University of Wisconsin - Extension

School for Workers leads unions into hi-tech ventures

Madison- In an effort to bring the local, national, and international labor movement into the hi-tech arena, the University of Wisconsin-Extension School for Workers (SFW) is co-sponsoring an international conference here next month. The conference "Labor Solidarity Through LaborTECH- Building New Global Unionism Through Labor Media" will be held December 1-3, 2000 at UW-Extension's The Pyle Center on the UW-Madison campus.

According to SFW Professor Frank Emspak, the purpose of the conference is to encourage labor activists to use the full range of new and emerging media technologies to support the union movement and to place the often-unheard voices of working people into the forefront of community discussion.

"One aspect of globalization has been the development technologies that create new media and communication opportunities for unions and supporters of labor rights throughout the world," said Emspak. "Working people need to find ways to use these emerging technologies to communicate intelligently and effectively with each other, their community, and others internationally. LaborTECH 2000 is a conference designed to introduce the participants to others who are using many types of new technologies and media."

According to Emspak, LaborTECH 2000 will bring together writers, producers, Web site developers, moviemakers, activists, and others from around the world to share and experience the use of cutting-edge technologies. Participants from India, Pakistan, Korea, England, and Belgium have already indicated they will attend the event, Emspak noted.

Sessions and workshops at LaborTECH 2000 include:

• How to Use the Internet Effectively
• How to Set Up a Labor Cable TV Show
• How to Build Labor Radio Programming
• Web Masters and Their Work
• Supporting Local Media Efforts
• Using Video to Mobilize the Community
• International Campaigns Using the Internet
• Breaking the Media Blockade- Independent Media Centers
• Multiple Languages/Multiple Voices

Other activities will include hands-on workshops in Web design, radio and video techniques, and "poster sessions" where participants can display their videos, written materials, Web sites, and audio clips.

"We're not going to just be talking about these new technologies and media, we're actually using them," Emspak said. "And, in doing this, we're getting two groups of people talking together who usually don't talk to one another- the labor unions and the media."

In conjunction with LaborTECH 2000, The Trans Atlantic Labor Dialogue, a project of the AFL-CIO, ICFTU and the European Commission will sponsor a two-hour direct TV conference the morning of Dec. 1. to discuss how unions can work more closely together. The conference will link the SFW with other sites in Europe.

Evening entertainment will also be provided. On opening night, Dec. 1, the Midwest premier of the film "Bread and Roses" will be shown in the Orpheum Theater. The film highlights the struggles of Los Angeles janitors' struggle to win labor rights. Saturday night will feature songs from Temp Slave, a musical about temporary workers and cartoons by cartoonists Mike Konapacki and Gary Huck.

A one-year, $15,000 grant from The Florence and John Schumann Foundation helped make the conference possible. But, according to Emspak, it wouldn't have happened without support from the University of Wisconsin. Both the Industrial Relations Research Institute and the Office of International Studies and Programs on the UW-Madison campus made donations to the project. Several local and regional labor organizations have also provided support. The facilities available at The Pyle Center were the reason co-sponsoring organizations decided on Wisconsin, Emspak noted.