Employers have plenty to juggle these days when it comes to labor issues, with the NLRB throwing curveballs at a breakneck pace. Attempting to keep up with the dizzying pace of technological advances is a whole other subject, or is it? Nope, because as unions constantly aim to improve their skill set, embracing technology is a huge part of anticipating their tactics.
A ready example of this phenomenon? That strike-happy UAW pulled off an industry-halting series of walkouts with Shawn Fain resorting to banal oratory tactics – including his world-famous trashcan speech – in a relatively tech-savvy way. Granted, his Facebook town halls are not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but for a so-called “old-school” union, they hit just right for his intended audience. Fain recently announced a new push to unionize the entire auto industry, and surely, he will continue to hold virtual rallies.
The UAW is only one of countless unions using social media to spread their messages to a large audience of workers and prospective members. However, businesses must also expect that organizing behavior occurs behind closed doors. Some of those doors are even virtual ones.
Plenty of ways exist to do this, including announcing social events like freaking ice cream parties, but on the more private and virtual notes, unions are using organizing software that doubles as a management tool. The software can maintain communities and track dues, but it’s also being used for organizing purposes. Here are a few examples:
UnionTrack, Inc.: This privately-held company claims to produce the “best-in-class” software for processing and tracking dues, handling grievance cases, communications between members, and organizing.
Aptify: This Community Brands software functions as a platform for all of the above functions, along with convention and event management. This software claims to be the most “configurable and flexible” of the bunch.
Unionbase: This search engine serves as a social network for U.S.-based international unions and locals. Unions can apply for “verified” status and then have the run of public and private posts for members. The platform also publishes and aggregates news about organizing, strikes, and bargaining. And the search function claims to provide answers “to what’s really happening in the Labor movement.”
Similar products are on the market from Winmill, iMIS, and UnionWare.
You might wonder: How does the knowledge that these software tools exist help employers avoid union activity? The realization by itself doesn’t do much, but it does illustrate how companies can never take their union-free status for granted, which is one of many reasons why fostering a workplace with open dialogue is always vital. After all, if companies don’t listen to their workers, unions are happy to do so, and they often dream up new, tech-friendly ways to do this.
The takeaway on union software platforms is this: Even the most social-media savvy among us cannot completely infiltrate the methods of communication used by unions, which is another reason why employers would be wise to build the type of working environment that doesn’t encourage organizing activity to flourish in the first place.
Who Controls the Tools?
Even with the potential advantages that technology offers to unions, tech can also breed contention in the ranks over who controls tools like X (formerly known as Twitter) and how they are used, as shown below:
We’re not sure of the backstory here, but it seems like all is not well in the ALU ranks.
