I’m Ray Brown, the person behind Empower Union. I work with unions on websites, digital tools, and communication, including producing video during strikes and union events.
The Union Notebook is a place to explore questions connected to that work: how unions share information, how technology affects working people, and what we can learn from union experiences, past and present.
I’m writing to learn, share what I find useful, and hear from the people doing this work every day.
Writing about a subject gives me a reason to spend time with it. To research it, check what I think I know, and develop an understanding of what I’m sharing. I want to be clear about what comes from my own experience, what I’ve learned through research, and what I’m still trying to understand.
Selfishly, that’s something I get out of this. A chance to explore subjects that interest me, look at what’s happening today and what came before, and take some notes along the way.
Putting those notes out into the world opens another possibility: meeting people I might never have connected with otherwise.
If you find something here worth reading, I hope you’ll bring your own perspective to it. Your experience might add something I hadn’t considered, challenge an assumption, or introduce a question I wouldn’t have thought to ask. I’m interested in those conversations and what can grow from them.
I hope this notebook becomes useful to the people doing the everyday work of a union. Members, staff, representatives, and others whose experiences can help shape what belongs here. There may be questions coming up in your work that deserve more attention, or subjects you’d like someone to take the time to explore.
Some entries will grow out of my own curiosity. Others, I hope, will begin with something you share.
If there’s a topic on your mind, send it along. A question, an experience, or a simple “Have you ever looked into this?” is a good place to start.
I’m looking forward to learning, sharing what I find, and getting to know the people who join me here.
Ray Brown