The Publicity Committee is vital to the winning of a strike and can make the work of every other Committee easier and more effective.
The Publicity Committee works under the close supervision of the General Strike Committee. It is responsible for the preparation and distribution of information to both the Local's membership and to the general public through:
- Strike bulletins regularly distributed to members.
- Letters to the membership.
- Special leaflets to members or to the public.
- News releases to radio, TV, and the press.
- Radio spot announcements.
- Newspaper ads.
- Appearances on radio and TV programs.
The National Office has people available to help in setting up spot announcements, schedules, wording, newspaper ads, and radio and television appearances. The bulk of the work, however, must be done by the Local Committee. The daily strike bulletins, news releases, letters to members, and leaflets must be prepared locally.
If there is no Publicity Committee, this work will inevitably fall to the Officers and other strike leaders. This gives them an extra burden; even worse, it often results in this vital work being neglected.
Those who work on the Publicity Committee should not be expected to put in time on other strike committees. Doing a good job won't leave them time for anything else — and a good job by this Committee is vital to the success of the strike.
The need to get the Union's position to the public and information to striking members cannot be over-emphasized. But those are two very different audiences. Each is discussed below separately.