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CWA's Guide to Establishing and Maintaining Local Websites
Overview
Introduction
"CWA's Guide to Establishing and Maintaining Local Web Sites" is geared toward CWA local leaders and Webmasters. Part 1 (Overview) of the manual offers a general overview for leaders; Parts 2 through 5 (Building Your Site, Structuring Your Site, Maintaining Your Site, Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty) offer "how to" and technical advice for Webmasters. A list of resources, designed for both audiences, is included in Part 6 (Appendix of Sites and Resources).
Simply put, the Web is a communications tool. Like CWA's existing newsletters, fax networks, taped hotlines, or workplace bulletin boards, local Web sites can increase member interaction with the local, provide bargaining and mobilization updates, and reinforce union programs.
National unions and locals are using the Web:
- to keep members informed and involved;
- to provide bargaining and mobilization updates;
- to overcome corporate disinformation in organizing campaigns;
- to orchestrate grassroots lobbying efforts; and
- to improve the speed and efficiency of many tasks, from distributing grievance forms to updating membership lists.
Unions are also using the Web to provide a labor presence and labor perspective in an increasingly popular media arena. While Web-based communication will never take the place of membership meetings, leafleting, house calls, or one-on-one education and development, it gives us a useful and important way to reach out to members, unorganized workers, and the public at large.
Steps to Setting Up a Site: A Brief Overview
- Assess the goals of your Web site. Determine the type of Web site you will need and the ways in which a Web site will help your local and your members. Also decide whether you want a simple "canned" Web site that doesn't involve much technical know-how on your part, a Web site that is handled by local staff or volunteers, or a site that is managed by an outside firm. Setting up a special committee for policy and review considerations may help in establishing the site's content and mission.
- Assess your audience(s). Who is your Web site designed to reach? Average members? Stewards and activists? The media? The general public? Figure out who your main users are likely to be and design the site accordingly.
- Assess your resources. In order to set up and run a Web site, you will need the proper hardware and software, as well as adequate staffing. Following are among the requirements for each:
- Hardware requirements: a 486 or higher computer PC processor (or Macintosh equivalent) that has a minimum of 64 MB of RAM and runs Windows 98 or higher; a 56K or faster computer modem or a cable modem; Internet access via an Internet Service Provider (ISP); and a Web hosting service (some ISPs offer this service).
- Software requirements: an HTML editor, an Internet browser, a graphics program (if you plan to create or edit graphics), and, depending on the hosting service you use, an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program.
- Staffing requirements: at least one trained local officer, volunteer, or staff person should be available on a part-time basis, at minimum, to administer and update the site and to answer e-mail. Also, depending on your needs, you may want to hire an outside firm to design, manage, or enhance to your site.
- Designate a Webmaster. The ideal person should be trained in HTML and Web-ready graphics, and should have background knowledge of computers. Writing and editing skills also are important.
- Do an outline or flowchart of the proposed site. Start with five or six - or fewer --main categories of information that will be listed on the homepage and under which all the information on the site can be grouped. Then, build from there. The site's navigation should follow a logical and coherent structure.
- Determine the level of sophistication and complexity of the site, based on your budget, time and resource limitations, and the processing power of most of your audience's computers. Consider whether your audience will be able to download such features as animated graphics, sound, and video without long waiting periods. Also, while setting up a way for your users to send you e-mail is recommended, you should first make sure you have adequate personnel and resources to respond to messages from members. Starting out simple is best; more advanced capabilities can always be added later.
- Find an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a Web hosting service. Many ISPs offer free Web hosting for small sites in addition to standard Internet connections. Larger, more complicated sites, on the other hand, usually require the use of paid Web hosting services.
- Choose an address for your site (e.g., www.cwalocal123.org) and register it with a domain name registration service such as Network Solutions (www.networksolutions.com). (Some Web hosting services will take care of this step for you.) The cost is $70 for a two-year term. See Picking the Right Site Address for information on how to choose a domain name for your site.
- Set up, test and launch the site. Create a first draft on paper and circulate it for feedback. Then, once the site is ready, launch it in a test area and ask for feedback again. Try to have as much of the site completed as possible (without too many "Under Construction" areas) before you publicly launch it.
- Publicize the site to Internet search engines and in your print publications and other materials. (Many Web hosting services will register your site with search engines for you.) Also, notify the CWA National office so that your site will be listed on the National's Web site.
- Keep the site updated regularly and stay on top of e-mail. Update your site regularly - once a week is probably the minimum - and make sure that news and other important information remains fresh. Also, make sure that e-mail inquiries get answered in a timely manner.
- Consider communicating through e-mail. As an added member communications tool, you may want to gather members' e-mail addresses by soliciting them through the Web site, at membership meetings, or through the local's newsletter. Collecting e-mail addresses can also be a one-on-one mobilization activity.
Questions to Consider Before Creating a Site
Constructing a Web site is a process that involves several interrelated steps. First, you need to determine your technical capabilities. You should meet the hardware and software requirements that are outlined in the brief Steps to Setting Up a Web Site overview. You should also make sure that the site you build is one that your local can manage. The general rule of thumb is to start out small to begin with and to add more as you go.
Also important in establishing a site are cost considerations. The costs involved in setting up a Web site include domain registration fees of $35 per year and variable fees for ISP hosting (provided you are using a paid hosting service). The cost per month in hosting and maintenance fees will vary, depending on the size of the site and the hosting service. The cost for hiring an outside designer, if you choose to use one, also varies widely, depending on the amount of work involved. The cost of a basic site that is designed by an outside firm can range from several hundred to thousands of dollars.
The next question to answer is who will create, manage and update the content of your site? As stated in the overview, an ideal Webmaster should be trained in HTML and Web-ready graphics, and should have background knowledge of computers along with writing and editing skills. Depending on your needs and resources, you may want to divide this duty up between two people - an editor and a designer.
The other question involved in designating a Webmaster is whether to use a volunteer, a staff member, a local officer, or an outside firm. If your local is like most, you will likely rely on a volunteer to manage and update your site, so it is important to find someone who has enough time for these activities and to train a back-up person, just in case. In many ways, the Web site will be similar to the local's newsletter, and will require a similar arrangement for staffing and oversight.
Another factor involved in establishing a site and selecting a Webmaster is recognizing the need for continued e-mail maintenance. If you give site visitors the option to contact you, keep in mind that it will take time to answer the inquiries you get from members and others (sometimes lots of time, depending on the nature of the question or request). So it's important to consider whether you have the staff required to fulfill this function.
Determining Content
Once you've established your budget and selected your site's Webmaster, the next step is to assess your audience (or audiences). Local Web site audiences often include members, potential members, retirees, local community and political leaders, national leaders, and progressive activists. Other potential audiences include the public at large, opinion elites, the media, politicians and their staff, coalition partners, educators, and students. While you should keep all of these potential audiences in mind, determine which ones will be your priorities when you structure and design your site.
Next, ask, "What will our main users want from the site?" To help find out, consider polling your local stewards and activists or other key groups.
Following is an example of a poll that CWA Dist. 4 recently distributed to its e-mail discussion list:
To: Dist. 4 List
From: Seth Rosen, Admin Asst. to the VP, Dist. 4
RE: Ideas for a District 4 Web Page
Vice President Rechenbach has gotten approval to create a District 4 Web site next year. To aid in the Web design process, we are interested in any ideas that people might have. In particular, we would like to know the following:
- What kind of information would be useful on a D4 Web site? Should it primarily be a source of news (e.g., an electronic version of memos and newsletters that now are sent through mail or fax) or should it primarily be a resource library (information like contracts, reports, etc.)?
- What technical limits exist? Will graphics & photos make it too slow for your modem speed? Will people download files (e.g., contracts, pamphlets), or does everything have to able to be readable on line?
- Who is likely to be the main users of a D4 site: Officers? Stewards? Members? All of the above?
- Check out the CWA National site, www.cwa-union.org. What should be different about a D4 site? What should be the same? Why have a D4 site?
Persons in this discussion group are the most likely Web site users, so your comments and suggestions will be very helpful.
Thanks, in advance, for your ideas.
You can visit District 4's Web site at district4.cwa-union.org.
Another way to determine site content is to gather input at membership or work-site meetings. Or, you might try a newsletter survey. These are good ways of gauging the type of computer equipment your users have and the extent to which they use that equipment.
A second question is, "What are your goals?" Do you want to make information available to your members? Publish your contract(s)? Communicate with the media? You should establish these priorities first, before you design the site.
Keeping in mind that the content and structure of the site should be geared to your prime audience(s), you should then structure the site accordingly. Using an outline or a flow-chart will help.
Establishing a local union Web site often involves addressing broad policy concerns such as whether to include contracts, bargaining updates, and mobilization information. To best address these concerns, your executive board may choose to establish a special committee to make Web-site-related policy decisions. You may also need to educate key decision-makers with regard to the Web and develop a clear-cut decision-making and approval structure, similar to one you may already have established for newsletters or news releases.
Among key policy decisions is whether to set up discussion boards or e-mail discussion lists. While such services often help build support and solidarity among members, they may also potentially become complaint centers for disgruntled members or activists. If you do set up one of these forums, you may want to assign an officer or staff person to moderate the discussion.
| Items to Make Available on a Web Site |
After you have determined your audience(s) and addressed policy concerns, the next step is to determine site content. Following is a list of possible content categories and items:
- News/Publicity
- press releases;
- newspaper/newsletter articles; and
- photos of leaders and members in action
- General Information
- local officers' names and areas of responsibility;
- the local's address, telephone number, hotline number, fax number, and e-mail address;
- important meeting dates; and
- the local's background and history
- Hot Issues
- contract(s) and/or bargaining information updates, including putting the local's entire contract(s) online;
- mobilization information;
- political activity information (see "Legalities, Formalities, and More");
- information for retirees;
- health and safety information; and
- information on other worker issues
- Contact Information
- e-mail and/or a "Contact Us" form
- Other
- search capabilities;
- tools for officers and stewards, such as grievance forms; and
- links to other sites, including union sites, government sites, reference sites, and others
See "Examples of CWA Local Sites," for other ideas for site content and structure.
| Keeping in Touch with Members |
A potentially powerful component of a Web site is use of the site for e-mail activities. When setting up your site, you should consider collecting e-mail addresses for such items as:
- general use (to inform members of meetings and other routine activities);
- mobilization (to get members more involved); and
- one-on-one communication (as an additional way of reaching individual members).
Forward to Building Your Site
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