125 AND COUNTING! - We are approaching the annual celebration of working people in North America: Labor Day in the United States and Labour Day in Canada. Observed Monday, Sept. 2, it's a time to honor all workers in both countries, union or not, but the founding of both holidays are due to the efforts of organized labor.

The origins of Canada's Labour Day can be traced back to 1872, when the Toronto Trades Assembly spearheaded that country's first organized workers' rights protest. Twenty-four leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union were imprisoned for their efforts to promote a nine-hour (down from 12) work day. Trade unions were not legal in Canada at the time, but public support and subsequent parades in several cities quickly led to recognition of the rights to join a union. Still, it took another 22 years before Canada officially celebrated its first country-wide Labour Day holiday in 1894.

In the U.S., in 1882 over 10,000 workers in New York City took unpaid time off work and marched in the streets for what is considered the first-ever United States Labor Day parade - although it wasn't called such at the time. However, many historians point to Chicago's infamous Haymarket Riot in 1886 as the true genesis of what evolved into a concerted workers' rights campaign. Many workers and police were killed at the Haymarket event. Labor strife continued nationwide for another eight years, then exploded in May 1894 when labor icon Eugene Debs led his American Railroad Union on strike against the Pullman railroad car company, essentially crippling U.S. railroad traffic. The federal government sent troops to Chicago to break the strike, and ensuing violence led to the death of over a dozen workers.

In the aftermath, recognizing a need to repair ties to American labor, Congress created the U.S. Labor Day national holiday, to be held the first Monday of each September. As in Canada, the first official U.S. Labor Day was Sept. 2, 1894 - making Labor Day 2019 the 125^th anniversary of the event in both countries.

***

THE FUTURE IS NOW - Seamless, streamlined, integrated communications. It's what every union wants in order to effectively and efficiently reach out to its members. And now Unions-America is excited to announce we've added the last piece of the puzzle to our suite of communications services.

Last month we told you about UNION REACH, our powerful new app-based member messaging system. This month we build on that and introduce you to UNION REACH UNITE, an all-in-one communications solution for union offices that brings together phone, email, video, meetings, and file collaboration - giving you the freedom to be more productive, collaborative, mobile and efficient no matter where you are, no matter when.

UNION REACH UNITE is powered by Intermedia, which recently launched its Unite platform, explained in this 95-second video. We've partnered with Intermedia to create the ultimate communications tool for unions. Whether in the office, in the conference room, in the car, at home, visiting members in the field or winding down at the beach, UNION REACH UNITE and all of its communication features and choices go with you, with desktop and mobile apps that keep you seamlessly connected wherever you go, on virtually any communication device. It is, simply, a fully integrated communications system that goes where you go.

Special Offer for Unions - 40% Off Regular Pricing!

UNION REACH UNITE is many things. It's a lower cost email and phone plan negotiated for unions and their members at 40% off regualr pricing. It's backed up by a 99.999 percent uptime Service Level Agreement (SLA) and J.D. Power-certified 24/7 support. It comes with an easy to understand, intuitive operating home screen that won't scare away new users.

There's so much more, and we simply can't cover everything here or this newsletter would be 10 pages long. Please, we encourage you take a little time and visit our new UNION REACH UNITE website for details about ...

*         Phone System (Free Phone Included!)

*         Exchange & OWA Email

*         Mobile & Desktop Apps For Seamless Access

*         Video Conferencing

*         Screen Sharing

*         Remote Office

*         Team Chat

*         Voicemail Features

*         Fax Capability

*         Presence Indicator

*         File Collaboration

*         File Backup

On the website you'll also see we've negotiated a special package with Intermedia for our union clients to receive this entire package at 40 percent off regular pricing! This is truly a giant leap forward in consolidated union communications.

Our professional staff can walk you through all of our Unions-America products and help tailor the exact suite of services that will best serve your union and your membership. Here are some links for a refresher on those, and contact information at the bottom.

Unions-America UnionActive CMS Websites

Unions-America UNION REACH Free Mobile App

Unions-America Union Web Hosting

Again, contact us with ANY questions! Info below.

***

CONTACT US - Our customer service center is always ready to assist you. We have professional support staff trained to get you answers and/or help you through an issue as quickly as possible. E-mail us at support@UnionActive.com or call (888) 248-5557, Ext. 3.

###