The revolution will not be televised, but it could be planned on Facebook.
Unions are becoming more aware that involving young members in the labour movement means speaking to them on their own level, and that includes using social media.
A recent survey on the Hospital Employees' Union's website indicated that members under 30 were twice as likely to go to Facebook for information, according to the union's director of communications, Mike Old.
The union is looking at starting a Facebook page, he says, and adds that some of the union's committees already have one, including the young workers committee.
The union is based in Burnaby and is the largest health-care union in the province, with about 43,000 members.
The young workers committee was formed about five years ago, according to co-chair Rhonda Bruce, and the Facebook page - HEU Young Workers and Friends - started two years ago.
"They're really hungry for education," Bruce says of the union's young members. "Connecting with them is what we've been working towards."
The union hopes to communicate with young or new members that their involvement is important, she adds, and to encourage them to be active in the organization.
It can be hard to connect to young workers as they are often part-time employees, working two or three jobs, which is where social media can come in handy, she says.
The committee also holds youth conferences to encourage engagement, according to Bruce.
"We encourage them to work with different committees and be active in the union," she says.
The union is seeing more young members stepping into leadership roles, particularly in their locals, she adds.
Connecting with younger union members has been a priority for the B.C. Federation of Labour for the last five years, as well.
"We have to be aware of what their issues are, and open to understanding that the fight we have is for these people," says Jim Sinclair, president of the federation.
The last Canadian postal strike, where a two-tier wage system was a major issue, is an indicator of the issues facing young workers, according to Sinclair.
"They (were) saying to trade unionists, we want to pay lower wages to the new hires for the same work," he says. "The other thing they (were) saying is we don't want them to have a pension plan like you have.
"At some point, you're doing the job as well as someone who has been there 20 years," Sinclair adds.
"You shouldn't be paid for the rest of your life less than them."
The labour movement wasn't started just for the people who were involved at the time, he points out, but for the generations to come.
One of the federation's biggest fights in B.C. has been to get the minimum wage increased.
The majority of people making less than $10 an hour in the province are young people, Sinclair says.
However, it can be a challenge to convince young members that they are welcome to participate in their unions, he adds.
"We have to let them know that they're welcome and have something to contribute and that not all of us old people have the answers," he says. "That's a challenge."
Outside of unions, the biggest thing affecting young workers is fear, Sinclair says.
Young workers are afraid to form unions because the government has watered down the rules protecting workers during organizing, according to Sinclair.
"As we approach Labour Day 2011, it is still a risk to join a union, not a right in British Columbia," he says. "And that's sad. We should have the right to freely, without fear, decide whether to join a union or not."
But while young workers are facing more and more challenges, they are working towards something better, Sinclair says.
"For most young workers, they're inspired by the trade union movement, inspired by working people in general that fight for better rights for people," he says.
"I think that the tide is going to shift back from this global greed we've seen, from the destruction of the planet, from the mass poverty.
"People are demanding a better world again, and I'm encouraged by that," Sinclair adds.
The federation is hosting the OurTurn2011 one-day summit at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver on Nov. 27.
The free summit is for young activists, trade unionists, environmentalists, students and leaders, ages 16 to 30.
Attendees do not have to be in a union but there will be priority seating for union members.
For more information, go to act.bcfed.ca/aboutour-turn.
jfuller-evans@royalcityrecord.com
