Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. Best Rank-and-File Websites
2. New Articles: IBEW's and the Internet; ATU 1181 refuses to act
3. Links: NYC Transit, Airline Workers, Tramps, Uncharted and more.
4. "You gotta do it for yourself…"
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1. Pipe Trades for a Democratic Union, Members for Democracy, and
Pilots Defending the Profession win AUD's Best Rank-and-File Website
Contest 2005.

Collaboration, free speech, "we are the media," online communities,
the internet's long tail, self-organization... if you want to see the
new internet being built, the websites and blogs of rank-and-file
unionists are a great place to start. The large informal network of
rank-and-file and reform websites is a workshop for union democracy,
social software, and union regeneration.
AUD's annual Best Rank-and-File Website Contest offers a tour of the
work in progress. This year's contestants reflect the richness and
diversity of the rank-and-file web, the current best practices, and
some trends in its evolution…

Read more:
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/112-2005%20AUD%20Website%20Contest%20Results.h\
tm


2. New Articles: IBEW and the Internet; ATU refuses to oust officers
accused of mob domination.

Whose IBEW is it? An Electrician on the Internet.
Ed Hill, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, has a problem. IBEW members have been taking their union's
name in vain on the internet, putting its name, initials, logos, and
even its constitution online without the union's permission....

ATU international refuses to oust Local 1181 officers accused of mob
domination.
When members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 in New York City
learned that their top officers had been indicted in federal court…,
they appealed to their international president, Warren S. George,
asking him to remove the accused officers, put the local under
trusteeship, and prepare for a fair election… They were jolted to read
his reply: "We are, of course, well aware of the recent indictments…
Notwithstanding those actions, the officers and executive board
members and stewards are continuing to effectively carry out their
obligations and responsibilities on behalf of the membership they
represent..."

Read more at http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/UDRhome.htm

3. New links: Transit Workers for a Just Contract; Airline Workers
United; SacLightRail.com (IBEW); Tramp Tools (IBEW); Uncharted.ca and
Members for Democracy Archive (formerly UFCW.net); Coalition for
Membership Empowerment (PEF); Sunlight Science (IATSE); Vote Down the
Contract (IATSE).

http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/AUDLinks.htm

4. "You gotta go down and join the AUD..."
Give AUD $10 a month and you will help keep us on the job, reporting
on union democracy struggles, providing free advice and support,
running our informative website. As a member of our $100 plus club,
you'll get our newsletter for core supporters. But, as the old song
says (sort of), "Ain't nobody else can do it for you, you gotta go
down and join AUD by yourself!"
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/Monthlygift.htm

(An RSS feed is available on the AUD homepage. These updates are also
posted on our Yahoo Groups page
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/audupdates/?yguid=182316330)