IBEW

Anheuser–Busch InBev Metal Container Corporation in Newburgh:

Location: Newburgh, New York

Blog: http://canplant.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=9

Union: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) http://www.ibew.org/IBEW/index.htm

Campaign:

The Non-union workers of the Anheuser-Busch InBev Metal Container Corporation, who make cans for Budweiser and other beer companies, were worried about their jobs when their company was sold to a Belgian group in 2008. In an attempt to organize to protect their jobs, the workers contacted the local IBEW chapter for support. Many of the workers in the plant were worried about their union activity due to pressure from their employers, so it became difficult to organize large groups of factory workers. Because of this situation, organizers created an anonymous blog on which workers and organizers could debate, share concerns, and eventually organize to protect their jobs. This became an effective way to organize workers the fear of union busting or threats from employers.

This movement was specifically momentous for these workers, because their first attempt to organize was disrupted by the employers; some of the workers that were involved in the first attempt were even fired. One of the leaders of the campaign said that the blog was similar to having a 24-hour per day union and campaign meeting. Most importantly, workers do not need to worry about speaking their mind since all participants cannot be identified.

Social Media:

The blog has been extremely active since June 16, 2010 with new posts roughly twice a week. The blog has been very popular with 99,060 hits and it has been successful in engaging workers and viewer in dialogue over the posts—the first post had 206 comments. The main themes of the post are related to union information and updates on the negotiation process between the union and the corporation. In addition, some of the posts have embedded Youtube videos that contain information related to the campaign.

Highlighted Blog Posts:

1) http://canplant.blogspot.com/2010/06/fellow-can-plant-workers-follow-us-here.html

This is the first blog post with 206 comments.

2) http://canplant.blogspot.com/2010/06/union-busting-school-learn-secrets-so.html

This is post contains an example of the Youtube videos that are used.

3) http://canplant.blogspot.com/2010/06/all-we-need-is-contract.html

4) http://canplant.blogspot.com/2010/12/negotiations-start-back-up-get-ready.html