Dear all,

having recently been reading the GIbson-Graham book *The end of 
capitalism (as we knew it)* which included a little piece about new 
forms of labour co-operation to meet global firms, I thought this 
deserved circulation.

act on it or not according to your own views.

Mike
(ps as an aside, a colleague had ordered the above book, and when it 
arrived was duly rung up by the bookshop and told:
 'Dr.Oughton, the end of capitalism has arrived'. 
Well it cheered us up for a while :-)  )


------- Forwarded Message Follows -------


ICEM UPDATE

No. 37/1996

8 July 1996

The following is from the International Federation of Chemical,
Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM):

BRIDGESTONE FACES A CYBERDEMO

Join the cybermarchers! As rogue employers go global, workers are
responding with a creative new use of the World Wide Web.

Behind the new cyberdemo technique is the 20-million-strong
International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General
Workers' Unions (ICEM). Long a pioneer of international electronic
networking between unions, the ICEM has now taken the process a step
further.

The first target for the electronic activists is the Japanese-based
tyre giant Bridgestone.

At issue is Bridgestone's treatment of its American workers, who are
members of the ICEM-affiliated United Steelworkers of America (USWA).
On 12-13 July, Bridgestone will face a "Day of Outrage" campaign by
ICEM-affiliated unions worldwide.The date marks the second anniversary
of the largest illegal "replacement" of workers in the history of the
United States, by the company's US subsidiary Bridgestone/Firestone.
2,300 workers in five Bridgestone plants were "replaced". More than
500 of them still remain out on the streets, denied the opportunity to
return to their jobs and provide for their families. Through the
National Labor Relations Board, the US government issued a complaint
against the company, accusing it of multiple violations of US labour
law and seeking millions of dollars of back pay owed to the workers.
Bridgestone/Firestone refuses to comply, and has rebuffed repeated
attempts by US Labor Secretary Robert Reich to work out a settlement
to the dispute.

Hence the cyberdemo. Key to the technique is a particular strength of
the World Wide Web - the ability to set up "hot links" from one Web
site to another.

"Company network" pages are a feature of the ICEM's web site at
http://www.icem.org/. ICEM pages about Bridgestone now provide direct
links to the e-mail addresses of top Bridgestone executives. Also
included are the addresses of Bridgestone subsidiaries worldwide. This
makes it easy for the Web's millions of users to send protests to the
right people in Bridgestone. And for readers in the US, the pages list
toll-free phone numbers where Bridgestone can be told off - at
Bridgestone's expense.

More and more companies are using the Web for advertising. Bridgestone
is no exception. But cybermarchers can put these sites to quite
different uses. The ICEM Bridgestone pages also provide direct "hot
links" to the company's own sites, and hints on livening them up. Web
sites intended for ordering Bridgestone publicity leaflets, for
example, usually include some space for customer feed-back.
Cyberprotesters will be filling these with their own robust views.

The union site also has a link to the company's own Web listing of
Bridgestone/Firestone stockists. This will be very helpful in the
continuing consumer boycott of the company's products (see ICEM UPDATE
38/1996).

The boycott symbol is a black flag - borrowed from motor racing, where
a black flag means immediate disqualification for serious violations
of the rules. The ICEM Bridgestone pages include a scanned black flag
logo that can be electronically clipped and sent directly to
Bridgestone, but also to a range of the company's business partners -
car makers, for instance, or mining and other companies that use
special Bridgestone tyres. Nor will Bridgestone's major shareholders
be spared. The ICEM Bridgestone pages list by name the banks and
others that have major holdings in Bridgestone. Plus, of course, "hot
links" to the investors' own global networks on the Web.

Meanwhile, have you had a car accident in which Bridgestone/Firestone
tyres may have been a contributory factor? The ICEM site includes a
link to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - and,
for good measure, an on-line version of the standard US form for a
complaint about motor vehicle equipment...

And on the links go. For the first time, anyone with Web access will
be able to wage an integrated "corporate campaign" against a leading
multinational.

As the cyberdemo mounts, Bridgestone will be seeing some home truths
on its home pages.

_________________


ICEM UPDATE is available by e-mail or fax. Individual news items can
be supplied in other languages on request.

FOR MORE LABOUR NEWS AND VIEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, VISIT US ON THE
WORLD WIDE WEB:

http://www.icem.org/

Our print magazines ICEM INFO and ICEM GLOBAL are available in Arabic,
English, French, German, Russian, Scandinavian and Spanish.

ICEM
avenue Emile de Beco 109, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
tel.+32.2.6262020   fax +32.2.6484316
Internet: [log in to unmask]

Editor: Ian Graham, Information Officer

Publisher: Vic Thorpe, General Secretary.

[end]


**************************************************************************
Mike Crang,
Department of Geography,
Science laboratories,
South rd.,
Durham. UK
DH1 3LE
tel: 0191 374 2499  Fax: 0191 374 2456
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

**************************************************************************




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