Where trade unionists start their day on the net.
In this week's mailing:
* And the winner is ...
* Are unions in decline?
* Campaign updates
* The ultimate union t-shirt
* Organizing immigrant workers
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AND THE WINNER IS ...
The voting is over for this week's Labour Website of the Year. 7,866 of you voted, which was 1,000 more than last year. Only a few dozen votes separated the winning site from the one which placed second. To find out who won, and who made the top ten, and to see some of the world's best union websites, go to:
http://www.labourstart.org/lwsoty/2007/results.shtml
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ARE UNIONS IN DECLINE?
Not according to a brand-new website launching today called 'New Unionism'. Peter Hall-Jones writes: "Union decline is a myth, and it is time we stopped perpetuating it. The real challenge for the union movement is not to save itself from collapse; it is to find a strategy for growth and influence at a time when the potential has never been so good."
Check out the full article here:
http://tinyurl.com/yt9lqq
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CAMPAIGN UPDATES
* We have ended our Dole pineapple campaign. Our friends from EuroBAN have told us that our "web campaign has undoubtedly been an important factor" in bringing the multinational giant to the bargaining table. The struggle is not nearly over, but progress has been made.
* We've also won a battle, but not yet the war, in Panama where workers sacked by Group 4 Securicor have been the subject of a recent international campaign. Full details of latest developments are here:
http://www.focusongroup4securicor.org/
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THE ULTIMATE UNION T-SHIRT
If you support trade unionism, oppose sweatshops and want peace in the Middle East, you'll be happy to hear that No Sweat Apparel is now selling t-shirts made by unionized Palestinian workers in Bethlehem. The shirts are made from organic, soft-combed cotton, and we think that our friend Adam Neiman is right to call them "the greatest t-shirts in the world". A portion of the profits goes to support the Parents Circle, a group of Palestinian and Israeli parents who have lost children in the conflict. And a portion of the sales money comes to LabourStart as well if you click here:
http://tinyurl.com/2d5pq9
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ORGANIZING IMMIGRANT WORKERS
This week's book of the week is a new title, "The New Urban Immigrant Workforce: Innovative Models for Labor Organizing". Though written by two authors in the US, there are going to be lessons here for trade unionists in any country where there is a large and unorganized immigrant workforce. Check it out:
http://www.labourstart.org/bookoftheweek
Have a great weekend.
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