About Steve Dondley

I started a career in the labor movement as an organizer for UFCW Local 1459 in my hometown of Springfield, MA. The challenge of organizing workers fascinated me and I had a good amount success with several organizing victories. But what I loved most about organizing was that it exposed me to a lot of truths about the work world and real-world politics. Now, I had worked my share of crappy retail and restaurant jobs, but the poltical dynamics and intrinsic unfairness of the employer-employee relationships weren't revealed to me until I became an organizer. Unfortunately, when the Caldor's and Bradlees department stores closed—both victims of Wal-Mart—Local 1459 lost about 1/3 of its membership and let its organizers go.

It was right around that time I started to gain an intense interest in the Internet. As a kid, I loved computers and I also had a fascination with mass communication theory which I picked up while attending a California community college right after I got out of the Navy. These passions drove me to learn everything I could about the World Wide Web and its associated technologies. In 1999, I built my first union website for my former employer, UFCW Local 1459. In 2000, I began classes at UMass to earn a self-designed degree in "Internet Technology and Communications."

During these years, I stayed involved in the labor movement, working as an occupational safety and health educator, community organizer, and volunteered time with my labor council. The work of labor unions resonates with me politically and my own working-class background.

I also continued on with my hobby building websites for unions until 2006 when I launched Prometheus Labor Communications, a company that builds websites for labor unions. One of my key missions in life is to do what I can to help the labor movement grow and flourish and so, my current work, building websites for labor organizations, is very fulfilling for me. It combines my passions for technology and communication with my goal to serve the cause of labor. And so I look forward to doing what I can to build this website into a useful tool for labor communicators who want to help unions and workers communicate their messages.

Remember: Communicate or Die!

What's the best way to communicate with members?

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/21/2011 - 9:17am
Answer: 

The cheap answer is that there is no single "best" way to communicate to members. Each person has their own way preferred methods of receiving information these days which makes getting your message out there a real chore. The more tools you use, the better off you are.  Web sites, emails, Facebook, Twitter, text messages, discussion boards, videos, good old fashioned mailings and face-to-face communication all have their advantages and disadvantages.

Further complicating matters is that every union is different. What might work well for one union may not work for another union with members that have different literacy rates, demograhpics, income and education levels. Plus not every union has tons of money to throw into an effective communications program. Your union's communication program will look much different from another's.

At a minimum, though, every union should have an active system for collecting email addresses from members. I highly recommend forming a special committee for collecting email addresses for every single member that has one. And each union should have or train at least one person skilled at writing effective emails that grab people's attention. And a website that can be updated quickly and easily is also a must-have. People will identify your organization through your website so it's important to have one that looks good and is well-maintained. Many unions are also using Facebook as a way to build a two-way communication street with their members and the community.

The best piece of advice I can give is to experiment with the different avenues of communicating available to you. Talk with other unions and find out what tools are working for them and check in here at "Communicate or Die" often for great ideas and advice. When you find something that works, please share your tip with us so we can spread the word.

Communicate or Die, Part 3: The Resurrection

It's been almost six years since I launched the first iteration of the Communicate or Die website. Our home here started off with a bang as a result of all the work that was put into it. But then it fell into disuse. Then it was briefly resuscitated, but fell back into an unused state again as developing my business got in the way. I apologize for doing such a poor job of keeping on top of it. But, the great thing about life is that each new day brings us an opportunity to make amends, and so we're excited to re-relaunch our new Communicate or Die website. I hope you like the new look and feature. Your feedback, good or bad, is welcome and appreciated and will definitely be taken into consideration. Thanks!

In Solidarity,
Steve Dondley

FAQ About Communicate or Die

See the "Idle Pens are not mightier than swords" essay, this site's very first post. Some basic goals of this site include:

  1. To explain to the labor movement, both at the grassroots and leadership levels, what opportunities the Internet affords and why we cannot afford to squander them.
  2. To help the labor movement figure out what effective and efficient Internet tools are available to them and how to employ them.
  3. To share ideas, resources, and news between community members in order to help meet the above stated goals.
  4. Help community members network with others who are also interested in helping unions build an effective online presence.

Who runs this site?

This site was created by Steve Dondley, and is sponsored by his company, Prometheus Labor Communications, Inc. Prometheus Labor Communications builds websites and provides web hosting services for labor unions and labor-friendly organizations.

The Communicate or Die editor-in-chief is Jason Pramas, who also works for Prometheus Labor Communications. Learn more about him here. He makes all necessary editorial decisions, and will ensure that the Communicate or Die virtual community remains a pleasant place for all participants of good conscience. Standard rules of netiquette will be ruthlessly enforced. So everyone play nice...

When was this site launched?

Technically, the site was up and running in the latter half of March '05. However, it received no attention by Steve until early June when he actively started building it. Interestingly, the project was almost completely forgotten about by Steve. But words of encouragement from the site's very first comment rekindled interest for him.

Nice site. How do I get one?

This site is powered by a free software program called Drupal. It is excellent software that fits the needs of the labor movement quite nicely. You can download the software absolutely free of charge here. If you need help setting up and using Drupal, post your question in our help forum or, contact us at Prometheus Labor Communications.

Why can't anonymous users post comments?

Steve believes that trust, the foundation for all collaborative activity, requires non-anonymous communication. Also, by requiring users to register, it gives administrators the ability to block malicious users and link spammers from vandalizing our community.

Can't people just register with a fake name and remain anonymous anyway?

Yes. But most people understand the importance of using their real identities in a collaborative, professional environment. Although a handful may choose to hide their identity when posting to this site, it would be counterproductive to employ a complex identity verification system to try and stop them.

What Every Labor Leader Should Know About Twitter

Thu, 01/06/2011 - 12:29pm
 
 

If you’re like the labor leaders I know, you don’t have it easy. Being responsible for the livelihoods of workers has got to be one of the most stressful jobs, up there with air traffic controllers and fire fighters. Every day brings a new challenge or crisis that just adds to the pile of other problems that you deal with. So when you’re told you should set up a Twitter accounting and add “tweeting” to all of your other duties and responsibilities, you’re probably inclined to laugh the suggestion right out of the room because the last thing you need is something else to juggle.

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