#alf-cio

[punkphd]

"The ILWU has also become increasingly frustrated with the Federation’s moderate, overly compromising policy positions on such important matters as immigration, labor law reform, health care reform, and international labor issues. We feel the Federation has done a great disservice to the labor movement and all working people by going along to get along."

Something needs to happen and labour needs to step up its game. This is a good first step. Organized labour has been playing the tune of Democrats in the US and of the NDP in Canada for way too long. I'm glad to see that some unions are starting to see that organizations like the AFL-CIO, and in Canada the CLC, are pretty weak and probably do more to restrain working-class organization than they do to encourage it.

[politicopia-blog]

AFL-CIO turns to social media to build political strength

Read the complete the complete and original post at www.post-gazette.com

An intriguing new political organizing tool is seeking to take the greatest asset of organized labor -- its strength in numbers -- and multiply it with the help of social media.

The new technology from the AFL-CIO's political arm, unveiled Tuesday, allows users to build political networks through their Facebook contacts and find local volunteer events like phone-banks or door-knocking. Users are awarded points for every time they do campaign work, which they can use to direct political help -- such as direct mail pieces or Web advertisements -- to candidates they support.

The idea is not just to give people incentives, "but to change the way they engage in politics, and multiply the effect of what they do," said AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer. "There have been systems that seem similar -- you register 100 people and get a bumper sticker and that's the end of the process. Here you register 100 and you get canvassers for Mark Critz. It all stays in the real world and in politics."

The initiative is called "RePurpose." Leaders from the 12 million-member union federation and its political arm, Workers' Voice, who largely support President Barack Obama and other Democrats, said it will help them compete with the unfettered spending of Republican-supporting SuperPACs and nonprofits allowed by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision and related legal changes.

"But instead of joining them in the gutter, Workers' Voice will counter their cynicism by combining old-fashioned energy with cutting edge technology," said an AFL-CIO statement on the effort. "Increasing grassroots organizing, field programs and voter registration will not only help us succeed in the 2012 elections but help build and maintain a permanent progressive infrastructure for future legislative and political work."

Strangely enough, the new technological effort could not have been birthed without the Supreme Court's decision. While the 2010 decision allowed unlimited corporate and union spending on political ads, it also allowed unions for the first time to communicate with non-union members about political issues...

[hardintimes]

On to the second night.

It's now the second night out here occupying and we've had, in my opinion, a very successful protest so far. I've been surprised by the number of people we're able to reach after nine o'clock. I thought, at first, that 5-9 would be the perfect time for our occupation, and to reach the most people and to get our presence known. However, tonight and last night, we have been able to talk to a surprising amount of people after midnight alone. In other news, I can see an attempt at infiltration of the movement by the ALF-CIO. This started here on wednesday this week.  They showed up as a group of about 60 people saying that they supported us. In my opinion, they seemed to be implying that they wanted to back us and possibly lead us. however, we informed them that we had made a collective decision not to seek or accept any endorsements from groups such as unions, political parties, religious groups, etc. We are a nonpartisan protest. I'm exhausted. Goodnight.