Organizing 2.0 is an annual conference focused on training union activists and staff in digital strategy, organizing and campaign skills. Now in its sixth year, Organizing 2.0 will convene this year on April 10-11 at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Worker Education in Midtown Manhattan.
Charles Lenchner, a conference organizer who is also a CUNY adjunct and PSC member, says the goal of the conference is to help the labor movement be as effective online as anyone else, including large corporations and purveyors of cat videos. “By building our digital campaign skills we can make our voices louder in Albany, Washington or anywhere else,” Lenchner told Clarion.
While Organizing 2.0 offers many advanced skills, this year’s focus is on member-activists using social media to help their union. “One hour of Twitter or Facebook training can turn an enthusiastic member into a much more effective organizer,” Lenchner says. He cites one attendee from last year who is now on a first-name basis with senior legislative staff, as a direct result of Twitter engagement.
Organizing 2.0 workshops often describe successful campaigns that others can learn from. The hashtag #AllKidsNeed has served as a way for P-12 teachers, parents and community members to get involved in advocacy for public education: over 40,000 tweets with this hashtag have been sent in the last month.
For more information on the April 11-12 conference, visit Organizing20.org. Scholarships and childcare are available.
