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On The Eve Of Second Life's First Corporate Strike

Beginning Wednesday Sept. 12, a union representing IBM's employees in Italy will start training interested avatars for the first virtual strike against a company doing business in Second Life.

The union says it's staging the strike against IBM later this month because it's unhappy with salary increases, or lack thereof. My original blog on this topic generated lots of interesting feedback. Is this modern day Commedia Del'Arte, or a serious effort to instigate change? Is striking in Second Life brilliant, or cowardly? Since IBM has a code of "netiquette" for employees, including the rule that you don't bite the hand that feeds you when tooling online, will strikers' jobs be at risk? And does IBM have every right to discipline employees not following protocols established in real life? (My own guess is IBM wouldn't dare discipline any employee who gets involved, and is hoping the whole thing quickly blows over…but please, don't take my word for it. That's only a guess.)

The union, Rappresentanza Sindacale Unitaria, has been rallying IBM employees at its Web site to get accustomed to Second Life and their avatars. The union is offering beginners instructions on how to get started on Second Life, and as of Wednesday, will start handing out "strike kits" to trained proletariats.

Call it online fun and games when the boss isn't looking, but I’m sure some Italian IBMers are taking this pretty seriously. And it provides just a taste of the potential zaniness that can happen for companies looking to join Second Life.

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