Trades Hall

Michael Gadiel on Networks and LaborNET

When talking to unions about the Internet the most common response I get is - "but none of our members are on the Internet, let alone able to use it" - the problem with this view is that things are changing very rapidly, much faster, and in a more significant way than anyone has expected.

	Michael Gadiel

As we enter the information age the rate of fundamental societal change is accelerating. People absorb and adopt information and ideas more readily than every before, new techniques and approaches spread much more quickly - including the Internet itself. That's why unions need to ensure that in this rapidly changing environment, they aren't left flat footed.

Another question a unionist might ask is - "Why is the Internet important for us?". To answer this question you must consider what a union actually is. A union is, fundamentally, a network. A network of people with shared interests and ideals. Unions operated successfully in the industrial age because they were one of the few good networks around, they were in demand because everyone, including the politicians and media wanted to tap into them. If you needed to get a message out, a trade union was one of the best ways of communicating with working people.

Today, unions compete with a number of different information pathways. In recent times, the database, to some extent, displaced the network. In the information age databases are bought and sold on the open market - information about people is a valuable commodity and purchased at a high price. That's why the Internet is so important, because it's the biggest network imaginable, and its not limited by geography.

Unions are networks, and because the Internet is the largest and most important network, we can't delay establishing ourselves in this new medium. Nor can we afford to lose control over our presence there. If networking is our core activity how can we afford to lose ownership of our most important asset?

The Labor Council has kept this in mind in formulating its approach towards the Internet. LaborNET is based on a partnership with Social Change Online, a group with the necessary technical expertise and experience in dealing with unions. The philosophy of LaborNET is to share resources and cluster information where you might expect it to be found, thus http://www.labor.net.au is a logical and sensible place that you would choose to establish a portal for the labor movement - LaborNET forms the seed for a broader labour movement network, online!

The difficulty with this approach has been, with some notable exceptions, few unions have been prepared to commit the resources necessary to establish a high end union site. But, as interest in the net gains momentum, unions are responding. LaborNET now has six unions including the PSA, ETU, FBEU, ASU (Services), LHMU and MEU thus making it the largest clustering of union sites in Australia.

Weather or not LaborNET gains becomes the major portal, the concept is right - unions need to ensure that their members see their union as a relevant and important place to go on the Internet - now.

To the union movement the Internet represents both an opportunity and a threat. As a tool it has enormous potential to get people communicating and building networks of shared interests. Conversely if we don't establish ourselves soon, then the window of opportunity will be lost to other communities of interest. Unions need to establish themselves in this new medium quickly - because the Internet represents an unimaginable opportunity for unions to build and grow.

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  Issue 10 contents

»	Vizard Offers Unions Cheap Computers, But Is It a Pup?
»	Y2K Crashes Bank Holidays
»	Carr Says Thank You To Union Movement
»	Crew Saved by Message in a Bottle
»	Unions to take on Qantas Over Foreign Jobs
»	No Training on Coat-Hanger Sparks Job Fears
»	Council's Hypocrisy Sparks Green Ban Call
»	Shoddy Editor Sparks May Day Confusion
»	STOP PRESS: Employers Bid to Scrap ANZAC Day Fails. For Now

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Not So Wild About Bragg
»	Faction Talk Must Be Broader
»	A Bouquet from the Bush
»	Help a Student Pass!

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