Welcome to the first issue of The Labor Educator, our new monthly Internet newsmagazine. Take a look and you'll see why it's a unique publication that union leaders and members will need to be well-informed about issues that affect them.

First, you will find a lot more coverage of union news than in any other labor publication; more updated information and analysis of economic and political developments; more news about collective bargaining, organizing, legislation, work stoppages, international labor, the building trades and public sector unions, working women — and lots more.

Second, we've arranged a lot of information by departments, so it's easy to get at. Just plug in on the link buttons and you'll see what you want. If you want articles in hard copy, you'll have no trouble downloading them.

Third, we'll publish important stories you can't find in any official AFL-CIO publications. As an independent newsmagazine, we intend to report union news honestly and fairly. We won't suppress legitimate labor stories because they may be controversial or involve union failures or reflect unfavorably on union leaders.

Isn't it ridiculous that the federation's official magazine, America@Work, and other union publications had not a word to say about the scandal involving officers of AFSCME's District Council 37, even while union members were reading lurid accounts of election-rigging and embezzlement in their daily newspapers and hearing them on television? Why should union members have to get their labor news, often in distorted form, from the business-controlled media?

Fourth, while we fully support unions in their struggles for economic and social justice, we will not hesitate to criticize them and individual leaders, where we think it is warranted. But wherever possible, our criticism will be constructive, as you can see by our lead story, "AFL-CIO Can Do Much Better in Organizing." We believe the labor movement must recognize its mistakes and learn not to repeat them, rather than sweep them under the rug. For the same reason, we welcome criticism of our own performance.

Fifth, The Labor Educator will feature instructive articles on how corporate campaign strategies and other non-traditional tactics can win a strike, avoid a lockout, or gain a first collective bargaining contract. Read the first column by Ray Rogers, the pioneering expert on the art of winning labor struggles. There is also an article by Tim Lally on how professional union-busters operate and what it takes to defeat them.

Sixth, and very important, we plan to set aside lots of space for "Letters to the Editor" so that union leaders and members can express their opinions on issues that affect all working people. Such an open exchange of views and experiences can provide valuable feedback for policymakers and activists.

In this first complimentary issue of The Labor Educator, you've seen what we can do — and we promise to do even better. We hope you will want to subscribe, starting with the May issue. To do so, send a $40 check for a year's subscription to: The Labor Educator, 821 Broadway (10th floor), New York, N.Y. 10003.