President At Workers’ Summit, Encourages Use of New Organizing Tech

At a White House worker summit earlier this month President Barack Obama urged participants and other worker advocates to “think creatively” about how they might use mobile apps and the Internet.
“Technology actually can help,” Obama said, “in the same ways that in the past sometimes it’s hindered.” The president made specific mention of CoWorker.org which enables workers to start petitions and campaigns around workplace issues. Other online platforms mentioned include Wearedynamo.org, a crowd-sourced website for workplace complaints and Contratados.org, a Spanish-language platform that allows migrant workers to rate their experiences with recruiters and employers.
The decline in union density is one factor that is driving growth in this new form of app technology another is the effect of new workplace dynamics in which employers substitute subcontracting and franchising in place of direct employment.