[P2P-F] Fwd: New Unionism - Whatever it takes

Mon Dec 26 04:18:15 CET 2011

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Peter Hall-Jones <phj at newunionism.net>
Date: Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 2:07 AM
Subject: New Unionism - Whatever it takes
To: newunionism at gmail.com

**

December 2011

* <http://www.newunionism.net>Work in Progress*
This newsletter is produced by the *New Unionism Network* to promote
organizing, workplace democracy, internationalism and creativity in the
union movement. You can find out more about the Network and/or join us *here
* <http://www.newunionism.net/join.htm>.

*Democratizing the workplace
*In Part One of this series, *Merrelyn Emery* argued that the democratic
approach to work out-performs top-down systems across the board. It’s a
conclusion she has tested over and over again in the course of her career.
But *how* can workers create democratic workplaces, starting from the usual
autocratic base? As organizers will tell you, democracy can’t be installed
from above; it has to be built from the bottom up. Hal Draper put it this
way: *“Only by fighting for democratic power do (workers) educate
themselves up to the level of being able to wield that power.”* In this
article, Emery describes a “participative design” process that sets out to
change organizations from autocracies (or laissez faire systems) into
sustainable democracies.
(more…)<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/participative-design/#more-1483>

*Perils of the Precariat
*If you’ve been puzzled by the timing of this whole Occupy thing, *Guy
Standing*’s latest book -- “The Precariat: The Dangerous New Class” -- is
essential reading. If you’re a unionist or center-left politician who’s
been wondering where the hell your membership base went (and how to win it
back), ditto. At the heart of Standing’s book is the contention that a new
class is developing. Just as the rise of the “proletariat” (or industrial
working class) changed the face of the 20th century, so is the rise of the
“precariat” affecting us today. The implications of this shift are no less
radical. Unionists who ignore this change, or cling to hopes of a revival
of the 20th century model, are already following in the footsteps of the
Guilds. (more…)<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/guy_standing/#more-1694>

*Ethics and union by-laws
**Phil Lillies* has spent ten years applying his training in philosophy and
organizational development to the study of internal workings of labour and
community organizations. In this article he focuses on union  bylaws —
those rules and regulations that do so much to reflect and condition union
culture at local level. He offers some reflections on how to write (or
rewrite) bylaws in a way that will help create a democratic, inclusive
organization… one that will inspire and empower its members to support good
causes during times of quiet as well as times of struggle.
(more…)<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/ethics-and-union-bylaws/#more-1573>

*Occupy Together*
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has endorsed the Occupy
movement (details<http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-supports-occupy-movement.html>).
This follows endorsements and expressions of support from at least three of
the major "global union federations": Education International
(details<http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/news_details/1990>);
UNI global union
(details<http://www.uniglobalunion.org/__C1257537004AB759.nsf/0/7F0B36C86391BBEBC1257922003AD747?Open&Highlight=2,occupy>);
and the International Transport Workers’ Federation
(details<http://www.itfglobal.org/files/extranet/-1/32376/ITF%20Statement%20on%20Occupy%20Protests.pdf>).
Unfortunately,
the ITUC announcement came on the same day that the founding group was
evicted from Zuccotti Park. Similar evictions have been taking place
elsewhere. As many activists are saying, "*we are about to find out whether
this is a moment or a movement*".
Back in October the New Unionism Network voted overwhelmingly to support
the movement (details <http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/occupy/>).
Members have been playing a supportive role in #Occupy actions all over the
world. Two new flyers are being distributed, outlining members' proposed
alternatives to capitalism. These can be downloaded
here<http://goo.gl/uwBxw>(Schweickart) and
here <http://goo.gl/bs8wR> (Albert). If you can help us build on this
series or add to the work in any other way, please contact
communications at newunionism.net. Details of international sites and actions
are here <http://occupywallst.org/action/november-17th/>. You'll find out
more about the movement, from a union perspective,
here<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/occupy/>.
Another world is possible. Pass it on.

*Beyond Robert's Rules*
The next time you have a members’ meeting, why not try running it according
to the principles of “participative democracy”?
(details<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_democracy>).
This approach seeks to draw input from the largest possible number of
people. It is not new — in fact it probably predates “representative
democracy” — but it has received a lot of publicity recently because of its
use (through sign language) in the “general assemblies” of the Occupy
movement. (more…)<http://newunionism.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/beyond-roberts-rules/>

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*Feedback
*This newsletter comes out every coupla months-ish. Hey, we're volunteers!
Anyway, we welcome your feedback, no matter how blunt the language. Contact
feedback at newunionism.net.  If you'd like to SUBSCRIBE, just  forward this
email to subs at newunionism.net with the word SUBSCRIBE  in the subject line. And
of course, you can also send a message saying UNSUBSCRIBE.

===============

Peter Hall-Jones
Comms guy
+64 4 2360209
+64 27 8191999
Skype peter.hall-jones

-- 
P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

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