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Subject: ICEM - BRIDGESTONE FACES A CYBERDEMO
Author: /DT=rfc-822/DV=root@wolfnet.com/ADMD=telemax/PRMD=internet/C=no at x400
Date: 9.7.96 21:54
Hi all,
Following is a press release from ICEM. Why not visit the pages and join the
campaign?! And pass the message on to others who you think may be interested!
Steve
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: icem@geo2.poptel.org.uk
Editor: Ian Graham, Information Officer
Publisher: Vic Thorpe, General Secretary.
ÆendÅ