LabourStart
Where trade unionists start their day on the net.

Directory of Online Labour Conferences and Communities

Mailing lists / Web forums / Live chat / Usenet newsgroups / Proprietary conferencing systems


If you think all there is to the Internet is email and the Web, you're missing what is perhaps the very best use trade unionists can make of the new communications technology: building online "virtual communities". Use these new tools like webforums and live chat to run solidarity campaigns, trade union education, distribute news, and much more. If you know of additional online labour conferences and communities, let us know.

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    Mailing lists
    You need an email client program (such as
    Netscape Messenger, Eudora or Microsoft Outlook Express) to join these discussion groups.

    1. LabourStart now has a mailing list -- or rather, an announcement list, with mailings about once per week. To join, enter your email address below, then click the 'Join List' button.

    2. Conference on Organized Labour in the 21st Century
      A hybrid mailing list/web conference sponsored by the ILO and ICFTU. For more details, click here.

    3. h-labor
      H-Net labor history discussion list. To join, send email to listserv@h-net.msu.edu with "subscribe h-labor firstname lastname" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. 1,372 participants.

    4. Labor Alerts - Campaign for Labor Rights
      List manager Mike Rhodes writes, "the alerts are generally about sweatshop issues (ie Nike, Disney, etc) but include alerts on domestic [US] labor issues as well." Several alerts are sent out every week. To subscribe send a message to clr@igc.apc.org with "labor alerts -- all campaigns" in the subject line. You can also specify which labor issues interest you: Nike, Disney, Guess, child labor, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, US farm workers, US poultry processing workers. If you would like to receive information which falls outside those categories (prison labor, workfare, other policy issues, additional briefing material on some campaigns), indicate that you want to be on the Additional Labor Information list as well as our All Campaigns list. 1,000 participants.

    5. labnews
      A US-based list offering up labour news launched in August 1995 (possibly inactive today). To join, send email to listserv@cmsa.berkeley.edu with "sub labnews firstname lastname" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. 521 participants.

    6. labor-l
      One of the oldest, largest and most important of the online conferences. Based in Canada. To join, send email to listserv@yorku.ca with "subscribe labor-l" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. 514 participants.

    7. Leftlink (Australia)
      LEFTLINK is a moderated electronic mailing list for Victoria's Broad Left Community. Auspiced by the Melbourne based New International Bookshop Co-operative, LEFTLINK's main purpose is to inform subscribers about current and forthcoming political campaigns and initiatives in Victoria and the other States. LEFTLINK may be used to:
      • inform subscribers of impending rallies
      • issue press releases
      • circulate form letters to be sent to Parliamentarians
      • quickly notify subscribers of impromptu political activities as they occur
      • advertise other activities such as Left conferences and forums
      • provide details of new progressive Web sites
      • promote overseas campaigns which are seeking international support
      It should be noted that LEFTLINK is not intended to be an ongoing discussion group - its primary function is to distribute information.
      To join, send email to majordomo@yarra.vicnet.net.au with "subscribe leftlink your-email-address" (don't use quotation marks) as the only text in the message. 316 participants.

    8. h-uclea
      List of the University and College Labor Education Association in the USA. To join, send email to listserv@h-net.msu.edu with "subscribe h-uclea yourname youraffiliation" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. 308 participants.

    9. union-d
      Based in Europe. To join, send email to listserv@wolfnet.com with "subscribe union-d youremailaddress" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. 287 participants.

    10. postal-talk
      For postal workers; a US-based list. To join, send email to majordomo@mLists.net with "subscribe postal-talk" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. More than 220 participants. There is also a website for the list, located at http://www.nlci.com/users/frobozz/nalc/talk.html.

    11. can-labor
      Campus-labor activists. To join, send email to canet@pencil.math.missouri.edu with the subject line reading "canet" and "sub can-labor Yourfirstname Yourlastname" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. About 150 participants from the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia.

    12. LaborMedia '97 (Seoul) Mailing List

      The special list created for the international conference "Labor Movement and Media: Workers, Information Technology and Solidarity" which was held in Seoul, Korea on 10-12 November 1997. To join, send email to list@mail.sing-kr.org with "subscribe lm" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message. 53 participants.

    13. labnet
      An Amsterdam-based discussion of European labour history. To join, send email to listserv@iisg.nl with "subscribe labnet" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message.

    14. labor-party
      Discussion list of the Labor Party (USA). To join, send email to majordomo@igc.org with "subscribe labor-party" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message.

    15. afscme-news
      Discussion of Labor Issues and News at the University of Iowa. To join, send email to majordomo@lime.weeg.uiowa.edu with "subscribe afscme-news" (don't use quotation marks) as the text of the message.

    16. united
      UNITED is an unmoderated, uncensored e-mail discussion group intended for anyone with an interest in the labor movement. Subscribers may include members of any union, scholars or those interested in organizing a union. Discussions in UNITED will not be limited to events in the U.S. Especially welcome will be postings related to the following: - Reports of labor struggles around the world; - The decline of unionism in the U.S.; - Bringing unions into the Information Age; - Modern union communications; - The role of unions in local, state and national politics. To join, send email to united-request@cougar.com with "subscribe" (don't use quotation marks) as the only text in the message.

    17. United Steelworkers of America Local 14777 mailing list
      Click here to join.

    18. Critchley solidarity page mailing list
      Click here to join.

    19. Canadian Union of Postal Workers
      National mailing list. Click here to join.

    20. Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 612
      For a discussion of Canadian and international labour news, particularly postal news, as well as items specific to CUPW locals across Canada.Click here to join.

Webforums
You need a browser program (such as
Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Opera) to join these online forums.

    Global

  1. Labour Webmasters' Forum

    For trade union webmasters only. Launched 15.9.97. Software: UltraScripts.

  2. Solinet 7

    New successor to the oldest and most important of the labour webforums. Sponsored by the Vancouver Island District Council of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Password required. Software: WebBBS 3.20.

  3. Community Labor News Forum - USA

    Software: ?

  4. Support Australia's Wharfies!

    Send support messages for the embattled dockworkers (wharfies) in Australia. Launched 8.4.98. Software: InsideTheWeb. No longer active.

  5. Mining Co. Guide to Labor Bulletin Board

    Launched 19.1.98. No longer available on the web -- the site seems to have been shut down.

  6. IWW Workers' Public Message Center

    Sponsored by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Over 1,000 messages and still growing. Launched 18.12.96. Software: WWWBoard. Has been moved -- but the new address is not working.

  7. FIET Information Technology Discussion Forum

    Sponsored by the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET). Launched October 1997. Software: Lotus Notes. Was not accessible last time we tried.

    National

  8. Workers Democracy

    Launched 1.8.99. Software: Ultimate Bulletin Board.

  9. National Air Traffic Controllers Association

    Several Java-based boards, including one for "Labor Activists" and others for internal NATCA discussions. Software: O'Reilly WebBoard.

  10. Delta MEC Airline Pilots Association

    For Delta pilots only. Launched 24 July 1997. Software: Hypernews.

    Local

  11. Canadian Union of Postal Workers - Sudbury Local 612 Note new URL.

  12. CAW Local 2301 - Kitimat B.C. Canada

    Software: WWWBoard.

  13. United Steelworkers of America Local 14777

    Sofware: InsideTheWeb There were no messages when we last looked.

  14. American Federation of Government Employees Local 2211

    Sofware: InsideTheWeb There were no messages when we last looked.

  15. AFSCME Local 1902

    Software: WWWBoard.



Live chat
You need a chat client program to join some of these online conferences.



Usenet newsgroups
You need a newsreader program (such as
Netscape Collabra) to join these online conferences. Alternately, you can visit and participate in all these newgroups through DejaNews.



Proprietary Conferencing Systems
You need to join these online networks to participate in their conferences. (This costs money.)

  • LaborNet@IGC
    Based in the USA. See also Labournet UK.

  • Poptel
    Based in the UK. Access to Geonet conferences -- one of the earliest forms of international online conferencing used by the labour movement.


Other directories of online conferences and communities:
Reference.com [Usenet, Mailing lists, Webforums] | DejaNews [Usenet] | ForumOne [Webforums] | Liszt.com [Mailing lists, Usenet, IRC] | ChatPlanet [Java-based Chat] | Talk City [Java-based Chat] | Open24 [IChat] | ICQ Chatrooms Directory | Yahoo! Net Events [live events]



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This document was last modified: Wednesday, 23-Nov-2022 08:31:59 CET