http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/together/ Dear Orsan, this looks like a really important initiative, could you report on it for the p2p blog? see: ** Together <http://www.together.org.nz/> is a national service that is being developed for the “precariat<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/precariat/>” — that rapidly growing cohort of workers who do not fit into the standard labourist model of industrial capitalism. Because it is being developed at the national level, with affiliates’ buy-in, it cuts across regional, sectoral and strategic lines. In particular, it aims to bring together: - People on casual contracts; - Those in industries like IT, tourism or in small shops, or driving taxis; - Contractors and workers in remote areas and small towns who don’t currently have access to a union; - The families of current union members. Membership costs just $NZ 1 per week, which is roughly 20% of typical union fees in New Zealand. (One kiwi dollar is equivalent to about $US0.87 or £UK0.53 or ¥68). Family membership is also on offer, bringing a still larger audience back into unionism’s traditional orbit. In fact, the word they use here is “whānau”, which is a Maori word suggesting something more like “extended family”. So, for instance, if mum or dad is a union member, they can also arrange union support for their children, uncles and aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces and grandchildren. As affiliated unions sign up to support and promote the system, they sign a “Memorandum of Commitment<http://www.newunionism.net/library/organizing/NZCTU%20-%20Together%20-%20Memorandum%20of%20Commitment%20-%202011.doc>” (click to download). This is they key document to read, if you want to understand how Together works. Needless to say, there are all kinds of potential conflicts and pitfalls and fishhooks in a project like this. It is a credit to the kiwis that they’ve managed to negotiate such concerns and get Together off the ground. ** Will this be “the missing link “– a clear route between the precariat and the mainstream of the labour movement? If not, will it become the first step of something that evolves further? It is far too early to make any meaningful assessment of the project, but, as the great Anon once said: *“The best map in the world will not get you anywhere. Only going will get you there.”* -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens