed
here<http://www.younionize.info/directory/search.php?str=&country=&sec=11>.
Education is here<http://www.younionize.info/directory/search.php?str=&country=&sec=16>.
We've used a standard classification of 19 sectors, which can later be
further refined. The main search page for the new directory is here:
http://www.younionize.info/directory/search.php

As you'll see, this main page also allow you to bring up lists by country
and/or keyword. We hope to include multinational employers as an additional
search. If you'd like to see which unions we list for your country or
sector, and/or help us collect and share more information, click
here<http://www.younionize.info/directory/search.php>
.





*Business unionism vs workplace democracy
*Are unions an ally or an obstacle in the struggle to democratise work? It
seems an odd question at first. There are many, *many* unionists who support
the workplace democracy agenda. In fact the New Unionism Network is made up
of them; it's one of our 4 key principles. But take a read of this article
by Wanda Pasz and have a think about her real target: *business
unionism<http://www.answers.com/topic/business-unionism>
*. This is a model in which unions seek membership simply and solely to
bargain for them over wages and conditions. Deliberately or not, these
unions impose a strict limit on their members' agenda. Studies have shown
again and again that workers want more, particularly in the connected areas
of voice and influence. Business unionism sets these aspirations aside. I’m
sure many of us will share Ms Pasz's view of what unions *should* be,
even if we disagree with her assessment of what they currently are.*
**more*<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/business-unionism-vs-workplace-democracy/>
 *<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/business-unionism-vs-workplace-democracy/>
*





*U-Cubed: A new model for occupational networking?
*Union geeks (you know who you are!) have been intrigued by the development
of U-Cubed. It's unlike anything seen before. Unemployed people in the USA
are signing up and then linking themselves (if & when they
choose) to others with the same zip code. Together, six members form a cube.
If they like, this group can then join up with eight other cubes to form a
'neighbourhood'. And three neighbourhoods can join to form a 'power block'.
It's an ingenious way of bringing people together around occupation (in this
case the unemployed) and location (per zip code). This builds community and
voice in a natural way, and encourages activism at the base in a way that
traditional representative structures find difficult. They're only a few
months into the experiment, with about 2500 members, so it's too early to
learn any lessons. But for those interested in building occupational or
sectoral networks within their union, here's an intriguing experiment to
follow. More:
http://www.unionofunemployed.com/ucubed-resources/communicating_cubes/





*Global unionism
***Unless you're a union official there's a good chance you've never heard
of the International Trade Union Confederation. That's not your fault, but
it's not theirs either. They're doing what they can, with uneven
support from national union centres in 156 countries. They've just finished
their second world congress, elected their first female leader, passed a
bunch of worthy reolutions, and prioritised work with young people. And the
fact that their 'brand' is getting funkier can only be a good sign. (eg
http://bit.ly/afU07s). Do we want more than this? Hell yes! But the fact
that there is no wildly inspiring vision emerging from their HQ in Brussels
is a fair and honest reflection of the wider lack of clarity in the labour
movement.

Longstoryshort, the ITUC came together in a merger in 2006, becoming the
largest global union body ever seen. In 2006 they claimed to represent 168
million members. Today this has risen to 176 million. (You can find out how
this number is calculated here: http://bit.ly/debRsw). Since forming, the
ITUC has done solid and consistent work monitoring labour rights,
highlighting abuses, backing the ILO 'Decent Work' agenda, and presenting
considered responses to global events, etc. At the same time, alternative
internationalist models have appeared (eg Workers Uniting, global
alliances), and old ones have proudly refused to die (eg WFTU, IWW).

Is the ITUC about to spearhead a new workers' internationalism? There are
various flavours of 'no'. However, many who attended the congress seem to
think the historic role of the ITUC is still emerging. Good luck to the
organisation's new leader, Australian unionist Sharan Burrow.
She deserves our support.  More on the ITUC Congress is available here:
http://www.ituc-csi.org/+-congress-+.html





*Do you have 'Decent Work'?
**'The primary goal of the ILO today is to promote opportunities for women
and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom,
equity, security and human dignity.'
*-  Juan Somavia
   General Director, International Labour Organisation

The ILO -- an international council of employee, employer and government
representatives -- has long promoted the concept of 'decent work'. The
International Trade Union Confederation (see item above) strongly supports
this. Trouble is, it's pretty difficult defining 'decent work' in such a way
that it's equally meaningful from Australia to Zimbabwe. Based on the ILO's
various explanations of the term, we've tried to derive a set of yes/no
questions. They're vague, as are the ILO descriptions, but in a way
they need to be. Can you use them to tell if you have decent work? If you
can put a tick in EVERY box, you can say you have decent work by
international standards. Take a look at the 9 questions here:
http://www.newunionism.net.  We're intrigued to see how your responses look.




 *Top 40 from the wire*


    - Global survey of union rights
2010<http://survey.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?page=multimedia>
         - Video: Union rights – for
real<http://www.creativeunions.org/2010/06/09/trade-union-rights-for-real/?utm_source=Creative+Unions+List&utm_campaign=9ef9e03df3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email>
         - ILO reports 215 million child
labourers<http://www.ilo.org/global/What_we_do/Officialmeetings/ilc/ILCSessions/99thSession/reports/lang--en/docName--WCMS_126752/index.htm>
         - Sharan Burrow elected to lead global union
body<http://www.ituc-csi.org/sharan-burrow-acceptance-speech.html?lang=en>
         - Maternity protection around the
world<http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Feature_stories/lang--en/WCMS_142225/index.htm>
         - Global union guide on forced
labour<http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-guide-how-to-combat-forced.html>
         - Global union principles on temp
work<http://www.icem.org/en/73-Contract-and-Agency-Labour/3861-Global-Union-Principles-on-Temporary-Work-Agencies>
         - Labour unrest in
China<http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=China&alllanguages=1&languagename=English&langcode=en&lang=English>
         - A sampling of democratic
workplaces<http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/14/traci-fenton-democracy-leadership-governance-varghese.html?boxes=Homepagechannels>
         - Precarious work undermines human
rights<http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=23192&l=2>
       - International union
expands<http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6511HA20100602?type=marketsNews>
         - Apple to subsidise Foxconn
workers<http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/05/31/said.to.stem.from.internal.investigation/>
         - Employees first, customers
second<http://hbr.org/2010/06/how-i-did-it-a-maverick-ceo-explains-how-he-persuaded-his-team-to-leap-into-the-future/ar/1?cm_mmc=npv-_-HBR_UPDATE-_-2010-_-JUN&referral=00205>
         - Union membership trends in
Europe<http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=46441f70124bed066f0803c16&id=528a235190>
         - Strategies to recruit new groups of
workers<http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn0901028s/index.htm>
         - Australian union membership rises
again<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/union-membership-on-rise/story-e6frg6nf-1225865737717>
         - Unions and
wikinomics<http://cyberunions.org/2010/04/25/are-foss-and-creative-commons-important-for-unions/>
         - Union guide to ethical
trade<http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-17916-f0.cfm>
         - Organising non-standard workers in
Europe<http://unionrenewal.blogspot.com/2010/05/organising-non-standard-workers-in.html>
         - Child labour around the
world<http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Feature_stories/lang--en/WCMS_126819/index.htm>
         - May Day 2010 in
pictures<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8656096.stm>
         - The myth of shareholder
capitalism<http://ethicalcorp.blogspot.com/2010/04/unpicking-myth-of-shareholder.html?utm_source=http://communicator.ethicalcorp.com/lz/&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EC%20News%2027%2004%2010&utm_term=Global%20Compact,%20investors%20and%20human%20rights,%20consumers%20and%20Chinese%20green%20tech&utm_content=167542>
         - Shareholders vs
stakeholders<http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15954434&fsrc=nlw%7Cmgt%7C04-28-2010%7Cmanagement_thinking>
         - Labor movement changes in
Egypt<http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/37645>
         - Labor plans for global
recovery<http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/media/events/G20_ministersmeeting/results.htm>
         - Unions and transnational
projects<http://www.etui.org/education/Resources/Trade-unions-and-transnational-projects-7th-Edition>
         - Precariat organising in Germany &
Netherlands<http://www.etui.org/research/activities/Employment-and-social-policies/Reports-and-working-papers/WP-2010.02>
         - Webcams at the negotiating
table<http://communicateordie.com/node/1331>
         - Global unions' proposal on the jobs
crisis<http://www.tuac.org/en/public/e-docs/00/00/06/AF/document_doc.phtml>
         - Microsoft's China employees virtually
slaves<http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20100413/tc_zd/250082>
         - Disengagement can be really
depressing<http://gmj.gallup.com/content/127100/Disengagement-Really-Depressing.aspx>
         - World's most democratic workplaces
2010<http://www.worldblu.com/worldblu-list/list-2010>
         - Fired via txt and
FaceBook!<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/07/shayne-bolsher-fired-over_n_528505.html>
       - Can independent contractors come
together?<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/30/disorganized-labor-can-in_n_511523.html>
         - Updating occupational
disease<http://safetyatworkblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/psychosocial-hazards-are-now-formally-occupational-diseases/>
         - Union membership in Ireland
increases<http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0325/tradeunions.html>
         - Danish victory against social
dumping<http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/4322>
         - Generation Why? in
Europe<http://www.social-europe.eu/2010/03/out-of-office-out-of-sight-out-of-reach-generation-why/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+social-europe%2FwmyH+%28Social+Europe+Journal%29>
         - ILO: Labor market recovery far
away<http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Feature_stories/lang--en/WCMS_124599/index.htm>
         - International award for union
rights<http://www.industrienergi.no/modules/m02/article.aspx?CatId=32&ArtId=20720#ScrollAnchor>
         - Employers googling job
applicants<http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2010/03/googling-employees-why-your-online-reputation-matters.html>
         - ‘Solidarity Economists’ meet in
Brazil<http://www.solidarityeconomy.net/2010/03/15/solidarity-economy-vision-blossoms-in-brazil/>
         - Petition for global transaction tax<http://www.makefinancework.org/>
         - Petition for a global labour radio
station<http://www.radiolabour.net/petition.htm>
         - Infographic: State of 'the digital
divide'<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8552410.stm>
         - Global
sweatshops<http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/02/global-sweatshop-wage-slavery/>
         - Equality & healthy, happy
society<http://www.alternet.org/economy/145955/what_makes_the_healthiest_and_happiest_societies_hint%3A_it%27s_not_wealth>
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Peter Hall-Jones
+64 27 8191-999
skype peter.hall-jones
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