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LabourStart conference in Istanbul

For decades, the Arab world knew nothing of independent trade unions. The unions that did exist were state-controlled, reflecting the ideologies (in particular, Arab nationalism) of the ruling parties. Eight years ago, the first of…


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Measuring union “klout” online

It’s a corporate dream come true: imagine if a company could find out exactly which customers – and potential customers – could influence others. If one could identify with precision those consumers who influence others…


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Back in the USSR?

Last month I sent out a mailing to LabourStart’s 75,000 subscribers asking people to support the struggles of striking oil workers in Kazakhstan and at a steel company in Georgia. As these were both former…


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Facebook is not an organising tool

A decade ago, it was not easy to convince some on the Left to begin using net-based tools to communicate and organise. Today, we run the risk of becoming over-reliant on some of those tools,…