The Netroots Nation conference has come to Austin, Texas, this year, and it’s brought together people from across the progressive movement. State, local and national bloggers are taking part in what has become an annual meeting to get together with other activists face to face and swap ideas. As labor communicators, it’s especially important for us to make sure the online community—an active and committed body of people—are paying attention to the core economic issues that matter to working families.
At Thursday’s Netroots Nation Labor Caucus, more than 40 communicators and other activists from across the union movement—unions of the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and the National Education Association participated—and outside the union movement got together to talk about working family issues and how to engage the netroots around them.
Labor Caucus participants agreed the first step is to make sure this community is united behind the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions.
The next two years are critical, with our opportunity to elect a president and members of Congress who are absolutely essential to make this major change that we all agree on—the Employee Free Choice Act. We may not get another opportunity like this, and the Employee Free Choice Act should be a top priority not just for union members, but for anyone committed to a fair society and a strong economy.
Unions help achieve the goals that are at the heart of the progressive movement—making sure that workers have the wages, benefits and security they need, and mobilizing and educating workers so they can engage in the political process and fight for their interests.
Because of this, the Employee Free Choice Act opens up door to the many other issues the progressive movement cares about, from health care to green jobs, and laying the groundwork for better policies at all levels.
Unfortunately, there’s a strong and calculated counter-movement from corporate interests, who know the Employee Free Choice Act will level the playing field and give workers a say. Progressives online need to be armed with the facts to push back against this multimillion-dollar campaign.
It’s also important to educate bloggers and the wider progressive community about what unions do, and who union members are. Too many think that unions are obsolete, or unrelated to their lives, but the truth is that the decline in union membership has gone hand in hand with stagnant wages and economic disempowerment for all workers. Union members and activists need to get online and engage potential supporters.
It’s critical we draw the connections between unions and other social justice issues, like fighting discrimination and protecting the environment. Labor Caucus participants agreed on the need to make sure progressives know that union issues aren’t narrowly limited to union members—they affect everyone. Unions need to engage with the larger progressive movement.
There’s a tough fight ahead to elect pro-working family candidates, pass the Employee Free Choice Act and hold leaders accountable for the policies they pass. Unions and bloggers are natural allies in this fight, and the ideas generated by the Labor Caucus show the potential to create change.