September 8, 2015
By Neal Tepel, LaborPress Editorial
New York, NY – Progressive unions are now exploring a range of current technologies in the organizing process. In December of last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that employees have the right to use company-provided email systems during non-working times for purposes of engaging in union activities Then, in April 2015, the Board entitled unions to use employee phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. under the new rules, there has been a significant increase in organizing petitions filed over the same period of 2014. It's expected that the number of petitions will continue to increase.
The recent rulings by NLRB combined with the continually changing technologies, gives labor organizations new tools for organizing workers.
Employees can now communicate anonymously about working conditions, issues, and even gather electronic signatures for a union petition. The utilization of smartphones, apps, software and other current technologies, can add effective tools that will modernize the process of organizing workers. Virtual organizing provides a path to reach every worker, at every job site, in every industry. Current technologies allows for organizing anonymously. This prevents employer abuse for joining a union. If virtual organizing takes hold, union membership could radically increase in the USA.
The future is now for electronic organizing
