LaborNet is an AFL–CIO-backed online network focused on the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

History

LaborNet was launched following the 1990

NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...

which created an interest to develop stronger union networks across borders to grow leverage against multinational corporations. Several bulletin board services were set up. Aside from LaborNet, SoliNet was created in Canada and LaNeta in Mexico. The LaborNet internet network was created in 1991 (or 1990) by the AFL–CIO (or the IGC/APC) to give a new boost to the

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

. LaborNet was organized around industrial lines, allowing workers from different unions to communicate with each others. The intent of LaborNet was to develop a labor-focused social network for activism. It was AFL-CIO's first two-way communication tool. Users had access to forums and could upload pdf files. By 1992, LaborNet migrated its hosting to

CompuServe CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...

. By 1995, LaborNet had 1000 subscribers, including 35 community labor councils. It moved to its own independent website in 1999. The plan was to further develop the social features of the website. By the end of the 1990s, LaborNet had 1,400 members. In 2001, LaborNet was established in Japan, where it held annual awareness events such as the ''Labor Fiesta'' and ''Union, Yes!''.

Description

According to LaborNet's website, its "founders believe that the new communication technology must be put to use to revitalize and rebuild the labor movement." LaborNet aims to act as a syndicator for labor-related news and calls to actions LaborNets are also set up in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

References

External links

Official website
Organizations established in 1991 Organizations based in San Francisco Information technology organizations based in North America Political organizations based in the United States 1991 establishments in California {{nonprofit-org-stub