Solidarity across cyberspace: Internet campaigning, labour activism and the remaking of trade union internationalism

Bruce Robinson Bruce Robinson

doi:10.13169/workorgalaboglob.2.1.0152

Abstract

Global communication through the Internet has provided new possibilities for trade union solidarity action across national boundaries. Email campaigns are one form of this. Taking the example of an email campaign in support of imprisoned Eritrean trade unionists, this paper examines the social organisation and information flows underlying such campaigns. These throw light on the effectiveness of such actions, their capacity to overcome inequalities in access to ICTs and current debates on the role of the Internet in the remaking of trade union internationalism managing to develop a certain social power.

Highlights

While other campaigns may have been more successful in reaching their aims or attracted more participants, the Eritrean campaign throws a spotlight on a number of issues of interest from the viewpoint of researchers and labour activists
This paper examines the operation and effectiveness of such campaigns and puts them in the context of the broader issues concerning the implications of globalisation, the Internet and networked activism for labour
The Eritrean email campaign was one example of what we shall call ‘cybersolidarity’ – Internet-mediated action in support of trade unions or groups of workers involved in disputes with employers or the state

Summary

Introduction

While other campaigns may have been more successful in reaching their aims or attracted more participants, the Eritrean campaign throws a spotlight on a number of issues of interest from the viewpoint of researchers and labour activists. The most recent example is a mass picket organised by the international white-collar trade union confederation UNI of IBM’s site in the virtual reality world of Second Life in support of Italian IBM workers in dispute It succeeded in disrupting a meeting of IBM executives and forcing IBM to close down large parts of its $10 US million site to outsiders (UNI, 2007). This paper will focus on the organisation and working of email cybersolidarity campaigns and use this analysis to assess their effectiveness and value in trade union action. It will focus on the relationships between, and roles of, participants in the action and the information flows between them. Each of these related and converging aspects throws up questions of relevance to an understanding of cybersolidarity

Trade unions and the Internet

Trade union action and the global digital divide

The social and informational structure of cybersolidarity