Remember Derek? 3,000 Facebook unionists came together to get our Canadian pal reinstated in the good book, after he was banned for making friends too quickly, whilst trying to evaluate Facebook for unions and campaigners.

Well, now he’s out on his cyber-ear again. He was kicked this time, apparently with no hope of reinstatement as his account has been totally deleted, because he’d answered too many messages of support (not sent messages, just answered ones he’d been sent by friends). And it opens up a whole can of worms for unionists and campaigners. Read the rest of this entry »

(When not out voting that is…)

The Union Island project (to build a home for international unionists in Second Life - or Second LifeTM to its friends) launches formally on 1 May, with a big Virtual May Day shebang. Events on the day are going to range from plain-and-simple parties to focused help sessions for reps and organisers. Read the rest of this entry »

Two months back now, I was lucky enough to get an invite to a big French conference on Web2.0, society and business, called Netxplorateur, and very slackly I’m only just getting round to blogging about it. –>

Well, ASLEF had me going there - I nearly spilled my coffee in surprise, before someone kindly pointed the joke out to dim-old-me (no, not the steam train bit…).

Today is the ITF’s global day of action in support of Mansour Osanloo, leader of the Tehran bus drivers’ union, who is currently being held in Evin Prison, because of his union related activities. Read the rest of this entry »

Sure you love being a trade unionist, but if you’re the type who’s ever thought it might be *even* nicer to be a trade unionist on a private mediterranean island, with lovely views, free beer and the superpower of flight, this might just be one for you.

Come join the fun on Union Island, the movement’s new resort in virtual world Second Life. Okay, you can’t actually get in just yet (in the manner of the best foreign holidays, the accommodation is still being built), but you can look at the piccies and sign up for the user group, to get notified of developments and have your 4pworth on how it’s going. The site is at www.slunions.org Read the rest of this entry »

For me, one of the most interesting things about the screenwriters’ dispute in the States (click here to support it!), is the use that individual Writers’ Guild members have been making of online video to contribute to the overall campaign. Here are a few of them (hat tip: James). Read the rest of this entry »

I went shopping earlier this year, to find myself a new t-shirt. I’m very hard to please when it comes to t-shirts, and a good shirt hunt can take me quite a way across the city. On this occasion I happened onto the Firetrap shop at London’s Seven Dials, where I found a nice tailored, black, soft cotton shirt, stitched with a large eagle crest. I quite like Firetrap clothes, when I can fit into them, but what really sold me on this one was the legend writ large around the eagle: “Firetrap: Union made”. Read the rest of this entry »

We in TIGMOO love our folk art. Enamel badges and glorious banners are a kind of comfort to unionists - showing us our place alongside the millions who’ve taken that route before.

As unions merge or modernise though, the painted banners of old, with the quasi-heraldic panels showing members’ trades, union heroes and famous incidents are giving way to large, bold logo prints and slogans (though to be fair I guess it’s also as some of them are now precious antiques that we need to preserve a bit better than hoicking them around Clerkenwell in the rain). Read the rest of this entry »

A most unexpected burst of sunshine made Saturday’s demo for the NHS into a pretty enjoyable way to spend a few hours. It wasn’t your run-of-the-(trouble-at)-mill union demonstration either - the attendance of a whole bunch of carnival artists really jolted people out of the traditional slump you’re likely to get halfway round a march. It’s hard not to be jolly when you’re walking next to a couple of giant lobsters on stilts.

Read the rest of this entry »