Virtual Strikers Take on IBM in Second Life

Second Life is the hottest thing around. It's a virtual, three-D computer world where political candidates like John Edwards have an office, where companies sell products, where governments like Sweden have set up shop, where the local residents, called "avatars" spend money on everything from designer clothes to gourmet coffee, and where next week, IBM Corp. workers will be on strike.

Italian IBM Corp. workers, with the support of Union Network International, CWA's Alliance@IBM and activists around the globe, will go on strike beginning Sept. 25, and the strike is expected to last about a week. Anyone can participate, and UNI and Alliance@IBM are encouraging union supporters to join in. Go to www.allianceibm.org and follow links to UNI's website. There you can get a strike kit and download software from Second Life that shows you how to create an avatar – your Second Life persona – who will join the strike.

"IBM has a very large presence in Second Life, and this is a very innovative action by Italian unionists," said Local 1701 President Linda Guyer. "The goal of the IBM global unions is to put pressure on IBM in both the virtual world and the real world, on issues that affect all IBM employees."

In real-life IBM locations in the United States, those issues include respect in the workplace and respect for workers' rights to organize and bargain a fair contract; the erosion of wages and benefits; and the increased offshoring and contracting out of jobs, said Lee Conrad, national coordinator, Alliance@IBM. Local 1701 has about 6,000 members and associate members and also represents retirees and former employees who are concerned about what's happening at IBM and in the information technology industry.

IBM sells products in Second Life and has "islands,"  where the company conducts business. "We expect them to shut down islands," Conrad said, "but we don't know if they'll create goon squads or strike breakers – anything is possible in the virtual world."