[biztech-discussion] Re: NWU Strategy, Organizing Plan
- From: "Samantha Clark" <sclark.abq@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <biztech-discussion@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:13:22 -0700
Thanks Al for getting the strategy discussion moving. Below is a link from
today's MSNBC that seems to waver between the pros and cons of outsourcing.
I would say that the publicity around offshoring is generating some results.
Companies are starting to rethink their policies. Although nobody is talking
about the number of jobs going to Canada and Ireland.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P79592.asp
Samantha
> Dear Folks,
> I attempted to post the following email on this list a week ago before
> going away for several days, only to find out later that it never seems
> to have been posted. So after doing serious battle with the technology,
> I believe that this one should actually reach you.
>
> Al
> -------------------
>
> Dear Folks,
>
> First, thanks to all of you who have subscribed to this list with an
> interest in helping formulate a strategy for the union on offshore
> outsourcing and coming up with an organizing plan for carrying out that
> strategy. A big challenge.
>
> Second, I want to apologize for taking so long to organize a more
> structured discussion on this list. After sending out our invitation to
> join this list, Rob Ramer and myself--though not Andreas--went sort-of
> dormant. Just too many demands, I guess, on members of the National
> Executive Committee these days. Not to mention the regular
> support-the-family kind of work.
>
> Third, in case you don't already know, the American Writer coming out in
> April will highlight the offshore outsourcing issue. Articles will
> describe the issue, what it means for writers, how it is an extension of
> other globalization efforts, and also some current responses to the
> issue. It's not comprehensive, but will provide a good mix of articles
> to help educate NWU members. And to show to other writers.
>
> I am attaching a .pdf of one of the American Writer articles, since it
> talks about how the NWU biz-tech division has taken up the offshore
> outsourcing issue, and it provides a few of the strategic perspectives
> that have characterized that work so far. I've copied the last part of
> the article into this message, below.
>
> What we'd like to do on this list is to firm up and extend some of these
> strategic perspectives, talk about how to organize our own constituency,
> decide which aspects of offshoring to agitate around publicly, and what
> kind of campaigns would be the best vehicles for such agitation. This is
> hard to do on an email discussion list, but we will try.
>
> There are a few NWU folks who have been active on this issue who I don't
> think have yet subscribed to this list and I will try to round them up.
> But to get things started, here is an excerpt from the attached American
> Writer article:
>
> ------------------------------
>
> While a full strategy has not been developed, a number of strategic
> perspectives have guided BizTech work on the offshoring issue to date:
>
> - The NWU does not see foreign workers as enemies, but rather as
> potential allies in opposing the prerogatives of multinational
> corporations. An improvement in the economic and working conditions of
> our foreign counterparts would be to our mutual advantage.
>
> - Political opposition to offshoring can slow it or soften its impact.
> Some seek to ban off-shoring and others want to make it prohibitively
> expensive. This could be done through legislation that forces offshoring
> companies to pay the social costs of those whose work is being shipped
> abroad. Other approaches focus on removing tax incentives for
> offshoring, highlighting the risks to security or personal privacy in
> work being done abroad, or calling on the U.S. government to stimulate a
> competitive tech industry in the U.S.
>
> - The NWU can't fight the impact of offshoring alone. Any campaign
> should include alliances with other groups concerned about the issue.
> The CWA has been quite outspoken, as have other unions and workers
> organizations, and various privacy groups and think-tanks are taking up
> the issue.
>
> - Any work the NWU does on the offshoring issue should have an
> educational component providing information about offshoring and how it
> affects writers in particular, and incorporating ways to bring that
> information to the attention of other writers outside the union.
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> Hope to hear your thoughts...
>
> Al Weinrub
> (Bay Area)
>
>
>
>
>
> -- Binary/unsupported file stripped by Ecartis --
> -- Type: application/pdf
> -- File: NWUoffshoringArticle.pdf
>
>
>
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