ILCA Convention ok’s three resolutions endorsed by UPPNET

The resolutions are: For a Labor Media Strategy; Moving toward a Labor Media Strategy; WIN Radio Project

Moving toward a national labor media strategy

A national labor media strategy is more needed than ever. The labor movement must immediately intensify its efforts to effectively communicate with and engage not only rank and file members, but also all working men and women.

We must address their bread-and-butter concerns and their anger over the conservative direction of our country, where economic and social inequalities are the worst since the Great Depression.

Our message as a labor movement must make clear that we are part of a larger social movement fighting for fairness and democracy for all workers. This involves exposing and combating inequality and injustice wherever it exists: civil and human rights, education, the environment, religion, the economy and the media.

The struggle for decent wages, adequate health care, good pensions, health and safety on the job and respect is a fight for justice and equality for all working people and their children regardless of race and ethnicity, in all nations throughout the world.

Further, the corporate dominated media routinely omit, distort, and otherwise marginalize the concerns of the working class.

The International Labor Communications Association should immediately convene a working group with the AFL-CIO and affiliated and non-affiliated unions to develop a National Labor Media Strategy, and explore the following goals:

1. Fight for the fair and accurate representation of working people and their issues in the mainstream press.
2. Make media reform a top legislative priority and demand the formation of a more democratic media that does not marginalize workers in favor of a corporate agenda. This effort would include fighting for re-regulation of the media, greater public access media and public broadcasting more responsive to labor’s message.
3. Forge relationships with independent media, media for people of color, non-English language media, environmental media, community media, religious media and all progressive media that will form networks to counterbalance the conservative right.
4. Create new independent worker-centered media that get our message out quickly and clearly. This would include establishing regional media resource and training centers, which will develop skilled media workers able to produce radio, television, print and Internet labor media.
5. Provide communications training for labor media professionals and workers that encourages media democracy, engages our members in dialogue and promotes constructive criticism, letters to the editor, and other forms of vital discussions.
6. Support existing newspapers, TV, radio and other media that promote labor’s agenda and cover it fairly.
7. Utilize all communications tools and networks to strategically enhance organizing and political campaigns.

For a complete report on the Convention, go to www.ilcaonline.org and then to The Report From the 2005 ILCA Convention.