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by Matt Noyes

It used to be that union leaders had to be dragged into cyberspace, kicking and screaming. But, SEIU's Andy Stern has jumped in with both feet, and is splashing around like Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain.

Stern was the first leader of an international union to have a "blog" on the union website. (A blog or weblog is a type of website based on a running commentary or journal, with links to other articles or websites.) Most probably don't even look at their own official union websites. When the NUP's secret plans for restructuring the AFL-CIO and the rest of the Labor Movement were exposed by Carpenter Ken Little, Stern took the debate public and turned his blog into a separate website, sponsored by SEIU. It's called Unite to Win and it has created a stir.

SEIU launched Unite to Win on November 9, 2004 as "a tool for open debate about how best to build new strength and unity for working people and the labor movement." In addition to some standard website items -- Keep Me Informed, About Us, Tell a Friend, Tools You Can Use, and In the News -- Unite to Win has three main content areas:

1. The Crisis Facing Working People: a document from SEIU.

2. "Proposals for New Strength": a collection of proposals for changing the union movement.

3. Blog and Commentary: Andy Stern's blog and open, uncensored commentary from site visitors.

There is a Spanish language section, though its contents are limited and there is no discussion.

Who goes there?

According to web manager Krissi Jimroglou, the site had 9,315 visitors in the first month, a number that has surely increased. ("Visitors" is a technical term that slightly overstates the actual number of people visiting the site because the same person, visiting an hour apart, might be counted as two visitors.)

By the end of 2004, over 700 comments had been posted by visitors to the site, the vast majority of comments - over 80% -- posted by a group of about forty steady commenters. Many more people read the proposal and comments either on the website or forwarded in email messages, and discuss them in other venues. (See, for example, the Members for Democracy Open Forums.) Most comments are posted anonymously or pseudonomously (e.g., Sing for the Left, Joseph Hillstrom), a common practice on internet discussion forums and lists. According to Jimroglou, at least 79 SEIU locals have links to Unite to Win, so we can assume that many of the visitors come via local SEIU sites.

The Union Democracy scorecard

The mere existence of this website is a big deal: an official union website open to anyone; talking about "internal union affairs"; hosting not just sponsoring union's proposals, but proposals and counter-proposals from other unions (i.e., union officers); encouraging discussion and providing space for open, uncensored comments - including criticism of all the unions involved. All of this is a huge departure for the official unions and helps to legitimate debate and discussion in unions. (Next time your local officers complain about your rank-and-file website or discussion list, refer them to Unite to Win.)

Unite to Win may look quite democratic at first glance, but a closer look reveals problems.

Andy Stern has mastered the blog format, and invites guest bloggers from time to time, but, like many blogs, Stern's ends up being very self-referential, as if he were saying, "but enough about my priorities and goals, what do YOU think about my priorities and goals?"

Visitors' comments are not censored - which is great - but instead of using an "open forum" format (where anyone can initiate a line of discussion), SEIU chose to a "blog with comments." This means that the discussion is broken into pieces, corresponding to the different proposals or blog entries. This makes it harder for visitors to shape the discussion and add new topics, and just makes it hard to follow the discussion across topics.

Of course, any actual decision-making on these grand plans will be done by the AFL-CIO officers and the union officers. Visitors to Unite to Win can talk amongst themselves, commenting and responding to the proposals and each other's comments - an interesting and an important step -- but it's more like an audience discussing a performance in the lobby than joining the debate. (This is not lost on the visitors: in one exchange on the site, one frequent poster asked, "How long do we have to debate these proposals before there's a vote?" To which another regular replied, "VOTE?!?!?!? Hahahahahaha!!!")

"Just click your heels together three times..."

Finally, there is an utter disconnect between the collaborative, frank, uncensored discussion on Unite to Win and the real world of member participation in union decision-making.

Imagine if workers in the new SEIU mega locals, like New York's 32BJ, got the same kind of reception from their local officers that Andy Stern gave James Hoffa when the IBT posted a proposal! "Thank you for your proposal. We will post it prominently and ensure that there is ample and open discussion. You have once again shown why you are key leaders in the union movement."

Now look at the actual membership meeting rules and procedures implemented after Local 32BJ was trusteed (to their credit, SEIU 32BJ's website provides the union constitution). They turn getting a proposal that is not supported by the leadership onto the agenda, discussed, and voted on, into a near epic quest. The rules read like the Wizard of Oz's instructions to Dorothy to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch - he never expected her to actually go get it.

SEIU is to be commended (not that they need more of that) for creating a website that breaks new ground for official "cyberunionism." Many positive repercussions, most probably unintended, are sure to follow. The standard for internet democracy is still set by the independent rank-and-file websites, which are far ahead of the official sites on this question, and the limits to democracy offline - which will only get worse, if SEIU's grand plans come to fruition -- undermine the website's contributions. Still, Unite to Win is an example of how embracing the internet can help the cause of union democracy.

Articles on the internet and union democracy:
Appeals court backs union curbs on the internet
Free Speech in the SEIU and MEBA?
Union officers uncomfortable with online free speech
Surrendering to the internet: Democrats in spite of themselves?
IBEW president Hill upholds Canadian member's rights
Union officials "condone and endorse" attack on member's internet free speech rights
Round 2 in the internet battle in AFSCME DC37
In AFSCME DC37 - A round in the internet battle
Danger of democracy on the Internet? Kill it!
Whose "IBEW" is it? An Electrician on the Internet.
Results of the 2005 AUD Best Rank-and-File Website Contest
Union democracy online survives two lawsuits
Online Guide: build an effective rank-and-file website
SEIU Pulls plug on "Labor's Future" discussion
52 Playing cards = fearsome "Local 52"
Using the Internet for Union Democracy
AUD's Best Rank-and-File Websites of 2004
Matt Noyes on AUD and the Internet
2KB of free speech? ACLU & Public Citizen sue in IBEW Local 46 election
Making a splash: SEIU's Unite to Win and the "free and open debate" on Labor's future
SAG officers unnerved by actors' internet free speech
Free speech irritates UFCW
Free speech in NWU
IATSE 600: Internet democracy triumphs over super centralization
Cyber-democracy: your legal rights online.(handout)

See also:
AUD's 50 Guidelines for building an effective rank-and-file website, and the sample homepage.
The labortech tag on del.icio.us.

See also:
Benson's Union Democracy Blog for more commentary on NUP
Labor Notes collection of articles on the NUP and related issues.
The AFL-CIO website's discussion of the future of the AFL-CIO and the union movement
Members for Democracy is an example of a rank-and-file website with a lively forum

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