A limited release movie, which if you get a chance to watch, provides entertainment and a strong lesson that Building Trades unions can learn from.
An extremely skilled and creative chef winds up learning some very hard lessons about social media. Because of his lack of understanding the media, and despite his incredible skills, he winds up unemployed.
The movie shows how the chef brings his passion and skills into the 21st Century because of his young son’s use of social media. The son’s aggressive use of social media connects the customer and even the community to the skills and abilities of the Chef.
Throughout the Building Trades individual unions have libraries of You Tube and in-house videos put together for viewing by the membership, public and customer.
We have great pride in their messages and how they present what we do as craftsperson’s, but even more importantly as residents of our communities.
However, the number of people that view them is very small. That is because while they are great videos and commercials, they are NOT advanced in a manner consistent with how an organization such as our building trades can use. Overwhelmingly they are advanced in an interruption based format such as TV, or as in the case of social media videos, provided for in a “build it and they will come format”.
I know that for a certainty because of the number of people viewing them. In some cases, with even tens and hundreds of thousands of union members, only a few hundred actually view the great video. We spend good money to provide our information, produce it (build it) and hope that those that find out about it, come and view it! Not good in the 21st Century.
Every BM and all the way up to the General Presidents have the ability thru different formats, such as mass texting, to put these videos directly in the hands of the membership and much more. Through membership re-posting, re-tweeting and forwarding the text-email to their friends and family they have the direct ability to own the message and take control of the debate about the need for unions.
The power of the membership with structured, aggressive use of social media can have a huge, not marginal, effect on legislative issues, because we have the numbers to engage the debate and successfully take on the anti-union BS.
Go and see the movie and enjoy the popcorn, but pay close attention to the lessons the movie can teach us. Time for us older guys with grey hair to trust both the younger generation and cut them loose and come into the 21st Century before we are moth balled.
Danny L Caliendo
Organizer
