Evaluating the Usability of Union Web Sites in the United States: A Case Study

Union membership has undergone a dramatic decline and some have hailed the internet as a means for unions to reverse their membership declines. This study examines the usability of union websites. The content of union websites has been analyzed, but the usefulness of that content, and the overall usability of the websites, has not been assessed. In order for unions to fully utilize the internet and realize the potential benefits of cyberspace usage, they must provide websites that users find easy to use and that provide useful content. This study employs Hassan and Li's (2005) benchmarking approach in order to evaluate usability and content usefulness of union websites. Hassan and Li's (2005) framework assesses screen appearance, media use, interactivity, accessibility, navigation, consistency, and content usefulness. This framework was applied to the websites of four U.S. unions: a craft union, a service sector union, a manufacturing sector union, and a public sector union. The results indicated that some unions may be missing up to one-third of the criteria deemed important by experts in the area of usability. INTRODUCTION During the past twenty-five years, union membership in the United States has undergone a dramatic decline. In 2005, the percentage of wage and salary workers who were union members was 12.5 percent, down from 20.1 percent in 1983, and the percentage of private industry workers was 7.9% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006). Additionalty, 2004 was the worst yet for union organizing (Grossman, 2005). There are multiple explanations for this decline: structural changes in the labor force, such as the decline of manufacturing jobs and the shift from blue collar to wh ite collar occupations; organizational practices, including the adoption of human resource management practices designed to keeps firms nonunion; and a legal enviromnent that has made union organizing difficult (Holley, Jennings, and Wolters, 2005). Unions have tried to respond to these membership and organizing woes in numerous ways. For example, unions comprising nearly one-third of the membership in the AFL-CIO left that organization to create the Change to Win coalition in the hopes of revitalizing organizing efforts (Marquez, 2005). In order to reverse their declines, unions must be open to change and willing to try new methods. Research as far back as 1993 found that iimovation is essential to organizing success (Fiorito, Jarley, and Delaney, 1993). One relatively recent innovation that unions have experi:mented with is the World Wide Web. All national unions now have web sites, but there are questions concerning the impact of these new technologies on imion organizing (Chaison, 2002; Troy, 2003). The development and use of web sites may not have any appreciable impact on the declining fortunes of unions; however, in order for this particular innovation to even have any chance to be effective, the websites must be usable Communications of the IIMA 97 2006 Volume 6 Issue 2 Evaluating the Usability of Union Web Sites in the United States: A Case Study Lowery & Beadles and have useful content. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usability and content usefulness of union websites. UNIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The utilization of the internet has been hailed as a means to empower unions for many years to come (Shostak, 1999) and as a way for labor to reinvent itself (Shostak, 2005). Unions feel that an emphasis on information technology is critical for their success (Fiorito, Jarley, Delaney, and Kolodinsky, 2000), and that web sites and email provide members with voice and also aid in disseminating information to members and the public (Stevens and Greer, (2005). However, the use of information technology to aid in organizing has been characterized as "slow and uneven" (Pirmock, 2005). Troy (2003) argues that cyberspace has not improved union organizing efforts and will not reverse the downward trends in membership; he claims that the creation of "virtual unions" have had about as much success in influencing their target audience, non-union workers, as the union label did in persuading people to buy union-made goods. Unions may also face unique challenges posed by the web, including the use of employer intranets as a substitute for the traditional voice role of unions and the possibility of changes in relationships with members caused by unions' development of web pages (Chaison, 2005). Also, in their exploration of cyberspace, union may be diverting scarce resources to new technology initiatives that will not pan out (Chaison, 2002). Intemet-sawy unions that are utilizing new technologies fully have been hailed as the labor movement's best chance for reversing the downward trends in organizing (Shostak, 2002), but unions that hope that an attractive website is all that is needed to mobilize workers could be left behind (Beimett and Taras, 2002). Employers are using technology to reorganize both the workplace and the global geography of work, and unions must step up their use of technology to maintain pace (Nathan, 2005). Bennett and Taras, (2002) suggest that it is not that unions will gain much through the adoption of new technologies, but rather that they will have much to lose if they don't adopt them. Several studies have investigated the extent of the use of information technology by unions. Fiorito, Jarley, Delaney, and Kolodinsky (2000), in a survey of national unions, found that IT use of some nature is nearly universal, but that much variation exists in the forms of IT used, such as websites and email, and in its applications, such as bargaining and organizing. A large majority of respondents believed that IT had improved the overall efficiency and service of their unions. Fiorito, Jarley, and Delaney (2002) combined survey data, government data, and other sources to conclude that IT uses can have an important impact on organizing outcomes, but found that it's impact on overall union effectiveness is mixed. A study that examined national union websites fotmd an increase over time in members' issues and members-only sections of web pages (Stevens and Greer, 2005), and another study reported that about 70% of unions used their web sites to provide general information (Fiorito and Bass, 2002). A review of the literature by Greer (2002) identified areas of union activity in which the Internet and email have been employed, including internal communications, extemal communications, bargaining activities, contract administration, and political action. Greer (2002) also examined the websites of all of the AFL-ClO's national union affiliates with links on the federation's website. The analysis revealed that 84% of the sites had information related to political issues while 70% had significant content that concerned members' issues. A large number contained information about new contracts that has been signed (49% of the sites), benefits negotiated (57%), ongoing negotiations (48%), and work stoppages (44%). While the content of union websites has been analyzed, the question of the usefulness of that content, and the overall usability of the websites, remains. In order for unions to fully utilize the intemet and realize the potential benefits of cyberspace usage, they must provide websites that users find easy to use and that provide useful content.