Building on the success of its three-year-old Voice@Work program, the AFL-CIO has added to it a new communications dimension, called the Voice@Work Network. The network creates "one source where everyone can get the latest information and analysis on the fight for the right of workers to organize freely in the U.S.," says Andy Levin, assistant director of the field mobilization department at the AFL-CIO.

Voice@Work is an organizing approach that strengthens the voice of workers by enlisting the support of community groups that are willing to stand up for the workers' right to form unions. It has two goals, Levin explains: to bring workers together with community groups, religious leaders and elected officials to highlight the positive community and economic impact that derives from workers organizing and to call attention to anti-union tactics used by employers. The Temple University Graduate Students' Association made it a central part of its campaign to form a union last year.

Now is a great time to get involved because June is Voice@Work Month. Throughout the month, working people and their unions will hold community forums, hearings and demonstrations around the nation to expose employer interference with the freedom to choose a union; the event also will provide an opportunity to celebrate the efforts of workers who organize despite the odds. The AFL-CIO hopes that the new network will help spread the word. "Every person who joins in will help build an understanding in society that workers are not free to form unions today because employers are allowed to block them--and to help build a consensus for change, says Levin."

To learn more about Voice@Work or to join the Voice at Work Network, visit the AFL-CIO Voice@Work Web site. [Craig Smith / Barbara McKenna]