[Markos]

Through my father, I have experience with unions and some of their shortfalls. Communication is certainly one of them. I'm a pretty young kid looking to put something together for keeping people up-to-speed on ALL the topics that concern union members: news, legal action, local directories. I've started a site called UAW Union and want to basically collect as much information as I can and organize it in a way that no one has to read a novel to understand the actions that need to be taken. Please give me comments to let me know what I can do better!

[klmgb]

There is an official UAW website, yours looks easy to navigate and not to cluttered, loaded fast w/o a lot of fancy graphics. After doing a little moving around I see that the website is more for the Toledo chapters than anything else, might want to put something like that on homepage.

On another note, my Dad retired from GM about 15 years ago, started with Fisher Body, went to Chevy and then everything turned to GM. I remember him going on strikes that would last 3-4-5 months at a time and we would walk miles to the union hall to pick up his strike pay.

Just a little reminiscing

[Markos]

Thanks for the feedback! I think my biggest problem with the directory is to get stuff in there. I am trying to reference the existing directories on the web, but don't want to just take anything someone is writing.

My dad actually wasn't in the UAW - he was in SPEEA with Boeing in Seattle and took up a few leadership positions. I always had insight into the machinists union strikes through him; they have it way worse with the sorts of strikes it sounds like your dad was a part of.

Anyway, thanks again for the comments.

[Fr_Chuck]

My dad was a big Union person with the UTU, and I remember the barrels with wood burning to stay warm, carring sandwiches to the members on the various picket lines.

And I remember the Union standing up for its workers and not letting any of them be unfairly treated.

I would say that if the site you linked us to, is not an "official" web site you do need to get their permission to be using their name and info about them.
Also if it is not an official site and not authorised by them, it should also state that also.

Part of the touble with many of the Unions is that they are made up of so many smaller groups each with various contracts and agreements, And also today many of the younger members do not see the need for the union like they used to, since conditions are not near as bad now either and there are a lot more federal laws for protection of workers.

A lot of communion issues often lies in the fact that the workers are not taking the time to look and find the info that is available to them.

[CaptainForest]

I would say that if the site you linked us to, is not an "official" web site you do need to get thier permission to be using thier name and info about them.

I disgaree Fr Chuck. On one's own website, one can write about anything.

I wrote about the Toronto Blue Jays. Did I get their permission, NO. There is an article in the paper today about one of the ridings here in Ontario. Did Belinda and Buzz (the people the article was written about) give their permission for the article? I don't know.

You can write informatio/article on ANYTHING without the person's permission.

You can not write lies about a person. That is another story.

[CaptainForest]

Unions are the source of the devil. Well, I don't believe in the devil, but I think you get my point.

Unions NO LONGER serve any purpose other than to whine about money.

Yes, 50 years ago unions were very important as they negotiated minimum wages, maximum work hours, safety conditions.

However, today, government controls all that. They set a max 40 hr work week. They set min wag at $8/hr. They set certain safety conditions. They set up a disability fund. They set up a pension fund.

So really, in most cases, unions are only after more money.

[klmgb]

Writing your own commentary about something is one thing, linking to another site from yours is something totally different and, I believe, is bandwidth stealing, is it not? And isn't that illegal?

[CaptainForest]

Writing your own commentary about something is one thing, linking to another site from yours is something totally different and, I believe, is bandwith stealing, is it not? And isn't that illegal?

Ummmmm, how is it bandwidth stealing? I call it free advertising.

On your site, you give links to other sites. You are promoting other people's website.

There is nothing illegal with that.

There are no claims or promises being made. Just, here is this information X on this website link Y

[klmgb]

If the site you are linking to does not agree with your message it may not want the advertising. Most people would think that all websites linked together have a common message. Not necessarily the case.

[CaptainForest]

If the site you are linking to does not agree with your message it may not want the advertising. Most people would think that all websites linked together have a common message. Not necessarily the case.

That is true. Not all websites have the same message.

But then that goes back to the commentary statement.

If I write a newspaper article about a politician. I then say, her website is http://www.belinda.ca/ . I am just referecning something from her website. I am allowed to do that.

I write a history essay for school. I reference books all the time. I do not contact the author or publisher of each book and ask them "Can I reference your book"?

[Markos]

Thanks to both of you for the advice and commentary, MrFrank and CptForrest. All thoughts are welcome.

To move away from uawunion.com:

I'm not sure I share your same views, Captain Forrest. I don't believe that the fact corporations treat their employees better now means there is no room for improvement. And I don't believe (and there is quite a bit of evidence to support) that most corporations would be motivated to treat their employees better without unions.

And you're right; it is all about money. This is business. A company that doesn't make enough money fails, an employee that doesn't make enough money quits. But a union asking for better safety standards isn't doing so with litigious motives - how much of a class-action lawsuit does each member even see? - they are doing so because there are causes for health concerns and corporation often need outside motivation to alter their practices if it has an effet on their bottom line (which it usually does).

However, I do see your point; and there is room for improvement on both sides of the coin. I would think there is a less bureacratic solution than unions, but frankly, I don't know of one. And, as I've stated, having unions is better than not having anything.

[klmgb]

From the Copyright.gov site

Can I copyright my website?
The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright. This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright. Procedures for registering the contents of a website may be found in Circular 66, Copyright Registration for Online Works.

Could I be sued for using somebody else's work? How about quotes or samples?
If you use a copyrighted work without authorization, the owner may be entitled to bring an infringement action against you. There are circumstances under the fair use doctrine where a quote or a sample may be used without permission. However, in cases of doubt, the Copyright Office recommends that permission be obtained.

[klmgb]

Surprisingly, from my very prounion family background, I am for the most part anti-union. They had their place in society at one time, but as local/state/federal governments came up with OSHA, minimum wage, fair Labor Acts, etc... They are of less and less use. There are still some industries that do not care for the well being of their workers while they are working, but there are enough government regulations in place to make up for those. Unions are getting to be no different than the large corporations they are a part of, looking out for the almighty dollar, be it American or Canadian.

[CaptainForest]

Thanks to both of you for the advice and commentary, MrFrank and CptForrest. All thoughts are welcome.

To move away from uawunion.com:

I'm not sure I share your same views, Captain Forrest. I don't believe that the fact corporations treat their employees better now means there is no room for improvement. And I don't believe (and there is quite a bit of evidence to support) that most corporations would be motivated to treat their employees better without unions.

And you're right; it is all about money. This is business. A company that doesn't make enough money fails, an employee that doesn't make enough money quits. But a union asking for better safety standards isn't doing so with litigious motives - how much of a class-action lawsuit does each member even see? - they are doing so because there are causes for health concerns and corporation often need outside motivation to alter their practices if it has an effet on their bottom line (which it usually does).

However, I do see your point; and there is room for improvement on both sides of the coin. I would think there is a less bureacratic solution than unions, but frankly, I don't know of one. And, as I've stated, having unions is better than not having anything.

Markos,

In some cases, unions are valid today.

When a union fights for safety, I support that 100%.

However, most of the time, Unions are fighting for money and only money.

Some examples (and I will give examples for both points):

1)
Here in Ontario, wine sales are controlled by the government. That is, only the LCBO (Liquor and Control Board of Ontario), can sell Wine. The LCBO is a crown corporation, owned by the government.

So they have a thousands of stores all across the province.

The workers at the LCBO threatened to go on strike. Why? Because they wanted a pay raise that the Ontario government wouldn't give them. They were already getting 3 times minimum wage to simply ring in a purchase, yet they felt they needed more money.

In Quebec, their wine sellers, went on strike during the Christmas season of 2004. That hurt the customer and it was only about money.

In British Columbia, the teachers went on strike over the fact they wanted more money and that a contract was forced down their throats. But they also went on strike for better classroom conditions. And from what I read, the classroom conditions for both teach and student in BC are disgusting. So in that case, I understand why the BC Teachers Union went on strike. I didn't support it since they broke the law (teachers are an essential service in BC, just like the police), but I understood the point about striking for better conditions. But it was really more about the money, but partly about the classroom conditions.

Here in Toronto there is a restaurant called Mr. Greenjeans. I happened to be in the mall when their employees were striking. The pamphlet that I was handed said that they were on strike because Mr. Greenjeans refused to give them a pay raise. Meanwhile, Mr. Greenjeans just went out and hired a whole lot of replacement workers.

[CaptainForest]

From the Copyright.gov site

Can I copyright my website?
The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright. This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright. Procedures for registering the contents of a website may be found in Circular 66, Copyright Registration for Online Works.

Could I be sued for using somebody else's work? How about quotes or samples?
If you use a copyrighted work without authorization, the owner may be entitled to bring an infringement action against you. There are circumstances under the fair use doctrine where a quote or a sample may be used without permission. However, in cases of doubt, the Copyright Office recommends that permission be obtained.

How is this relevant to whether you can put up a link to someone's website?

[CaptainForest]

Surprisingly, from my very prounion family background, I am for the most part anti-union. They had thier place in society at one time, but as local/state/federal governments came up with OSHA, minimum wage, fair Labor Acts, etc.... They are of less and less use. There are still some industries that do not care for the well being of thier workers while they are working, but there are enough government regulations in place to make up for those. Unions are getting to be no different than the large corporations they are a part of, looking out for the almighty dollar, be it American or Canadian.

I agree 100%.

They did once have a place in society, and some are still needed. But for the most part, they are outdated.

[klmgb]

This may be a double post, if it is I apologize, don't know how to "unpost" yet.

Captain Forest
I honestly don't know how it applies, but if you build a for profit website and link it to another for profit site w/o permission that can't be right. You are effectively POSSIBLY taking revenue stream away from the linked site. If someone knows they can go to 1 site to get info on the Toledo Chapter of a Union and have links to the national chapter, why go directly to the National Union site, oh and by the way, if I can find links to products that I want to buy on the local chapter website, why not do that before I visit the National site, and therefore they will not get the "click" money.

[CaptainForest]

Can I copyright my website?
The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright. This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright. Procedures for registering the contents of a website may be found in Circular 66, Copyright Registration for Online Works.

This states that what a person writes on their website might be copyrighted to them. That does not say you can't put a link on your website directing them towards their work.

Could I be sued for using somebody else's work? How about quotes or samples?
If you use a copyrighted work without authorization, the owner may be entitled to bring an infringement action against you. There are circumstances under the fair use doctrine where a quote or a sample may be used without permission. However, in cases of doubt, the Copyright Office recommends that permission be obtained.

Posting a weblink would fall under the sample category, if any. So this part doesn't apply. This is more for quoting their entire book or something to that effect. Like for Harry Potter. You can't post the entire thing in the paper, but a little excerpt is allowed.