Is the future of unionism in cyberspace?

Abstract

V. Conclusions Cyber technology has been proposed as the panacea for the troubled Old Unionism, the expansion of the New Unionism, and to promote the political power of the Labor Movement. In furtherance of those objectives, the AFL-CIO created a web site on December 1, 2000, workingfamilies.com. The site is intended to provide 17 million union members and retirees access to the Internet; the Federation also offers them computers at low cost. The AFL-CIO’s web is intended to link the union’s members to each other, offer discussion forums, chat rooms, and e-mail networks which will allow workers to talk to each other regularly and mobilize their workplaces and communities for causes endorsed by the Federation (World Future Society, February, 2000). The new service is an extension of the Union Privilege Benefit Programs set up by the Federation during the 1980s as a way of reversing the unions’ faltering membership. Those programs include reduced attorney fees, lower cost life and accident insurance, participation in a motor-club, car-repair, and travel-club services, a Walt Disney World Hotel Discount, a parents’ college advisor, reduced cost for educational books and software, mortgage and real estate advice, and a dental program. The original package was offered to nonmembers for a small fee who become "associate members." It was hoped that the associate participants would become full members. A number of affiliated unions adopted similar programs. In 1995, the Federation added a credit card issued by Household International and for which it received $75 million each year for five years ending in 2000. The card has no annual fee and low monthly interest charges. How the Federation spent these sums is unknown.