What is LabourStart?
LabourStart is the news and campaigning website of the international trade union movement. It has been online since March 1998. LabourStart's news is gathered every day by a networks of hundreds of volunteer correspondents. Its news - and campaigns - are widely syndicated using our RSS and JavaScript newswires.
Where do these campaigns come from?
Our campaigns are suggested by unions -- either local unions, national ones or global union federations. In some cases, we launch campaigns at the request of union-friendly NGOs. We do not run campaigns on our own initiative, nor do we accept campaign suggestions from individuals.
Can I suggest a campaign?
If you're read the paragraph above and you represent just such a union, fill in this form and we'll get back to you.
How do I know that the story you're telling is true?
We rely upon unions to get the facts right. In most cases, we ask the global union federations to confirm that the campaign is a valid one.
Do the campaigns work?
YES! We have managed to get trade unionists released from jail, forced employers back to the bargaining table, gotten activists their jobs back, and much more. See, for example, this article.
Where does the funding come from?
Thanks for asking. We rely on donations from individual union members and their unions. Please click here to learn more.
Why am I on your mailing list?
Probably because you sent off a message in one of our campaigns and you left checked the box that gives us permission to mail to you. If you don't want to be on our list, just click on the link which appears at the very bottom of every email message we send you.
How do I contact you?
Full details are here.
What happened to a campaign I saw here a few months ago?
All our campaigns are suspended after three months. We're trying to create an archive so you can look at old campaigns and see how we did - a very early draft of this is here.
How can I help?
1. Check out our list of active campaigns and make sure you've sent off messages for all of them.
2. Spread the word about those campaigns on Twitter, Facebook, UnionBook and elsewhere. Use email to spread the word to your contacts. Write about our campaigns for your union's newsletters and magazines.
3. Get your union to run an automatically-generated list of all our current campaigns on its website.
4. Become a volunteer correspondent.
5. Make a donation.