Since becoming secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, I have been committed to reaching and engaging the broadest range of working people inside and outside of unions. I believe that—to be relevant and part of the conversation in this day and age—we need to do things differently. It’s critical that we embrace constant innovation to build on what we do best. And we’ve got to commit to a culture of openness—building an inclusive movement that puts the voices of workers front and center and encourages all working families to get involved. Innovation and openness are what we had in mind as we redesigned our website from the bottom up. We put the stories of working people front and center, and created a community space to share information, take action and showcase the work of the unions and the people we are proud to represent. The AFL-CIO’s investment in cutting-edge communications and technologies isn’t just limited to a new website. In fact,our commitment to innovation starts at the top. President Richard Trumka sent his first tweet last week. You can now follow President Trumka on Twitter (@RichardTrumka). And you can also follow me on Twitter here (@LizShuler). We’ve also made a big commitment to building new tools and a new team that will empower our members and activists to leverage the power of the Internet to mobilize their friends, neighbors and families. Over the coming months and beyond, we’ll take what the labor movement has always done well offline, bring it online and open up our movement in more ways to more people. We’ll be mobilizing harder and smarter than ever before. Soon, we’ll ask you to use some of these new tools to do more of what the labor movement does best. Things like conversations in our workplaces, phone banking and reaching out to the people you know. We’ll invite everyone who cares about the future of working families to get involved. Lots of exciting things are coming, and I can’t wait to tell you more soon. But today, the best way to see the new direction we’re headed in is to visit the AFL-CIO’s new website, blog and action center. With your help, we’re building an increasingly innovative, active, open and effective movement for all working people—including young people, Latinos and working men and women who don’t have the benefits of a union voice on the job. Our new website reflects that. Thank you for being a part of it—and for all the work you do. In Solidarity, Liz Shuler P.S. Here are four things you can do this week that you couldn’t do last week: |
Be a Seed for Change 