Digital Organizing Isnt as Straight Forward as it Seems
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- Published on Monday, 26 October 2020 02:28
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 2225 ... October 26, 2020
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Digital Organizing Isn’t as Straight Forward as it Seems
Aminah Sheikh
Over the past few years, digital organizing has become the hot new thing in unionization campaigns. Digital mobilization and engagement technologies have become essential to winning. However, while some unions have won remarkable gains utilizing these technologies, other unions have lagged behind, unwilling to embrace these new tools.
Before the pandemic, I was already using digital tools like peer-to-peer texting, email marketing, and database software for my organizing work. However, I used them to deepen existing relationships with supporters, never to start initial discussions about the union. Digital tools were meant to amplify the ground game, not as a primary means of organizing. For the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, our organizing bread-and-butter was face-to-face conversations.
Face-to-face organizing -- meeting workers where they are and listening to their needs -- is a method that has been used by unions and community groups for decades. The model encourages workers to become both leaders and activists by building strong relationships with each other, as... well as with experienced organizers and union leaders. Workers can transform their workplaces and communities by harnessing these relationships and joining in collective action.
