The Labour Movement and the Internet: The New Internationalism (Labour and Society International)

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for anyone interested in Labor & the Internet.
Review: The book gives a great background on the Labor movements use of the Internet. I was interested because, as a member of the Campaign for Labor Rights (CLR) steering committee we have made extensive use of the Internet. We have set up a web site, an e-mail alert network, and communicate almost exclusively by e-mail. But I know very little about the history of organized labors use of the Internet. Not only does Eric's book give the essential history of Labors use of the Internet but he has an optimism about the future which we can all benefit from. He sees the opportunity for a "New Internationalism" developing because of this new technology. If labor can grab hold of this technology we can build cross border solidarity like we have never known before. I see what we at the CLR are doing as being on the cutting edge of this "New Internationalism". Most of us in the CLR are approaching this work from a little different direction (coming from the Central America Solidarity Movement) but we are moving in the same direction as the labor movement and their use of the Internet. It was interesting to see time and again the names of people we work with on a regular basis and get to know where they are coming from. Some of these people like Jagdish Parikh and Marc Belanger have extremely interesting histories in working in the labor movement and on the Internet. Reading this book gave me a much deeper appreciation of the people we work with. Much of the book focuses on concrete examples of how the labor movement uses the Internet to build a stronger and more democratic union. It is only with this technology that some things are made possible. For example, as corporations have become even more transnational there has developed a corresponding need for labor to respond internationally. You can't organize a company in one country if that company will shut down and move to another (unorganized and more repressive) country. Worker's of the world need to have the means to communicate with each other, compare notes and show solidarity. It has been prohibitively expensive to get workers in different countries to meet regularly and plan a strategy to confront multinational corporations. With the Internet workers can communicate frequently and inexpensively. There has never been a time like the present for workers to use technology to confront multi-national corporations. The labor movement is just starting to understand the potential of this technology. In addition to the above idea of online transnational company councils, we also learn about the International Labour University, an online International daily labor press, an online archive, discussion group and journal, and an Emergency Response Network (good idea huh Soren). In short this book is talking about building a "New Internationalism." I hope you will take the time to read the book for yourself. It is well worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for anyone interested in Labor & the Internet.
Review: The book gives a great background on the Labor movements use of the Internet. I was interested because, as a member of the Campaign for Labor Rights (CLR) steering committee we have made extensive use of the Internet. We have set up a web site, an e-mail alert network, and communicate almost exclusively by e-mail. But I know very little about the history of organized labors use of the Internet. Not only does Eric's book give the essential history of Labors use of the Internet but he has an optimism about the future which we can all benefit from. He sees the opportunity for a "New Internationalism" developing because of this new technology. If labor can grab hold of this technology we can build cross border solidarity like we have never known before. I see what we at the CLR are doing as being on the cutting edge of this "New Internationalism". Most of us in the CLR are approaching this work from a little different direction (coming from the Central America Solidarity Movement) but we are moving in the same direction as the labor movement and their use of the Internet. It was interesting to see time and again the names of people we work with on a regular basis and get to know where they are coming from. Some of these people like Jagdish Parikh and Marc Belanger have extremely interesting histories in working in the labor movement and on the Internet. Reading this book gave me a much deeper appreciation of the people we work with. Much of the book focuses on concrete examples of how the labor movement uses the Internet to build a stronger and more democratic union. It is only with this technology that some things are made possible. For example, as corporations have become even more transnational there has developed a corresponding need for labor to respond internationally. You can't organize a company in one country if that company will shut down and move to another (unorganized and more repressive) country. Worker's of the world need to have the means to communicate with each other, compare notes and show solidarity. It has been prohibitively expensive to get workers in different countries to meet regularly and plan a strategy to confront multinational corporations. With the Internet workers can communicate frequently and inexpensively. There has never been a time like the present for workers to use technology to confront multi-national corporations. The labor movement is just starting to understand the potential of this technology. In addition to the above idea of online transnational company councils, we also learn about the International Labour University, an online International daily labor press, an online archive, discussion group and journal, and an Emergency Response Network (good idea huh Soren). In short this book is talking about building a "New Internationalism." I hope you will take the time to read the book for yourself. It is well worth your time.