iBelong Unveils Customized Portals for 13 Labor Unions; New Portals First in AFL-CIO's Workingfamilies.com Program.Business Editors and Technology/Labor Writers WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2000 iBelong, Inc. (www.ibelong.com) has launched individual customized portals, or Internet "start pages," for 13 of the nation's largest labor unions, including the Teamsters and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the second- or third-largest labor union in the United States and one of the fastest-growing, representing over 1. (AFSCME AFSCME American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees ). The portals are the first created by iBelong for the AFL-CIO's Workingfamilies.com program, introduced in late 1999. Together, these portals are designed to serve the daily Internet needs of more than 9 million union members. AFL-CIO AFL-CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. President John Sweeney says Workingfamilies.com was designed to "help bridge the digital divide" by bringing more working families online. It also serves as a communications channel, which union members can use to talk to each other and become more active around the issues they care about. The program provides members and their families with discounted computers and Internet access, as well as an Internet portal, or "start page," that connects members with the services they need every day, such as e-mail, news, and weather updates. In addition, the program features the only "no sweat" shopping center on the Web, a "worker friendly marketplace," where shoppers can buy union-made and American-made products. According to Sweeney, the AFL-CIO selected iBelong to create Workingfamilies.com after a competitive bidding process that included a rigorous review performed by the Gartner Group, a leading U.S. technology consulting firm. "The 68 national unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO each have unique needs -- government employees have many different concerns than Teamsters, for example -- so our program involves far more than building one common portal," says Shikhar Ghosh, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , president and co-founder of iBelong. "In fact, we're creating a family of distinct portals with personalized content and information on issues important to each union. Since the issues facing working men and women vary so considerably, a `one size fits all' approach would not serve the members as well as iBelong's highly customized model." Union members can participate in the program by visiting http://workingfamilies.com, or by visiting one of the new Workingfamilies.com portals personalized for their individual union: -- American Federation of Government Employees The American Federation of Government Employees is an American labor union representing over 600,000 employees of the federal government. (State and municipal employees are represented by other unions, most notably the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFGE) -- http://afge.workingfamilies.com -- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) -- http://afscme.workingfamiles.com -- Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE) -- http://bmwe.workingfamilies.com -- Communications Workers of America Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States (the union also has locals in Canada), representing over 700,000 workers in both the private and public sectors. (CWA) -- http://cwa.workingfamilies.com -- International Association of Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA SMWIA Sheet Metal Workers International Association ) -- http://smw.workingfamilies.com -- International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) -- http://ibb.workingfamilies.com -- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a labor union which represents workers in the electrical industry in the United States and Canada, particularly electricians, or Inside Wiremen, in the construction industry and linemen and other employees of public (IBEW) -- http://ibew.workingfamilies.com -- International Brotherhood of Teamsters -- http://teamsters.workingfamilies.com -- Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) -- http://pace.workingfamilies.com -- National Postal Mail Handlers Union The National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) is a progressive labor union representing more than 50,000 Mail Handler craft members in United States Postal Service facilities across the United States. (NPMHU) -- http://npmhu.workingfamilies.com -- Service Employees International Union (SEIU) -- http://seiu.workingfamilies.com -- Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees “UNITE” redirects here. For the UK student accommodation company, see UNITE Group plc. The Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE -- http://unite.workingfamilies.com -- Utility Workers Union of America The Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) is a labor union in the United States. It has a membership of 50,000 and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO (UWUA) -- http://uwua.workingfamilies.com About iBelong iBelong, Inc., based in Waltham, Mass., was founded in 1998, by Shikhar Ghosh, recognized as a leading Internet entrepreneur by Fortune, Forbes and Business Week, and Howard Kessler, chairman and CEO of Kessler Financial Services and a pioneer of affinity marketing. The company develops and manages customized portals, or Internet "start pages," for non-profit and commercial membership groups. The portals serve as a trusted and credible Internet home for group members, and connect them with the activities, interests and people they care about most. For more information, visit www.ibelong.com. |
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