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A Virtual Organization: How Web 2.0 Thinking is Helping Unions Sign Up New Members
In an age when nearly every single employee has his or her own mobile device—be it a smart phone, PDA or mobile computer—it is now easier to get in touch with each other than ever before. As management you have to know this, as you can be sure the union heads have already figured this out. Today's unions are stepping into the mobile communication world, and they are doing so rapidly. No longer do unions have to organize meetings via the break room. Instead, mass emails can be sent, Facebook groups can be created and Twitter can be used to raise awareness of union activities. In what used to take days, or weeks, to gain awareness via leaflets can now be done in a flash.
If companies continue to communicate a union-free philosophy via outdated tactics, chances of stopping a cardsigning campaign are greatly diminished. The internet has overtaken television as the preferred medium of communication and management needs to take advantage of this fact. Once an employee decides to become involved with an organizing drive, the union will try to gain access to that employee's co-workers. With unions utilizing all of the current technologies, they gain instant access to the email addresses, phone numbers and social networking sites of these potential members. This allows the unions to bypass the traditional amount of time it would take to gain access to their circle of friends in the workplace.
Unions have embraced social networking and electronic communication for the simple fact that these tools simplify communication. The old ways of handing out flyers outside of the workplace presented a much larger hurdle – different shifts, different departments – a challenge, to be sure. With the advent of smart phones, PDA's and social networking sites, it's virtually impossible to keep union organizing movements out of the workplace. Currently under development is a "sign as union card" Facebook application. There is already a Facebook-type site solely devoted to Trade Unions, (www.unionbook.org) that has over 2,700 registered users. So, the days when management could control access to employees are virtually gone. But, as the saying goes, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
Companies today are setting up shop with social networking, blogs and microblogging sites. CEO's are communicating directly with employees and companies are providing dedicated websites to reach supervisors, employees and the all-important secondary audience of spouse and family. Even more importantly, through these channels, companies are able to gain access to candid feedback from employees who are active on these social networking sites. Facebook and MySpace are two of the ten most popular websites in the world. What that translates to is that many, if not a large majority of employees, are actively participating in these online social networks. They're talking about their workplaces, venting, and commenting. If the company does not respond, but a union organizer does, those employees will gravitate toward the person listening to what they have to say.
Atlanta-based Projections, Inc. produces websites for companies that allow them to take advantage of electronic delivery to reach employees. The product, called "UnionFree.com" is designed for pro-active companies to communicate their union free philosophy, and the reasons behind it. The sites often include a message from upper management, which may change weekly, or even daily. Beyond that, the highly interactive websites provide calculators on how much dues may cost, the true cost of a strike, even a wage and benefit calculator that helps employees and their families understand what their full compensation package means. In the past, when companies provided these compensation statements, they were a piece of paper, handed out by the HR Department. Today, this interactivity makes the employee an active participant in maintaining a union-free environment. Projections notes that when spouses and families understand the true facts about unionization, the cost of dues, the risk of strikes, even the simple fact of where dues money goes, they often play a powerful role in the decision of whether or not to support unionization.
If companies today try to remain union-free with the same tactics they've used for 50 years, while the opposition uses the latest technologies, they'll find a distinct disadvantage. Making the assumption that the union organizers are uneducated or don't know how to set up a webpage on Facebook a MySpace account or a Twitter site dedicated to a corporate campaign is a serious mistake. If upper management thinks that unions are still organizing by whispering over coffee in the break room, they are not seeing the value of today's connectivity. Today, more than ever, unions are making a push to gain power, members and control. With the amount of populist rage that many Americans are feeling, employers must communicate. Employees need to know that joining a union is not a cure-all for what ails them.
The good news is that management's message is a positive one. Practicing great employee relations by communicating with employees regularly can mean the company doesn't have to worry about unionization or an underground cardsigning drive. By beating organized labor to the online conversation, employers can create an environment in which unions are unnecessary.
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