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I had an interesting discussion with some friends about union activists blogging. In that chat I mentioned that workers who are getting their news online, especially at the online version of their local paper or television stations, should always be on the look out for a comment box at the end of the story. If there is one available, get a user name and password and offer up your 2-cents.
On many local papers’ websites I have found that getting a user name and a password is not only painfully simple, it is generally a very fast process. And as for a quick hint: I have found using one user name and password at every site I visit a safe and secure way to remember how to log on when I am especially heated about something that I read; which happens often.
It is almost cliché at this point to say that stories affecting working people, especially union workers, are not very well presented in mainstream media. This is where our work comes in as activists.
I find myself telling people not to worry about their typing skills or grammar, the most important thing is to get heard – and then tell people where you are posting so that we can support what you are doing. I am of the opinion that workers of every trade are rarely, if ever, asked what they think by mainstream media reporters. Instead, workers are often asked how they feel about this or that situation. Interestingly enough, a CEO or a company manager is never asked how he feels about much of anything. I have made this argument in the past, and it is worthwhile to bring up again: Working people can and do think and our thoughts should be heard and understood. We can save our feeling for own personal diaries and conversations with family and friends, but when it comes to discussing something as important as our working lives and our unions, it is critical we organize our thoughts and share those thoughts.
With the open access of comment boxes on mainstream media news stories, we have a unique opportunity to speak up and get heard -- and I urge everyone to do this in their free time.
Finally, the question of anonymity comes into play. Some workers might be less than giving with their personal information or use their real names. My reply to this is generally the same: then don’t! If you are really concerned about being tracked down, open a free Yahoo email account (or any other) and use that email strictly for your blogging activity.
For many people this blog on blogging will seem obvious and common sense, and that’s cool – but for those who are just getting cozy with their computers and getting online, maybe it will be of some help – that is my intention, anyway.
skills to publish
This a most important story for me to read, I've known Richard for some time now and we have talked about this platform many of times. The key to being a blogger is the way you present yourself, understandable some people don't have the skills to publish the same kind of content as others with more experience but, with a little practice you will soon see major results that make the story stick out. So if there anyone out there that thinks they are imune to writing good stories, a blog, is ablog, is a blog... So, Keep writing... Things Can Only Get Better...
Charles Lezette
Carpenters Local 370
Albany, NY
God I didn't know what to
God I didn't know what to say so I made a new blog entry at Anti-Union.Blog
after all that the main idea is
I think what Richard explained is a great Activist maneuver, we have spoken in the past about getting the word out, you too can do it, even in unfriendly territory, if you have facts no one will ever continue the argument, or at least only those with a factual opinion will. This goes back into the anti-union sentiment I have previously posted about. The idea that someone will just post "I hate unions" or "unions destroy jobs" cannot go unanswered. Only we can make the difference, and the 4 of us need your help in doing that.
Thanks for the comments and other blog entry
Chuck/Joe ... thanks for these comments, and Joe ... thanks for the great write-up at your blog; great stuff.
I think that it is important for us to realize that while we might be comfortable on the computer and going to different sites, there are a lot of sisters and brothers that don't have that comfort zone, yet. That is a big part of why I thought we needed to bring this discussion back.
There are a few things that we can suggest to help working people get more comfortable getting information out:
1. Write the message in a program that has a spell check; if that is a concern.
2. Before posting the message, send it to someone to review it and give their opinion (two minds are better than one, always).
3. If a posting goes to a site, especially this one, and someone wants to change it but doesn't know how, they simply need to write to me and give me the heads up.
4. #3 goes for many sites. Chuck might remember that he commented on something at the AFL-CIO blog. We talked on the phone and said that he spelled a word wrong and it looked stupid. I suggested he write a letter to the guy who wrote the piece and just tell him. Within 24 hours, Chuck's work was corrected and posted ... it was a simple thing to do.
Again, a lot of this might be common sense to folks like you guys and Dondley, but we have to take into consideration that many folks wouldn't even have a computer in their house if it weren't for their kids. So ... we do what we can ... and we are!