British Journal of Industrial Relations,  September 2002, vol. 40, no. 3,   pp. 569-596(28)

The low cost of information, communication, and interaction on the web offers trade unions opportunities to improve services and attract members, and thus reinvent themselves for the twenty–first century. The authors argue that unions can use the web to: develop virtual minority unions at many non–union firms; improve services to members; enhance democracy in unions; aid in industrial disputes; and strengthen the international labour community. They conclude that, if unions fail to exploit the opportunities on the web to gain members, other organizations are likely to provide services to workers on the internet.

The internet can also increase union democracy by enhancing the ability of dissident groups to make their case to members. Union leaders may be wary of discussion boards that provide a platform for dissent, but dissident factions can develop their own sites to publicize their cause. Examples here include Teamsters for a Democratic Union, which uses the web to convey information and has organized online campaigns for union office candidates independent of the dominant union group (www.igc.org/tdu; www.leedham. org). In the UK www.rogerlyons.com is devoted to criticizing the General Secretary of the MSF union Roger Lyons's expenditure of union money to defend himself against charges of financial indiscretion. As of March 2001, it had received over 12,000 hits and achieved notoriety throughout the union (www.davidbeaumont.btinternet.co.uk/msf/index.html). Another notable dissident site in the USA is www.labourers.org, which is designed to 'take back control of our union from organized crime, institute democratic reform'. It gives detailed information on the legal problems of top union leaders, some of whom, such as former President Arthur Coia, were convicted in federal court of criminal activity regarding union resources. Union leaders have to face the possibility that more and more members are getting their information about the union from the dissident rank and file websites (http://fast.antenna.nl/-waterman/zeltzer.html).