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The continuing need to have a regular 24-hour labor radio show and 24-hour labor TV show broadcast and streamed on the internet is receiving growing interest and support. UPPNET plans to continue its campaign to make this a priority within the labor movement.
In a significant uptick on coverage of organized labor, dozens of labor journalists, radio producers and videographers gave extensive coverage of the July 2005 AFL-CIO convention in Chicago.
Most of the corporate media were completely focused on the impending breakup of the AFL-CIO and not the issues that face the labor movement from deregulation, privatization and open assaults on the right to be in a union. Over 20,000 workers are fired every year for simply seeking union membership. These issues do not see the light of day on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, MSNBC and the other networks.
A general problem is the failure of both the trade unions to webcast their entire convention where it could have been heard by many trade unionists. South African COSATU showed that this is possible and a viable means of getting the information out. Many trade unionists involved in organizing and other struggles made presentations at the convention and this could have been broadcast with very little cost.
Following the convention, Laborbeat produced a documentary of the debate around the Iraq war at the convention (available at www.laborbeat.org). The Labor Video Project produced a 37-minute documentary on the cause of the split with various speakers on both sides of the dispute. It is available for $20.00 at lvpsf@labornet.org
An important debate took place at the International Labor Communication Association convention which convened prior to the AFL-CIO convention. The delegates voted to work for the development of a labor media movement in both print and electronic media.
At the same time neither the AFL-CIO nor the leadership of the newly formed Change to Win Federation had proposed any plan to develop independent labor media and training for rank and file workers.
A resolution passed by the San Francisco Labor Council never made it to the convention floor for discussion and – despite the complaints about the coverage of the capitalist media – there was no debate about labor making its own media.
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