tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073Thu, 10 May 2012 19:18:58 +0000mobile phone websitethumbtacktradingatufreenicaraguacampaigntorontounionbookbangladeshwal-martyork universitypalestineonline organizingconventiont organizingaudiosecond lifeunionjohn woodtechblogunion videoweb 2.0newunionismonline union educationspamsolidarity campaignvideolapel pinsscience fictioncupe 3903 solidarityisraelunions onlineglobal solidarity2008union leaderscontestfacebookdeathschild labourgarment workersonline strike attackbargainingfacebook censorshiplabour rightslabourstartlabour solidarityhurricanescubalabouronlinescfpunion activistscbcuniatheistswebsitesanti-war campaigncanada coalition governmentflickrcommunicateordiewebsite contestrallypaul moistnet neutralitypodcastingwindsort solidarityjohninnitemployer online campaigniranbloggersstrikewikipodcastamnesty internationalkoreatech podcastmembership softwareunion search enginelabour photo contestgeeksgadgetwddwyoutubecorey doctorowconferenceorganizingcreative commonsdemolabourtechbus campaignfree the blackadder onefarzadbadgessocial networkingactivismsolidarity flickrspammerswinnersweb workcupe 3903activism history wiki labour solidarityworkerslabourstarcanadamigrant workerspalestine campaignhardwareactivistndponline photospropellorheadsliberal partyblog cupetucactivistscawethical shoppinghow-towebsitecairo protestdeath penaltywisconsin protestblogunionsBDSgizmounion websiteipodyork university strike cupe 3903 solidaritytwittercitizen journalismhealthcarekctuhistorymicrophoneUSfair tradewashingtonsolidaritydonationsonline surveysnupge campaignottawaUnions and the internet: uses, misuses and anything else that comes up, all from a middle-aged propellorhead's perspective.http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)Blogger213125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-396706530349585314Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:40:00 +00002012-03-20T14:40:01.414-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2012/03/message-from-labourstart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0Normal 0 false false false EN-CA X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable ...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-3006389216439310727Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:38:00 +00002012-03-19T14:38:26.743-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2012/03/canada-end-lockout-at-acadian-coach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0The 3-month long lockout, affecting the areas of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, began in December 2011 when Acadian Coach Lines, a subsidiary of French multinational Keolis, locked out their employees because of a labour dispute. This has resulted in no intercity bus service in these provinces of Canada leaving many who rely on buses to get to and from cities in these provinces stranded. The dispute began in late November 2011 when Acadian presented a concessionary contact to...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-3030361769337831854Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:37:00 +00002012-03-19T14:37:23.463-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2012/03/egypt-drop-charges-against-kamal-abbas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0On February 26 a Misdemeanor court in the city of Helwan sentenced Kamal Abbas, the general coordinator of CTUWS, in absentia, to six months imprisonment for “insulting a public officer” during the 2011 International Labour Conference in Geneva. The sentence refers to Thursday 9 June 2011, when Kamal Abbas interrupted Ismael Fahmy while he was delivering a speech to the Conference. Kamal Abbas, who attended the Conference as a representative on the ITUC delegation, is accused of...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-8644013269871114296Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:35:00 +00002012-03-19T14:35:04.765-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2012/03/iran-stop-execution-of-abdolreza.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0Abdolreza Ghanbari, a 44-year-old lecturer of Payam e Nour University, was arrested at his home in Pakdasht on 4 January 2010. He was charged with Moharebeh (enmity towards God) for receiving unsolicited emails from an armed opposition group, to which he does not belong. While in detention at the notorious Evin Prison, Prof. Ghanbari was interrogated for 25 days in a row and forced to confess under duress to unproven charges. Nasrin Sotoudeh was his lawyer until she was herself condemned...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-249687129133825125Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:16:00 +00002012-02-04T08:16:59.810-08:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2012/02/labourstart-canada-english-feed-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)1 If you're on Twitter, look for the English LabourStart Canada feed.  Regular stories drawn from the Canada page on LabourStart, the global labour movement's news and campaigns website.   All the news that matters to Canadian trade unionists, all in 140 character tweets. Look for us as @LabourStartCanE Coming soon, our French language feed. tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-2978570916576928363Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:34:00 +00002012-01-13T06:34:27.382-08:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2012/01/shopping-union-just-got-easier.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0If you live in Briitish Columbia and want to make sure the goods and services you buy have the max union content or are handled by union members, this new website is a bookmark-must. Up and running since the end of last December it features an easy-to-use interface that allows you to search by entering the stuff you want to buy or the service you need.  The results include a link to the provider. Endorsed by the BC Federation of Labour and a bunch of major unions.  Designed and...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-6740412197433932495Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:21:00 +00002011-12-04T02:30:26.680-08:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/12/postcards-from-istanbul.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0After the LabourStart 2011 conference Geri joined me and we holidayed in Istanbul for 10 days.  What follows are vacation e-postcards to friends and family.  Some of you all find this repetitive because you're 'friends' with my personal Facebook account. sorry. There won't be one of these every day. I was late getting to our hotel from the post-conference LabourStart meetings but Geri had a chance to sleep-off her jet lag and was ready to go. We found a nice simple restaurant...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-3850653333262108709Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:10:00 +00002011-10-19T10:36:18.661-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/10/global-labour-movement-moves-to-support.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0For immediate release - 19 October 2011 At the request of the Maruti workers’ union and the International Metalworkers Federation a global mobilization of solidarity for the striking workers is taking place online. Workers around the world are being organized to send protest e-mails to Maruti-Suziki’s Managing Director demanding that the company immediately cease violating basic labour rights at its factory in Haryana.  This effort is only the second such involving an Indian...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-7723200094323104419Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:25:00 +00002011-10-09T19:28:21.971-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/10/steve-jobs-is-dead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0I'm growing quite cranky with the Steve Jobs hagiographies passing as comment and such. Almost all that I have seen are about his legacy as far as electronics consumers in the North are concerned. At the Southern end of Apple's supply chain? Child labour, suicidal sweatshop workers, unsafe working conditions and Jobs-dictated downward pressure on wages and working conditions in an effort to keep production costs down. A saint? Uh-huh. Sure he was: thanks to Apple's marketting folks. Paul...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-7260247324784911230Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:21:00 +00002011-09-23T07:21:45.730-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/09/yet-another-organizing-block-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0Just FYI for anyone using Facebook for organizing purposes, I have had my ability to send 'friend' requests blocked. No one complained, but each morning I made a habit of sending requests to ten (10) people, all of whom being people I shared at least 100 'friends' with. I should have tracked how may days I did that, but my guess is something like 20. This is yet another example of the problems you can run into whilst using Facebook in your union work. More HERE. Even though the article...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-204596516574302180Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:03:00 +00002011-08-12T13:03:28.851-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/08/union-looking-for-photog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0From CEP 2040 (one of my unions): A fellow union is seeking a unionized freelance photographer to work at their upcoming convention in Toronto. The basic specs of the job are to photograph convention delegates, events (inside and outside), and exhibits in Toronto for about 1 week at the end of October of this year (mostly day time, but at least 2 long days -- to midnight or later). For technical, they need people who: 1) work in digital, 2) have have a viewing system that can be set up at a...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-558728227864080138Sat, 23 Jul 2011 10:45:00 +00002011-07-23T03:45:43.591-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/07/support-palestinian-workers-strike.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel). The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-1594945402385359551Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:12:00 +00002011-06-30T06:12:14.366-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/06/webwork-column-now-online.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0My regular column on internet resources, tips and tricks for unions is now online at the Our Times website HERE. Note too that if you scroll down the list of articles on the topic of organizing you'll come across a number that are internet-related. Over time all columns going back to the first will be made available by Our Times.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-6040092623499432077Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:24:00 +00002011-06-21T06:16:27.012-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/06/help-stop-attack-on-canadian-unions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0As trade unionists we understand that the right to free collective bargaining without interference from the state is fundamental to what we do. When the state interferes on behalf of an employer our rights as workers are at stake. In Canada a recently-elected right-wing Conservative government is declaring war on workers and their unions. Their first target is one of Canada’s most militant unions, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). We’ll spare you most the details, but it is clear...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-477807716667706919Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:27:00 +00002011-06-01T05:27:13.709-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/06/labour-video-of-year-winner.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0IBEW’s Workplace Democracy: Corporate Style was the winner in this year’s LabourStart Labour Video of the Year contest. It got the most votes from amongst our judge-selected finalists. You can find all the finalists for this and prior years HERE.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-7507416780582000758Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:21:00 +00002011-06-01T05:21:16.749-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/06/women-organizing-online-and-end-of-e.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0The need for organizing across both national and organizational borders is something the women’s movement has always recognized. The internet presents new opportunities for gender/workplace solidarity to develop. Hate to say it, but Facebook is a good place to start if you’re a woman looking to connect, or a group looking to establish an accessible online presence. I did a search on “women in the trades” on FB and got back a quick 15 groups with anywhere from over 1,000 members to just...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-6816984773748829474Sat, 14 May 2011 12:28:00 +00002011-05-14T05:29:28.176-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/05/labourstart-needs-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0We do. Really. In 2 different ways. So hopefully you will excuse the longer than usual message. First, we are always looking for volunteer correspondents. Our volunteers don’t write the stories they post to LabourStart, but they do take a few minutes a month or a day to find stories on union and news media websites and to post those stories to LabourStart. We make it easy for you to volunteer. Our database interface is simple and a couple of cut-and-paste operations is all it takes to get a...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-8808410754784534154Sat, 23 Apr 2011 19:00:00 +00002011-04-23T12:00:38.407-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-global-solidarity-in-more.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0LabourStart already offers labour news from around the world in 27 languages on our news pages as well as through our various newswire servics. The number of languages in which we can offer our online solidarity campaign service is more limited, in large part because translating campaign materials requires a greater commitment from our volunteers. So it's always great news when we can announce that we've added another language for campaigning purposes. This time around it's Arabic. See (and...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-8049899472781068464Sat, 16 Apr 2011 12:04:00 +00002011-04-16T05:04:53.344-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/74-videos-in-global-labour-video.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)074 entries from around the world are now being vetted by our panel of judges. Soon they will have their shortlist of finalists out and the final ranking will done by LabourStart’s readers using an online voting system. Inevitably, some very fine videos won’t make it onto the list of finalists. Don’t miss any. You can see all the nominated videos HERE.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-711501985318698847Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:03:00 +00002011-03-19T04:04:54.435-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/03/labourstarts-2011-labour-video-of-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0Online videos are becoming pretty common in the union world, as elsewhere. If you have produced one or if you have enjoyed a union video that you think deserves wider attention, nominate it for the LabourStart Video of the Year award. Info on how to nominate, as well as last year’s winners and this year’s current nominees can be found HERE.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-4546079922474955002Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:52:00 +00002011-03-18T07:54:01.840-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-on-japan-union-appeals-labourstart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0This is taken from the text of today's LabourStart weekly mailing. The international trade union movement has published a lot of information on the web - but chances are you don't know much about it. Here are some of the pages you might want to check out: * The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) has a page with extensive information on the earthquake, tsunami and what followed. You can send messages of solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Japan from their website. It has...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-1505138549555981535Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:45:00 +00002011-03-18T06:45:10.570-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/03/appeal-from-japanese-union.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0Message from Zenroren, Japan March 14, 2011 Dear Sisters and Brothers around the world, On behalf of 1.2 million Japanese working people, Zenroren wishes to express our sincere appreciation for unions and individuals around the world for the devastating “Tohoku Pacific Earthquake” which struck northeastern pacific region of Japan at 14:46 (JST) on March 11th, Friday. We also thank many international rescue teams working hard to save victimized people, which...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-662549383950923141Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:29:00 +00002011-03-17T07:29:50.404-07:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/03/note-on-wisconsins-labour-chill-moving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0Larry is a retired CUPE Research Director. He circulated this recently. Well worth a read. I just finished reading ‘Will Wisconsin's Chill on Labour Move North?’ by Konrad Yakabuski in the Globe and Mail (click HERE to see the article) It’s a fairly good article for someone I expect is not a big fan of unions and has little direct experience with industrial relations and union culture. Yakabuski suggests that despite the comparative strength of unions here, this is likely to happen....tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-6532136838243405443Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:35:00 +00002011-03-09T12:35:17.990-08:00http://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/03/2011-labourstart-global-solidarity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)0Want to know more about trade unions in the Middle East? Thse days, who doesn't? LabourStart is hosting a Global Solidarity conference in Istanbul Turkey, November 18-20. For the last decade Egypt and Turkey have seen the growth of some of the most vibrant democratic unions on the planet. Their views about what's happening in the region will be insightful. So mark the dates and start planning to attend. We'll also have union people from Tunisia, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Jordan - as well as...tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8300786357679165073.post-2858495748884321396Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:50:00 +00002011-02-24T13:44:43.202-08:00wisconsin protestcairo protesthttp://blackadderonline.blogspot.com/2011/02/wow-wisconsin-struggle-gets-noticed-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Derek Blackadder)1This photo by Muhammad Saladin Nusair from Tahrir Square in Cairo (download a copy HERE) complements the following speech by Kamal Abbas, general coordinator of the independent Egyptian Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS): I am speaking to you from a place very close to Tahrir Square in Cairo, “Liberation Square,” which was the heart of the Revolution in Egypt. This is the place were many of our youth paid with their lives and blood in the struggle for our just rights. From...