On May Day no less, we are advised that it is no longer "Workers of the
World Unite!..." but rather "Workers of the World---log on!"
If that isn't postmodernism, what is? Let's all reach out and digitize
someone. (:-) Can this Cyber Picket Line intercept cyber capital flows?
Are we ready for the virtual general strike?
At 10:56 AM 5/1/97 -0700, D Shniad wrote:
>> From: STEPHEN DAVIES <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> To: Unions1 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Unions1 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 15:44:50 GMT
>> Subject: Cyber Picket Line
>>
>> NET NEWS RELEASE
>>
>> International Workers Day, 1 May 1997
>>
>> UNION FLYING PICKETS HEAD INTO CYBERSPACE
>>
>> 1997's May Day is not only marked by the British General Election but
>> also by the launch of the Cyber Picket Line - the world's biggest
>> internet directory of trade union websites. Its address is:
>>
>> http://www.cf.ac.uk/ccin/union/
>>
>> With links to over 1000 trade union and trade union-related sites, the
>> Cyber Picket Line shows the massive strides that the labour movement
>> has taken in high tech communications over the last few years.
>>
>> The small group of pioneers who began it all a decade or more ago -
>> primarily in Europe and North America - have now been joined by union
>> internationals, national union centres, individual unions and hundreds
>> of local union branches all over the world.
>>
>> The Cyber Picket Line features union sites from every continent in the
>> world ranging from South African miners to Brazilian dockers; from
>> council shop stewards in Sheffield to journalists in Hong Kong; from
>> Croatian railworkers to Canadian loggers.
>>
>> The effects are already being felt as workers build new links across
>> continents and oceans. The Liverpool Dockers campaign, the Korean
>> trade unionists battle against repressive laws and the US Firestone
>> workers have all used the internet and the world wide web to organise
>> solidarity action and to build support.
>>
>> Steve Davies, the co-ordinator of the new web site said:
>>
>> "For too long unions all over the world have been on the ropes. Now
>> we're on the Net and its already beginning to pay off. It's now
>> possible for workers to communicate effectively with each other as
>> never before.
>>
>> "It is also possible for rank and file stewards and branch activists
>> to have access to the sort of information resource and research
>> capacity that was previously only available to senior full time
>> officers. It is potentially one of the most powerful and democratic
>> weapons at the disposal of the labour movement.
>>
>> "I hope that this site helps local branches all over the world take
>> advantage of the resources that exist, make the contacts that count,
>> and use 21st century techniques to rebuild international solidarity."
>>
>>
>> ENDS
>>
>> NOTES FOR EDITORS
>>
>> The site co-ordinator is Steve Davies. He lives in Cardiff, and works
>> at the University of Wales Cardiff in adult education where he's been
>> since the beginning of 1996. Before that he spent 11 years working at
>> the London headquarters of a British Civil Service union (now called
>> PTC). He started as a research officer, later specialising in
>> privatisation and contracting out, before becoming national press
>> officer and Assistant to the General Secretary.
>>
>> A Spanish version of the site is under construction (translation being
>> done by Companero David Jones of Pontypridd and Zaragoza). Eventually
>> the site may appear in several other languages. All the tricky techie
>> work for this site was done by Sioned Rogers of CapitalNet, the server
>> for Cardiff, who have also provided the webspace.
>>
>>
>
>
