Gov. Linda Lingle’s spin machine isn’t perfect, but its very active, always working, and fearless in promoting its own positions, even if they are contradictory or at odds with facts.
But in the battle to capture the public’s “hearts and minds” during the current negotiating standoff, the public employee unions are suffering from more than the Lingle spin. They are also dealing with self-inflicted injuries stemming from a long-standing culture of secrecy.
Put simply, the unions seem incapable of effectively telling their own stories. I don’t think its a matter of resources. The unions tend to always be in “circle the wagons” mode, overly defensive when they really need to be laying out their case to the public.
Take a look at the web site of the state’s largest public employee union, the HGEA.
It displays a list of news items, some of which sound like they contain useful information. Here are some sample headlines:
Discussions continue between HGEA and the State
HGEA meeting with the Governor todayHGEA refutes Governor’s claim that final position did not include furloughs
HGEA Arbitration Hearing Day 7: Hearing recessed until Oct. 1
Some employees receive displacement letters, given less than 24 hours to submit RIF questionnaire
HGEA Arbitration Hearing Day 6: HGEA’s witness testifies
HGEA Arbitration Hearing Day 5: HGEA’s witnesses testify
But try to read any of those stories and you’ll discover that they are restricted to “members only”.
So despite spending lots of money on this potential means of communication, the union shies away from telling its own story.
The United Public Workers does a bit better, with more news items, and the union newsletter, available to the public. But its news items are months old. Even in the face of the current crisis, the union isn’t making effective use of its net resources.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association site also features dated content, and inexplicably hides public records in a members-only section, including it’s own lawsuit and subsequent favorable court decision. Wouldn’t you expect that the union would want the public to turn to it for this kind of information? Apparently not.
The mainstream media is of little help. I think organized labor does face a persistent bias, at worst, and inattention at best. Labor beats are a thing of the past. Now beating up on unions seems to be the preferred way to appeal to readers.
Telling their own stories would seem to be vital, under the circumstances, yet union after union instead follows the same old path, hunkering down and saying little publicly, devoting little attention to presenting their own case, while at the same time complaining about the lack of sympathetic news coverage.
Most of the larger unions have their own newspapers, web sites, and at least some public relations resources. Why they are deployed so poorly is a real mystery.
It seems to me that unions should be at the front end of the new journalism movement. If a major union like the HGEA mustered its resources, it could easily put together a staff of experienced reporters and convert its inward-looking newspaper and web site into widely read news sources covering labor issues. Unions could even pool resources to create a labor-oriented newspaper with in-depth reporting.
I don’t want to say that the unions deserve the bad press they get, but it’s certainly true that they aren’t doing themselves or their members any favors with the current policy of tight lips.
Maybe I’m naive, but I think both the unions and the general public would benefit from news and analysis informed by a labor perspective.
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at the point that labor becomes the underdog in Hawaii, then there may be a market for a labour-based rag — but the fact of the matter is that labor represents the status quo — so union demagoguery simply fails to make interesting and marketble reading
as far as keeping stories “secret” for members, we all know that with thousands of members, these posts are not secret at all — this is simply a feel good thing for the members so that they think they are getting their money’s worth
nonetheless, your point is well-taken, it is time that everyone act from a position of free and open communication — regardless of whether we choose to characterize it as honest or just well-machined spin
The problem is not just one of failure to communicate its message, it’s one of failure to have a message that’s even relevant.
Unions played a critical role in obtaining economic justice for their members from the BIG5 types. But when they succeeded at that, they developed no vision of their own. It’s as if, with no “enemy,” they don’t know what to do with themselves. For decades now, they’ve acted like opihi, clinging desperately to what they obtained but developed no vision to help them move in new directions.
One of the giants of labor, the late attorney Alvin Shim, had the vision the unions need but they never acted on it. His vision was to see the unions become consumer co-ops that would provide member owned services, including insurance of all types. These would be answerable to members (like credit unions), not shareholders, profit would not be the main goal, and proceeds would stay in Hawaii, not be shipped to the mainland.
Like everything else, unions can lead, follow, or get out of the way. If they pursued a vision like Al Shim’s they could lead, but, at the rate they’re going, they’re doomed, at best, to follow and, at worst, to be pushed out of the way.
It seems difficult for HGEA in particular to relate to some of its membership. Representatives have used the term “fair weather members” recently to describe anyone frightened by the Governor’s layoff threats or demanding better information from the negotiating team. That’s hardly a rousing unity call or an intelligent approach to increasing member participation. More like a put-down.
Another core issue is the manner in which negotiations are started. It seems that ridiculous ideas are put on the table to taunt the employer, as common practice. This time around, it was the four day work week, with pay for five. Membership objected to this stupidity, these concerns were poo-pood, and the Governor used it to demonstrate how “out of touch” she found the union.
We all know they’re smarter than that. Or..hmm..