An Analysis of the Social Media of Jobs With Justice

Julio Chavez
ENC 4930
24 October 2016

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Contents
Introductions & Importance.............................................................................................................3
Methods...........................................................................................................................................3
Results..............................................................................................................................................5
Discussion........................................................................................................................................9

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Introductions & Importance

Ive elected to examine the social media websites of Jobs with Justice, a social protest
organization for workers rights and economic equality. Specifically I will examine these social
media websites with the concepts presented in Paolo Gerbaudos Tweets and the Streets.
The social media of Jobs with Justice fascinates me, because the organizations seemingly
traditional roots defy the definitions of slacktivism and yet I found many of their social media
websites lacking in representation of what Gerbaudo (2012) describes as material precipitation.
How, then, can this modern activist group strive without an effective use of social media? Are
they being ineffective, because they are not a household name? Or are they in fact more effective
than, for example, a Kony 2012 campaign which succeeds in reaching a larger audience but fails
in organizing, choreographing, or inspiring action? As such I find Jobs with Justice to be an
interesting organization to examine.

Methods
An essential quote from Gerbaudo (2012) in examining the social media of Jobs with
Justice is [In activist media] Facebook used to set the date, Twitter used to share logistics,
Youtube to show the world, all to connect people (pg 3). I believe this to be a thorough analysis
of how these types of social media can be utilized, and I will analyze the pages of Jobs with
Justice as such. Through my interpretation of the quote I will examine the effectiveness of the
organization in utilizing Facebook to mobilize, Twitter to coordinate, and Instagram to visually
capture and distribute the message.
Jobs with Justice links to four social media pages at the top of their website: Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus. Of these four, only Facebook and Twitter are updated
regularly. I independently discovered a national Instagram account, as well as Facebook, Twitter

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and Instagram pages dedicated to a central Florida branch. The organization is based in
Washington DC, and I was able to find Washington DC-specific Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram pages as well. As such, I focused my analysis on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
pages of Jobs with Justice in central Florida, Washington DC and on the national level. When
necessary I will also examine accounts from leaders within the organization.
I will reference the Tahir model when examining the effectiveness of the Jobs with
Justice Facebook pages. Namely I will be looking for effectiveness in the five following
functions of Facebook per the Tahir model: creating an oasis of assembly, disseminate symbolic
mediation, creating oppositional identities, creating a chain of equivalence and bringing together
the digital divide.
In my examination of Facebook it is important to consider Gerbaudos stance on the
Facebook RSVP. That being Facebook RSVPs only rarely translate into actual attendance (pg
60), citing a negligible or sometimes worse attendance when a Facebook event requires RSVP. I
will consider, then, how Jobs with Justice approaches Facebook as a tool for choreography, and
whether they employ the Facebook RSVP.
I will also examine Jobs with Justice from the functions of Twitter for the Occupy
Wallstreet movement. I will examine the role of public space, cross-posting, planned protests,
chain of significance, spectacle, on-sight coordination and the types of leaders. I will also
examine the Twitter pages effectiveness in the following seven functions of Twitter: emobilization, citizen journalism, second-hand circulation, editorial comment, deliberation,
strengthening ties and e-tactics.
Another quote I enjoy from Gerbaudo focused on assembly and what Gerbaudo
describes as a chain of equivalence. In this, the text reads the process of mobilization chiefly
involves a process of gathering and assembling of individuals and groups around something they
share in commonit is particularly important in the case of popular movements, given their

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attempt to mobilize a diverse and dispersed constituency under the name of the people (pg
20). Through this description I will examine the Jobs with Justice Instagram pages and their
effectiveness in the three following functions: capturing material precipitation, reconstructing
physical proximity and capturing social texture and monuments that attract internet publics from
a distance.

Results
The following is a chart of my results in regards to the six Tahir Model characteristics as
observed in the ten newest posts from each Facebook page (30 posts total). I omitted a
leaderless movement category, as I felt proof of this could not be observed on a post-by-post
basis:

Tahir National

Washington DC

Central Florida

Characteristics
Oasis 0

Oppositional 9

Identities
Chains of 1

Equivalence
Facebook RSVP 0

Digital Divide 0

In consideration of the Tahir model, I do not believe the Jobs with Justice Facebook
pages meets the six characteristics of the model. These pages are successful creating chains of
equivalence, as that is much of their content. I did not find proof that these pages function as an

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oasis of assembly, and instead found proof the group can easily manage public assembly.
Creating oppositional identities is, again, the bulk of much of the content shared by Jobs with
Justice. I noted several instances of these pages using the Facebook RSVP. I did find evidence
that Jobs with Justice is successful in meetings users usually missed by the digital divide. I did
not find the group to be leaderless. As such, these three Jobs with Justice Facebook pages
succeed in meeting four of the six characteristics of the Tahir model.
The DC Facebook events page shows nine events in three years; nine times the DC
members of Jobs with Justice were brought out of their homes and collected in a public space to
discuss shared interests, shared motivations and ideas. But the official page linked on the banner
of the Jobs with Justice website only featured three events in five years.
Examining the effectiveness of the Facebook page of Jobs with Justice, I find it a mixed
bag of mobilization. Central Florida branchs event page on Facebook shows only two events: a
Walmart strike and an awards dinner. While I was incapable of identifying the age of the page,
these are the only events listed on the page and the oldest, the strike, dates to 2014. Meaning two
events in two years. It is worth noting that the DC Facebook page yielded better results: nine
events in three years. However, none of these events were protests, two of these were
fundraisers, and the rest were celebrations, parties or dinners. Oddly enough, the main page of
Jobs with Justice featured three pages in five years. Two of these were conferences and one was
a rally.
The following is a chart of my results in regard to the seven uses of Twitter and the
separate accounts ability to utilize all functions. I looked at the ten newest posts from each
account, for 30 total:

7 Uses of National
Twitter
E-mobilization 0

Washington DC

Central Florida

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Citizen 0

Journalism
2nd-hand 9

Circulation
Editorial 1

Comment
Deliberation 0
Strengthening 0

0
0

0
0

Ties
E-tactics 0

In examination of my results I found a heavy reliance on second-hand circulation; 18 of

my 30 results fit into this category. 3 of my 20 results, from the national and central Florida
accounts, were editorial comment. 8 of my 20 results, from the Washington DC twitter account,
were a combined e-mobilization and citizen journalism report on an on-going strike.
JWJs Instagram presence is minimal, but their presence on other photo-sharing websites
is nearly nonexistent. While leaders/choreographers Sarita Gupta and Mackenzie Baris do not
have accessible accounts, I was able to find and analyze three (relatively) active Jobs with Justice
accounts: the national account (@jwjnational), the Washington DC account (@dcjwj) and the
Central Florida account (@cfjwj). To my surprise, the central Florida account is the most active
of the three accounts.
The national account has posted 28 images in two years. The first five posts were
capturing emotional condensation for a JWJ-funded project called The Way They Worked. This
project used the hard-working culture of the age of our grandparents as a chain of significance.
Every image featured a quote, and many of the images were in black and white. The following
seven posts were emotional condensation as well. The theme, however, rested more in corporate
criticism and commentary. Ive identified this as JWJs favored brand of emotional condensation,

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in which a statistic or news piece about the questionable deeds of corporate CEOs will be
presented for negative, but powerful, emotional response. The next post is again emotional
condensation, and is a quote from JWJ choreographer Sarita Gupta. Finally, eight of the next
nine posts feature material precipitation (the ninth is another corporate commentary post). These
images present JWJ protesters rallied at various locations nationwide (though the posts only
mention Maryland and DC by name, at least five different locations can be seen), on strike
against Verizon Wireless. One of these posts features choreographer Sarita Gupta on site
protesting with her peers. The next post is emotional condensation, and another quote from
Gupta. The next four posts ae corporate criticism and commentary. The newest post is emotional
condensation as well, another quote from an opinion leader.
In examining the activity generated on the 28 posts from the national account I found
concerning results. 21 of the 28 posts featured no comments. 6 of the 28 posts featured a single
comment. 1 of the 28 posts featured two comments. The post with two comments was an
emotional condensation corporate commentary quote. Four of the posts with a single comment
were emotional condensation, corporate commentary posts. Two of the posts with a single
comment were on material precipitation posts (the rallies and strikes). The newest post, the quote
from the opinion leader, featured a comment as well. Its worth noting that this Instagram
account is JWJs biggest in terms of audience, with 986 followers.
The Central Florida account reaches a smaller audience at 180 followers, but the account
is significantly more active with 202 posts. I examined the accounts 30 most recent posts for an
idea of typical content and activity. The first eight posts were material precipitation, at meetings
and strikes and seminars. The next three posts were emotional condensation, in theme with chain
of equivalence. Another material precipitation post followed, and then nine more chain of

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equivalence posts. The next post at a strike featured material precipitation. The seven final posts
were chain of equivalence posts.
While the Central Florida account itself is more active than the national account, it was
not significantly more successful in generating activity itself. Of the 30 posts I examined, 26 did
not feature comments. The remaining 6 featured a single comment each.

Discussion
In examining the choreography of Jobs with Justice, it is important to note that the
organization does feature a figurehead: Sarita Gupta functions as the groups executive director.
In examining her Twitter, linked on the organizations staff member page, I found that many of
her images include herself at protests and rallies. This leads me to wonder if Gupta functions as
what Gerbaudo (2012) defines as an empty signifier, or a leader, an image, a collective image or
possibly a place around which the unity of the people can be performativity created (42). I
found the following quote from Gerbaudo, on leaders and organization, fascinating: Despite the
refusal to have formal leaders and clear organizational structures they nevertheless often come to
be dominated by narrow and exclusive cliques formed around friendship networks. In this sense I
feel that Gerbaudo would not identify Jobs with Justice as lacking a choreographer.
Gerbaudo explains that Structurelessness, understood as a healthy reaction to
overstructured societies becomes a goddess in its own right (pg 24). Jobs with Justice is not a
leaderless network. It is not structureless, and does not rebel from overstructured society.
However, through examination of the Facebook page I am wondering if it still effectively
employs social media to choreograph; in particular, I wonder if they effectively use Facebook. I
found myself drawn to Jobs with Justice because it does not strike me as slacktivism; a quick
look through their Instagram shows familiar images of protesters with picket signs. But scanning
through the event planning, the coordinating, Im left with various questions.

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The DC Facebook page leads me to believe Jobs with Justice is a group which can
achieve mobilization, but are they achieving this mobilization through social media, or some
other means invisible to an observer? While I understand a group like Jobs with Justice like Jobs
with Justice may wish shy away from using the Facebook events function do to its theories
ineffectiveness, what is their alternative? One suggestion is the Facebook wall, and this I feel
could function but perhaps not terribly effectively. This requires a recurring, probably daily,
reminder of the upcoming event. Is this their strategy? Where do I see it? How do I find it if I
just discovered the group but want to participate? Why cant I find these posts in abundance? If
Jobs with Justice is not going to use the Facebook event page to organize, they need an
alternative. As a casual observer who just discovered their Facebook page, I cant find this
alternative. Is it communicated at group meetings? What if Im not in the group yet? What if I
cant commit to the group but would love to participate in a protest? While I understand the
inefficiency of the Facebook reservation, I want Jobs with Justice to provide me with a better
strategy.
Lack of chain of equivalence Would Jobs with Justice find better success with a catchy
hashtag, or is that too much of a gimmick? Do they view a catchy hashtag as a gimmick and
avoid it despite its wide-reaching ability?
Jobs with Justice does not strike me as a group affected by the digital divide. My results
yielded a varied age range, many outside of the electronic native age-range. This can observed
through their Facebook activity, easily their most successful social media outlet. Im left
wondering if this is telling of the organizations limitations in regards to social media: if
Facebook serves to organize, Twitter to coordinate and Instagram to capture, what happens to the
activist group that only manages to organize? Is this, then, how slacktivist groups are born, when
they fail to move beyond organizing? I worry that the social media of Jobs with Justice may be

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limited by choreographer who undervalue social media. Facebook, the oldest of the three
platforms, also boasts the largest proportion of older users. The newest of the platforms,
Instagram, is also the most neglected by Jobs with Justice. Newer platforms are also less likely to
be adopted by older users. I am left wondering if those in charge of the Jobs with Justice social
media are older users, those who do not prioritize new platforms, and instead focus on the
platform with which they are the most familiar. But if following Gerbaudos concepts, then a
social activist group cannot thrive without a platform to organize, coordinate and capture. While
I cannot doubt the success of Jobs with Justice, I am left wondering if their reach is limited by
their inability to adopt and cultivate accounts on new social media platforms such as Instagram.
And if a social activist group fails to reach an audience, then it cannot assemble its multitudes to
inspire change.
I have a theory on how the social media platforms of Jobs with Justice may function as a
response to the inhospitability of public space. However, I feel there is more evidence against
this being the case. Jobs with Justice is a very pro-Union organization, and unions provide a
powerful platform for workers. Perhaps Jobs with Justice can serve as a platform for workers
who do not have a union, or for the unskilled labor workers who may never have a union. In
order to be successful activists, though, they must assemble and protest in the public space. And
in fact Jobs with Justice very often does assemble in the public space. As such Im not sure if
their social media truly serves as the oasis for the worker without the union. And as such Im not
sure if they truly face a desert in the public space; Jobs with Justice does not strike me as a group
to be quickly crushed by the state.
Im curious as to how Occupy Wallstreet could mold Jobs with Justice into more of an
oasis. Gerbaudo effectively highlights the issue of the diminishing public space in the following
excerpt: The first amendment gives every New Yorker the right to speak out. But it doesnt give

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anyone the right to sleep in a park or otherwise take it over, to the exclusion of others. Protesters
have had two months to occupy the park with tents and sleeping bags. Now they will have to
occupy the space with the power of their arguments. (pg 104) As Jobs with Justice is based in
Washington DC I was curious if the area faces a greater or lesser threat to their public space. In
identifying places such as Freedom Plaza I must assume Washington DC is one of the few
American locations where the public space is prioritized, and as such Im not sure the group
demands oasis. It is worth noting that Washington DC had an occupy movement of its own,
and that evictions did not occur.
In capturing material precipitation I would identify Instagram as successful. A third of
each accounts content is of this nature. In capturing social texture and monuments that attract
internet publics from a distance, Ive identified the Thoreaus Table in Peace Plaza as a
monument in theme with the nature of Jobs with Justice, and a monument at which material
precipitation could thrive.

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The table includes a quote from Henry David Thoreau which reads Let your life be a counterfriction to stop the machine. This monument could serve as emotional condensation. It could
also be molded into a very strong chain of equivalence, such as I am the counter-friction or
We will stop the machine. Lastly the social texture established by the symbolic gathering,
symbolic assembly, around a table could be the photo-message from which the organization
could base its social media.