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Digital Voices, 1/3/00

Digital Voices

03 February 2000

From UUNet to UnionNet:
Collective Bargaining and the Digital Divide

This morning, Ford Motor Company announced that it would provide its workforce with free Hewlett-Packard computers and low-cost Internet access. Over 350,000 Ford employees worldwide would potentially be eligible to take part in the new service. The program offers an intriguing model for bridging the digital divide - a model that should be strongly considered for other communities.

"This program keeps Ford Motor Company and our worldwide team at the leading edge of e-business technology and skills," Ford Chief Executive Officer and President Jac Nasser said. Company Chairman Bill Ford added, "It is clear that individuals and companies that want to be successful in the 21st century will need to be leaders in using the Internet and related technology. That is what this program is all about."

Instrumental in the deal was the United Auto Workers union (UAW), which helped negotiate the package for thousands of its Ford-employed union members. The UAW represents approximately 760,000 active members and nearly 500,000 retired members in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

"This program is a tribute to the collective bargaining process and to our solid relationship with Ford Motor Company," said Stephen Yokich, president of the UAW. Union Vice President Ron Gettelfinger went on to say, "Helping our members stay on top of new technology has always been a UAW priority. That's why we're pleased to help all of our UAW-Ford members get on line." The UAW is reportedly holding similar talks with DaimlerChrysler AG.

According to Ford, the program would offer employees a Hewlett-Packard PC with a 500-Mhz Celeron chip, 64 MB of RAM, a 4.3 GB hard disk, a CD-ROM, a 15-inch monitor, speakers and a modem. This package would have a retail value of about $1200. Employees would also have the option to upgrade to a more powerful computer at their own expense. Additionally, Ford employees would be able to receive Internet access for $5/month through the ISP UUNet, a unit of MCI/WorldCom, Inc. As part of the package, Ford employees would have access to a personalized Ford Web portal that would offer a range of employee news and services, as well as links to the UAW web site.

The Ford announcement is indicative of a fresh approach to bridging the digital divide: using the collective bargaining powers of a particular community (in this case, the UAW) to negotiate affordable information technology for all of its members. The UAW, no stranger to advocating the rights of its constituents, recognizes the potential for using the Internet to form an online community network. The Internet would give its members new opportunities for professional development and personal enrichment. It would also offer a high-tech solution to mobilize union members at a moment's notice.

Similarly, Ford Motor Company sees the program as an effective way to improve the technology literacy skills of its employees. As producers of high-ticket items (automobiles) that can only function in the physical world, Ford is inherently limited in the types of e-commerce opportunities that have propelled so many dot-coms to the top of the Wall Street charts. Yet the recent success of auto-related e-commerce businesses such as AutoByTel.com and Carmax.com has sent a clear message to the major Detroit auto makers - cyberspace and selling cars can indeed go hand-in-hand. Ford can no longer afford to run a 19th century business in a 21st century economy, and thus must prepare all of its workers to embrace the Internet both professionally and personally. Connecting every Ford employee to the Internet will undoubtedly help accomplish this.

In the wake of this announcement, one must consider if the Ford/UAW model could translate to other professional communities. The model has much potential among other major national unions - the AFL-CIO, for example, represents 13 million members, while the International Brotherhood of Teamsters includes 1.4 million members and more than 400,000 retirees in the United States and Canada. With a little effort, these unions might successfully negotiate similar agreements with their respective industrial employers - or negotiate directly with ISPs and computer manufacturers, if need be. Millions of working families would benefit from such programs.

So might America's teachers and students.  In the last several years our K-12 education system has invested billions of dollars in Internet technology with the hope of improving learning opportunities for students. Yet according to the U.S. Department of Education, only 20% of American teachers are prepared to integrate technology in their classrooms. Internet-centered professional development is beginning to make a difference, but technology literacy does not occur overnight. Teachers, like so many of us, must practice and fine-tune their technology skills - both in school and at home.

Can K-12 teachers band together and demand benefits similar to the Ford/UAW program? In many ways, of course, they already have banded together: The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers represent a collective union membership of over 3.5 million educators. Teachers unions, like so many other professional unions, have successfully negotiated low-cost interest rates through the formation of their own credit unions. They could extend their economic reach to negotiate low-cost Internet access in a similar fashion.

While it may be difficult to seal a deal in which educators would receive free computers, it takes no stretch of the imagination to suggest that the enormous group buying power of teachers could be leveraged to make the costs of purchasing a computer with Internet access significantly more affordable. One might even find similar opportunities for students and their families - the National PTA represents nearly 6.5 million members. Might they too be able to buy into a similar model?

Only time will tell how successful the Ford/UAW technology program will be, but from the outset it appears to be a win-win situation: Ford augments the technology skills of its workers while the workers and their union are empowered by improved communications. There is no reason for this idea not to be pushed further and adapted for other communities of interest, whether it be a longshoreman's union, a teacher's association, the Boy Scouts or the AARP. The need is already out there. Perhaps the opportunity is now there as well.

Andy Carvin
Senior Associate
Benton Foundation
Communications Policy & Practice
950 18th Street NW
Washington DC 20006
v 202/638-5770, f 202/638-5771

Andy Carvin is Senior Associate at the Benton Foundation and Editor of the Digital Divide Network. He can

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Last updated: 03 January 2000 kjt