E-mail Lists Work Best

Last issue you were treated (?!) to a rant. This time I’m giving you a bunch of shorter items, leaving less room for my opinions. Mebbe.At LabourStart, we recently made an effort to track the ways that work best for getting the word out about our campa…

E-mail Lists Work Best

Last issue you were treated (?!) to a rant. This time I’m giving you a bunch of shorter items, leaving less room for my opinions. Mebbe.At LabourStart, we recently made an effort to track the ways that work best for getting the word out about our cam…

A Union Wikipedia Initiative?

I have been listening to Corey Doctorow’s Craphound podcast for a long while and his closing Creative Commons licensing notice (which quotes Woody Guthrie) finally made me think it was time to say a few words about Creative Commons (CC).CREATIVE COMMON…

A Union Wikipedia Initiative?

I have been listening to Corey Doctorow’s Craphound podcast for a long while and his closing Creative Commons licensing notice (which quotes Woody Guthrie) finally made me think it was time to say a few words about Creative Commons (CC).CREATIVE COMMON…

A Union Wikipedia Initiative?

I have been listening to Corey Doctorow’s Craphound podcast for a long while and his closing Creative Commons licensing notice (which quotes Woody Guthrie) finally made me think it was time to say a few words about Creative Commons (CC).
CREATIVE COM…

Using evidence-based science for effective communications

Many people in unions and progressive politics talk about “framing” — made famous by George Lakoff’s Don’t Think of an Elephant — but it’s difficult to see what that means in practice. Effective communication is made even more challenging by the broad…

Myths and misperceptions about marketing for unions

Marketing is still widely disparaged as a term in the union movement, and progressive organisations generally. Partly this is a skepticism born from shows like Mad Men and The Pitch, and partly it is a misunderstanding drawn from the popular perception…

Science alone won’t change climate opinions, but it matters

I’ve often highlighted useful articles about cognitive and behavioural insights that I believe are useful for unions and progressive campaigners. This time, I’ve decided to republish an entire article by Ben Newell from The Conversation, because I want to draw it to the attention of my…

Why unions should understand member lifetime-value

All unions want to grow and increase their membership. Significant efforts and resources are devoted by unions to recruitment and the effort of signing up new workers to be members. The cost of signing up new members however can be substantial. These c…

Defining your union’s promise and standing for something

If the conversations that I’m having at the moment are any judge, many unions and progressive organisations are looking closely at their communications and narrative. In countries or states with hostile conservative governments, like Australia or Canada, this is especially pressing. The key…