Inside LabourStart

This campaign has been live for less than two months but we heard that it was no longer relevant (the hunger strike was over).  I contacted PSI, and it appears that they are without a trade union rights officer, so there was no one around to tell us this. I have closed the campaign today.  I remind all of us, especially those who request LabourStart campaigns, that our “contract” with our partners includes the following:

“Unions which request campaigns from us are expected to keep us updated . . . The union will keep LabourStart updated, ideally every few weeks, and the best way to do this is to have a volunteer correspondent regularly posting news which we will link to the campaign. . . . [After 3 months] the union will provide a report which we may circulate to supporters telling them what the effect of the campaign has been – not only whether the employer or government has conceded, but also whether the union members themselves were made aware of the international support shown to them and whether this boosted their morale.”

So, what do we do when this doesn’t happen?  Clearly we can’t just say to a global union — we won’t do campaigns with you any more.  That would be stupid and counter-productive.  If anyone has any ideas about how to ensure that unions keep us updated, especially about the need to close down a campaign which is no longer relevant — please add these to the comments.