AUD Best Rank-and-File Website Contest 2005

"The GREAT contests for web sites run by LabourStart and by the AUD are the "Oscar ceremonies" of the Labor Cyber World." - Art Shostak, author of CyberUnion and the CyberUnion Handbook.

Contest Results: Pipefitters, feisty Canadians, Pilots win.

About the contest:

The AUD Best Rank-and-File Website Contest 2005 has three goals:

to spotlight the great work that rank-and-file activists are doing and make your work known to a broader audience,
to promote the use of the internet as an organizing tool for union reformers, and,
to encourage discussion among rank-and-file webstewards about best practices -- both technically and in terms of organizing -- so we can all be more effective.

The 2005 contest had three new elements:

Blogs welcome! We expanded the contest to include blogs and other websites based on content management systems.
The inside dope. Since the last contest, AUD published "50 Guidelines to Building an Effective Rank-and-File Website" available online along with sample website homepage. The Guidelines grew out of the criteria we used to assess websites in the first contest. Forewarned is fore-armed. Feel free to use the guide to tweak your website.
People's choice. Our panel of judges decided the results of the contest. But, we also set up an online survey so that unionists could judge the sites for themselves.

There is more info on the contest below. Thanks to all who submitted sites!

Thanks and good luck,
Matt Noyes, AUD internet coordinator

AUD WEBSITE CONTEST INFO (contest entries)

Prizes

The contest will have first, second, and third place winners and an honorable mention.

The first place winner will receive:

an "AUD Best Rank-and-File Website 2005" logo to post on your website,

detailed commentary on your website from our judges, including --strengths and weaknesses and suggested improvements,

special recognition in an article in Union Democracy Review and on the AUD website; and mention on our AUDLinks page;

an AUD t-shirt, and

a copy of Rebels, Reformers and Racketeers: How Insurgents Transformed the Union Movement.

Second and third place winners get:

an "AUD Best Rank-and-File Website 2005" logo to post on your website,

detailed commentary on your website from our judges, including --strengths and weaknesses and suggested improvements, and,

special recognition in an article in Union Democracy Review and on the AUD website; and mention on our AUDLinks page.

Honorable Mention:

an "AUD Best Rank-and-File Website 2005" logo to post on your website,

special recognition in an article in Union Democracy Review and on the AUD website; and mention on our AUDLinks page.

Who is eligible?

The contest is open to all independent rank-and-file websites and blogs (including content management system based sites) in the USA, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

E-mail discussion lists, forums, and/or bulletin boards that are not part of a website are not eligible (Not all discussion lists are open; hard to judge a discussion list without following it over time.)

You do not have to be an AUD member to enter. You do not have to be the owner or websteward of a site to enter it in this contest. If you know a rank-and-file site that is really great, please enter it. We also encourage webstewards to use this contest to get some feedback on your site.

What is a rank-and-file website? For the purposes of this contest, an "independent rank-and-file website" is an unofficial website (blog) run by union member(s) for union members. Official union websites or sites sponsored by the union are not eligible, nor are sites that are sponsored by publications, political parties, or not-for-profit groups (for example sites by AUD, Labor Notes, NYCOSH, or Public Citizen).

Who are the Judges?

The contest is being run by Matt Noyes, AUD's websteward, and an anonymous panel of volunteer judges with expertise in web and blog design, legal rights, labor communications and union activism. (None of the judges will be allowed to compete in the contest.) Judges will review the sites and score them based on the criteria in the 50 Guidelines and their own, well, judgment.

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