Alex’s blog about strategy, campaigning, growth, politics and climate (among other things).

  • What I’m reading (Sep 2023)

    What I’m reading (Sep 2023)

    Stories and links that are of interest or relevance to union leaders, strategists, campaigners and organisers. Unions and union growth Workers’ rights Data and worker privacy AI and the future of work Campaigning, organising and digital/social media Society, media, news and culture Read more

  • Boost your member retention rate (growth hack Sep 2023)

    Boost your member retention rate (growth hack Sep 2023)

    What is a relatively simple channel for unions to grow and boost member retention? The humble email inbox. Increasing your union’s volume of email to existing members is a fantastic, low cost and highly effective way to “growth hack” your member retention rates. I’ve written previously about how email is one of the most important… Read more

  • Three key ways to use innovation and technology for union growth

    Three key ways to use innovation and technology for union growth

    How can unions turn tech innovation into sustainable, scalable growth? Growth has always been important for unions, and in the current era of rapid economic transition, climate crisis and AI, it is more important than ever for unions to understand and use technology and innovation. Growth is hard to achieve. According to the public data,… Read more

  • Philip Lowe says we need less democracy. That would be a disaster.

    Philip Lowe says we need less democracy. That would be a disaster.

    In a recent opinion piece at The New Daily, Michael Pascoe drew attention to a concerning perspective held by former RBA Governor Philip Lowe (and likely shared by many influential “opinion leaders” in society) — an inclination towards side-lining democracy and entrusting critical decisions to unelected technocrats. In principle, fiscal policy could provide a stronger… Read more

  • What I’m reading (Aug 2023)

    What I’m reading (Aug 2023)

    Stories and links that are of interest or relevance to union leaders, strategists, campaigners and organisers. Unions and union growth Workers’ rights AI and the future of work Campaigning, organising and digital/social media Society, media, news and culture Read more

  • Worker data rights, not AI, is the most important future frontier

    Worker data rights, not AI, is the most important future frontier

    During the pandemic, employer collection of worker data increased significantly. In almost all cases, especially in Australia, this collection is completely unregulated. As Matthew Painter at the Future World of Work wrote, “Data is rapidly becoming the global economy’s most valuable resource, and currently, workers have no control over the mountains of data their employers collect on… Read more