[PEN-L:11806] UPS Strike Support Postings

[Michael Eisenscher <meisenscher@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Friends, Sisters & Brothers, Colleagues & Comrades:

The UPS strike could well be an historic turning point in the course of the
labor movement in the U.S.  It has galvanized labor, mobilized support, and
captured both the sympathy of the public and attention of the capitalist
class.  Its outcome, favorable or not, will have a profound impact on the
course of labor for some time to come.

As my small contribution to the this struggle, I have been posting a
considerable volume of material to seven newsgroups in an effort to provide
information, exchange ideas, distribute media reports, and share
experiences.  This began when a friend in the Teamsters HQ communications
dept. asked me to forward their pre-strike announcements.

I have received a large number of individual responses expressing support
and appreciation for this effort.  For some, these messages contain
information unavailable to them elsewhere.  For strikers, these messages
provide not just information, but an important source of moral support and
encouragement.

As someone who receives a lot of email myself, I am fully aware how this
extra flood of messages may be a burden for some, or an unwanted nuisance
(spam) for others.  It is not possible for me to know what will be most
valuable to the diverse cross-section of people who receive these postings,
and it is beyond my resources to tailor distribution of messages for every
recipient based on their particular interests.  I must assume that those who
receive material they do not want will exercise their option of deleting it
upon receipt, while those who want to know more will pick and choose the
postings that most interest them.

In anticipation of possible complaints, the following suggestions come to mind:

1.  Most mail software programs have filtering capabilities that allow
subscribers to divert all mail from a particular source to a separate folder
or directly to "trash."  Messages from me could be diverted to a separate
folder so that you can attend to other mail first.  Those who object to
these messages could filter out all those showing my address as sender.

2.  In most cases, the subject header will reveal that the message is a UPS
Strike message and my address will appear as originator.  Those who object
to this material can merely delete it upon identifying its nature and origin
without taking time to read the contents.

3.  Moderated lists: Moderators could elect to filter out messages deemed
least useful to the subscribers based on some understanding of the nature of
the community of interest or objective of that list.  List subscribers would
have to trust their moderator to make appropriate choices. (This, of course,
puts a burden on the moderator s/he may be unwilling or unable to accept.)

4.  Where considerable objections come from a given newsgroup (or a
moderator insists), I could drop that group from the distribution list
entirely.  Individuals who want to continue to receive material would then
have to contact me directly.  I would then put their individual addresses on
the distribution list.  This adds to my work, but that is a headache I will
bear if it helps keep information flowing to those who want it.

I am open to other suggestions.  About the only one I will not entertain is
one that results in terminating these postings.  Not everyone may share my
view about the importance of this strike, but in my moral universe its
import is obvious and the paramount need for the Teamsters to prevail
warrants putting up with some inconvenience, including the considerable time
I spend securing and preparing material for distribution.

Here are the lists to which I presently post materials:

pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
labor-rap@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
h-UCLEA@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
united@xxxxxxxxxx
labr.party@xxxxxxxx
labr.teamster@xxxxxxxx
OIFAC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
can-labor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you are not on any of these lists and have not asked me directly to be
added to the distribution list I use, it is likely that you are receiving
this material as a result of someone else forwarding it.  I have no control
over that (but am pleased to learn that these postings are being widely
cross-posted).


Thank you in advance for your understanding and constructive suggestions for
how best to address these issues.  I really do want to find a way this will
work to everybody's advantage.

In solidarity,
Michael