New Labor Media's Website of the Week!

New Labor Media is adding a new weekly series that will highlight and critique the best - and worst - union websites. The intent is not to humiliate or embarrass any organization. This is a teaching tool that will help union leaders take a closer look at their own websites, and hopefully make needed changes if necessary. Each site will receive a star rating based on the following criteria:

Why is a website important for a labor union?

In this day and age, if you're not online, you don't exist to the people you want to communicate with. Like it or not, the vast majority of people in this country turn to the internet for practically everything. Examples:

1. An 18 year old high school senior (and future apprentice of the year) graduated in the top 20% of his class, but he can't go to college because he's raising his brothers. The first thing he'll do to find information about his post-secondary options? He will search job postings online. The first postings he'll choose? The ones that have website links rather than just phone numbers, because Generation Y doesn't call, they text and email. Will he contact you?
2. A reporter working on a story about an upcoming rally wants to get a few quotes from labor leaders to use. Her first step is to google the unions in the region to find contact information and perhaps usable information that is already online. Will your quote end up in the paper?
3. A moderately conservative mom is surfing the internet after the kids go to bed, catching up on her favorite blogs. Not knowing much about unions except what she hears about on Fox News, she stumbles upon a labor blog article about a local union's apprenticeship program and reads it. It opens her mind enough that she sends it to a few friends who are looking for jobs. Will it be your article that makes an impact?
4. A daughter brings home her new boyfriend to meet her parents, and his first impression upon them is a good one. He mentions that he's a journeyman with the local union. The father is suddenly skeptical and wants to find out more about this "boy" who is leering at his little girl. He goes online to look up the union to see if this guy is legit. Will he find your union's website filled with broken links and old updates, or one that's slick and easy to navigate? Will your union's website represent your member as well as he is representing you?
5. 50% of the members of a local union are habitually late in paying their dues because they have to go out of their way to pay them at the union hall.  This puts a financial strain on the union and forces an already overworked secretary to spend half of her time chasing down dues. Can your members pay for their dues online through your website for more timely and efficient results?

Your website is often the first impression you'll make on many people. Do you feel that it represents your union and its members well? Check back each week to learn some new ideas about how to make your website stand out.

Re-Branding the Labor Movement: A Post-Election Lesson

If last week's elections proved anything, it proved that the labor movement would be well advised to focus on creating change from within, rather than trying to create it by hitching our trailer up to a politician's vehicle and hoping they'll have enough horsepower to advance us forward.  In case you haven't noticed, we have yet to go anywhere in the last few decades.  We're actually rolling in reverse on several fronts.  It's time we put all of our money into an F-650, and let the politicians hitch up to us.  Perhaps then, when they actually win an election, we'll get much better results from our investments.


So, how do we begin building the F-650? Well, as you can probably imagine, there are many, many components required, both mechanical and technological.  The F-650 is a powerful vehicle, and it's pretty overwhelming to figure out how to transform a travel trailer into one of these monsters.  It's no wonder why it hasn't been done before.  However, if you focus on one piece at a time, the upgrading process is much more palatable.


One piece that I believe is of utmost importance to the labor movement is that of public relations/marketing/advertising/communications - however you want to categorize it.  It is the most ignored, overlooked, underfunded and/or ill-conceived yet fundamental element within the labor framework.  The labor movement is by and large made up of those in skilled trades - not media experts and public relations consultants - so it's no surprise that this is an area of need.   Labor needs to figure out how to fulfill it - and fast.


This is not to say that advancements haven't been made in this respect.  There are very positive examples here and there of labor organizations and individuals that are starting to get it.  It's time  that labor organizations, from internationals to locals and everyone in between, start constructing well written, organized and purposeful strategic communication/public relations plans that address not only our members, but the general public as well.  If we don't take measured steps to proactively control our image and brand awareness by focusing on brand strategy development, then the Tea Parties, Glenn Becks and Sarah Palins of the world certainly will - as they already have.


Hold on one second - brand strategy development? What the *@$#? This is not a phrase commonly heard at the hall over coffee among the retirees, at the monthly union meetings, or in apprentice classes.  If it is discussed, it's probably limited to the upper echelon of the AFL-CIO and the Internationals, who desperately need to develop and provide educational resources that can arm their locals with an arsenal of branding tools that impart a consistent message throughout the country.  Examples include: Instruction on how to develop and implement a communication/marketing plan; the importance of having an online presence that provides value through a quality website and social media profiles; how to significantly improve internal communications so that members become more invested in their local's efforts. However, in order to provide these types of resources and guidance, the upper echelon needs to figure it out for themselves first.  


In private industry circles, particularly those with names that end in Inc. or Corp., a "brand" is not simply a product name. It's an intangible impression of thoughts and feelings about your organization that can be indelibly left on a person.  

"Whatever your business, your brand is who you are, what you do, and how you build relationships with customers, prospects and influencers. Your brand is how you motivate your people. Your brand is how you fulfill the promise of your company and its products. Your brand is how you define customer experiences, make them memorable, and build brand value." (The Latham Guide, Latham and Company, LLC)

Further, your brand has significant power over your ability to shape your organization and its future - or lack thereof.  Organizations of all types spend large sums of money every year to develop, improve and  protect their brands - organizations that in some cases are much smaller, have much less at stake, or provide significantly less value to society. Consider this: Kentucky Fried Chicken spent millions to "rebrand" their image to become KFC.  Which has more societal impact?  Fried chicken or labor unions? If we based our answer on public relations budgets, the Colonel would win, hands down.

You're probably thinking that labor doesn't have the kind of money that a re-branding campaign would require.   Remind me again how much the AFL-CIO spent on election campaigns this go-around with very little to show for it?  Over $200 million?  Is it really cost effective to use union dues in the 11th hour for an election that most people felt was a waste of time anyway?   Perhaps if the international unions and the AFL-CIO had dedicated a chunk of change towards waging an intensive re-branding/marketing/communications campaign years ago, aimed at the general public and designed to introduce the 21st Century Labor Movement to the masses, it would have made life a little easier come election time.


Bottom line: Perception is everything, whether it's true or not.  The public's perception of Labor needs to change, but this will never happen unless labor organizations realize how vital public relations efforts are today for the existence of our unions tomorrow.