OAKLAND, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Staff leaders from SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West will be participating in the annual Yearly Kos convention this week, in an effort to build and strengthen relationships between organized labor and the progressive "netroots" activists behind many of the most dynamic blogs to be found online.
UHW, one of the largest locals within SEIU, is one of several labor organizations sponsoring the event hosted by a group of readers and writers of the blog DailyKos. Among the numerous speakers at the event are bloggers, activists, and several Democratic presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson.
"The YearlyKos convention is a great opportunity for labor to reach out to bloggers and other online activists who share our goals of building a progressive majority and winning equality and fairness for American workers," said Sal Rosselli, president of UHW. "Our members are committed to achieving quality healthcare reform, and we have seen how effective the online community can be at bringing attention to this and other vital causes."
Paul Kumar, UHW vice president and public affairs director, will be speaking Friday at the panel titled "Online to Offline and Back Again: Partnerships with our Allies." The panel is intended to link the U.S. Labor Movement and netroots activists and discuss ways that the interests of both groups intersect.
The healthcare workers union is also calling for a small retreat in Oakland later this year in which bloggers and labor activists can come together to explore the successes of labor organizing through online resources like blogs and YouTube and discuss how to improve on existing relationships.
"UHW's active participation in the YearlyKos conference speaks to Sal's leadership and vision," said Rick Jacobs, chair of Courage Campaign, a nonpartisan progressive online committee in California. "Labor and the online communities usually have common agendas. Communication between us is key to more victories."
The 140,000-member SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West is the largest hospital and healthcare union in the western United States and represents every type of healthcare worker, including nurses, professional, technical and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high-quality healthcare for all.
CONTACT: Melanie Myers
(510) 541-2558
mmyers@seiu-uhw.org
SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West
