'Tools of the Trade' Takes on a New Meaning for Labor Union

IUPAT sends its message via one of the go-to morning reads of Capitol Hill and beyond

HANOVER, Md., April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Text messaging? Smartphone App? Internet advertising? Facebook and Twitter?  Sounds like standard fare these days for a corporate operation, right?  Think again.  These tools and more are being utilized every day in the field by what some would think an unlikely type of organization for social media - a union that represents construction workers.

On Monday, April 4, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) launched a weeklong sponsorship of the POLITICO Playbook daily morning email with supporting banner ads on other Internet outlets like Facebook and Google.  It's announcing to Hill staffers, senators and representatives that IUPAT members from around the country will be personally visiting them in Washington, DC on April 6 to talk about the issues important to organized labor and working families (see the site at www.iupat.org/jobs).  The sponsorship is designed to give readers the opportunity to read more about what the IUPAT members are going to talk about that week, as well as introduce the unique logo those members will be wearing on their signature black and gold t-shirts during the visit so they're easily recognized.   The campaign is in conjunction with the annual AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department Legislative Conference in Washington this week.

The online sponsorship is just one of the social media tools the IUPAT is using to promote its cause.  Last August, it began its text messaging program to rally members to political and union events and to send job alerts to members looking for work in their crafts.  It also implemented the use of a new app that allows union employees to file reports in the field directly from their smartphones.  The data is instantaneously collected and filed in a central database saving time, manpower and paper.  All in the interest of building the ranks of this labor union and to get America working again.

Text FACTS to 48728 or contact Gavin McDonald - [email protected], 410-564-5885 (o), 202-351-8547 (m) - to learn more about the April 6 online campaign and the other work the IUPAT is doing on behalf of working families everywhere.  See www.IUPAT.org/jobs.

The IUPAT represents men and women in the United States and Canada who work in the Finishing Trades - industrial and commercial painting, glazing and glasswork, sign and display, drywall finishing and floor covering installation, among other crafts.  Follow and friend the IUPAT on Twitter (@GoIUPAT) and Facebook (GoIUPAT), or take a look at the IUPAT YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/goiupat.

SOURCE International Union of Painters and Allied Trades