Are you in a union?
- Thread starter Roadkill
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EastEnder
Brixton Barnacle
I can't really see union membership being of much use in my job. I work for a very small, technology based company. If I work hard and produce results that make the company more profitable, I get decent pay rises. If there were any problems of the type where unions normally step in, I'd be more likely to just resign - who wants to deal with all the potential bad blood caused in a company with less than 2 dozen employees? I sit all of 10 feet away from my boss!
The only area where union membership might be useful would be for legal advice, where at present I'd have to go to a solicitor privately.
No doubt people will tell me I'm wrong, but I feel that unions are more appropriate where they deal with large work forces, where individual workers are more at the mercy of the big corporate "machine".
The only area where union membership might be useful would be for legal advice, where at present I'd have to go to a solicitor privately.
No doubt people will tell me I'm wrong, but I feel that unions are more appropriate where they deal with large work forces, where individual workers are more at the mercy of the big corporate "machine".
asea said:
Like the last black members conference and meetings with the leader of the council these two alone got me countless contacts and have in fact been of benefit to my work life. Because I know a few of the people at the top and they know me, it does help grease the wheels when action needs to be taken quickly.
Looby
Well-Known Member
I am a PCS member and as of today am an active member as I am now the branch Women's officer and branch delegate to our annual conference.
I'm really excited about the challenge and can't wait to get my teeth in (the week in Brighton for conference doesn't hurt either
).
I was offered a new job yesterday too so work wise a bloody good week for me.
I'm really excited about the challenge and can't wait to get my teeth in (the week in Brighton for conference doesn't hurt either
).I was offered a new job yesterday too so work wise a bloody good week for me.
catinthehat
Failed VK = Replicant
At the risk of sounding like Millie Tant I have been in a union since I started working - around 30 years. Admittedly having grown up in a strong TU family - my Grandad was an Agricultural workers union rep and I was brought up going to Tolpuddle every year and heard tales about widows being kicked out of tithe cottages etc from an early age.
Have always been active and held a range of national and local posts although never a full timer. Various unions but for the most part CPSA, NUCPS (now PCS) and NATHFE.
Cliche but a union is only ever as good as its members - the bleating "whats the union going to do about it" from members who consistently fail to attend meetings or who moan and whine then when management appear shut up narks me. As does the lack of willingness to stand for postions or do a little bit of work then moan when the branch is full of what they consider to be mad trots with a hidden agenda.
There have been some spectaclar cock ups and climb downs to be sure, but I would be willing to bet that without the unions keeping a watch things for most workers would be a sight worse.
True you could use the law yourself to resolve problems but you would have to be fairly clued up to make a decent go of it. In my experience there are many instances where people get screwed over and have no idea that what has happened to them is unfair or illegal.
There is also a pretty skewed view of what most union work is about in that some only see things like industrial action or pontification when in fact most union work is representing individuals who need it - and most cases I have ever been involved in have ended with management backing down/turning round.
Not sure that the Masons ever campaigned for the vote for non propertied persons, health and safety in the workplace, equal opportunities and pay, education, upholding of contracts, freedom from instant dismissal at the whim of the employer, compensation for accidents at work et al.
True there have been dismal episodes with some unions but on balance without them many workplaces would be much worse places.
Bosses/owners have a tendency to want as much work as possible for as little cash as possible. Trying to get a decent deal on an individual basis rather than as a group would be a poor strategy. Remember the minimum wage was going to destroy British business !
Have always been active and held a range of national and local posts although never a full timer. Various unions but for the most part CPSA, NUCPS (now PCS) and NATHFE.
Cliche but a union is only ever as good as its members - the bleating "whats the union going to do about it" from members who consistently fail to attend meetings or who moan and whine then when management appear shut up narks me. As does the lack of willingness to stand for postions or do a little bit of work then moan when the branch is full of what they consider to be mad trots with a hidden agenda.
There have been some spectaclar cock ups and climb downs to be sure, but I would be willing to bet that without the unions keeping a watch things for most workers would be a sight worse.
True you could use the law yourself to resolve problems but you would have to be fairly clued up to make a decent go of it. In my experience there are many instances where people get screwed over and have no idea that what has happened to them is unfair or illegal.
There is also a pretty skewed view of what most union work is about in that some only see things like industrial action or pontification when in fact most union work is representing individuals who need it - and most cases I have ever been involved in have ended with management backing down/turning round.
Not sure that the Masons ever campaigned for the vote for non propertied persons, health and safety in the workplace, equal opportunities and pay, education, upholding of contracts, freedom from instant dismissal at the whim of the employer, compensation for accidents at work et al.
True there have been dismal episodes with some unions but on balance without them many workplaces would be much worse places.
Bosses/owners have a tendency to want as much work as possible for as little cash as possible. Trying to get a decent deal on an individual basis rather than as a group would be a poor strategy. Remember the minimum wage was going to destroy British business !
I do more hours than the EU working time directive allows, and for much less money than the minimum wage. I've contacted various unions (including Unison), as I was concerned that the work I do undercuts work done by some of their members, but none of them would even consider me for membership.
I am a carer (one of the unpaid ones, not a careworker).
In Germany (until v recently) unemployed people were able to exert political pressure via the unions, but there doesn't seem to be anything like that in the UK.
I am a carer (one of the unpaid ones, not a careworker).
In Germany (until v recently) unemployed people were able to exert political pressure via the unions, but there doesn't seem to be anything like that in the UK.
Guineveretoo
Mostly bewildered
Cheesypoof said:
NUJ has a long way to go with regard to women's rights. Once you join, make contact with Anita Halpern who has been battling on this front for many years! The TUC Women's Conference is the week after next, or you could have gone to that and talked to women from other unions.
Guineveretoo
Mostly bewildered
han said:I love the idea of Ms T being a Mother of Chapel!
It all sounds very...holy...do you break bread?
I am all for unions, I think they are extremely important and we are lucky to live in a society where they are able to exist.
If it wasn't for the bravery of the Tolpuddle Martyrs then we may not have unions today! And we certainly wouldn't have a Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival
I would be in a union if I worked f/t (I think it's be Unison for staff of charities), but the monthly subs really are too much for what I earn, being p/t.
Part timers pay proportionately lower subs, and really need to be in a union, because they are treated so badly!
Bloody well join.
Guineveretoo
Mostly bewildered
I am a member of a trade union and I also work for a trade union, so I make up for cesare's failure to find one to join 
Guineveretoo
Mostly bewildered
Yes, but lots of unions take on temps, and work very hard for their rights, and lots of unions take on self employed people, too.
The best way to choose a union is probably to look at the industry you mostly work in so, for example, friends of mine who are self employed IT people, joined what used to be MSF (now part of Amicus), because that was the union recognised by their main client.
Does that help?
The best way to choose a union is probably to look at the industry you mostly work in so, for example, friends of mine who are self employed IT people, joined what used to be MSF (now part of Amicus), because that was the union recognised by their main client.
Does that help?
Guineveretoo
Mostly bewildered
cesare said:
I don't understand why temps are having problems finding unions. All the ones
I know will take temps so long as they are working in the field, as it were.
What is MATB?
It's always about the industry. If your main clients are in the voluntary sector, I would recommend joining UNISON, if your main clients are in the pet food manufacturing field, I would recommend joining TGWU.
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
Guineveretoo said:
The temps problem is a genuine one, maybe it's because many temps aren't necessarily industry specific.
I'll pm you re MATB, not sure it's 'done' to post a link. My clients are small and medium sized businesses across a very wide range of industries - employment issues (as you know) aren't industry specific. That's half my time, the other half is for individuals. I wouldn't be keen on joining any union that's going down the 'super union' route tbh. That's why I was more interested in IWW iyswim.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Your poll should be multiple choice - I'm self employed and in a union - BECTU.
Of course being self-employed doesn't necessarily mean you can't be in a union.
Of working NUJ members, about a quarter are self-employed; BECTU (broadcast & theatre technicals etc) has about the same proportion and of course everyone in Equity & the MU is self-employed...
Of working NUJ members, about a quarter are self-employed; BECTU (broadcast & theatre technicals etc) has about the same proportion and of course everyone in Equity & the MU is self-employed...
Monkeygrinder's Organ
Dodgy geezer swilling vapid lager
My experience as a temp is that the unions in the places I've worked at are completely disinterested, tbh.
happie chappie
Well-Known Member
catinthehat said:
What a sensible, balanced, post!!
I:
a) work for a union;
b) am a member of another union in respect of my union employment;
c) am still a freelance journalist; and
d) am also a member of the NUJ in respect of my journalism (which is mostly about trade union-related issues, funnily enough).
Am I a slightly sad trade union obsessive? Probably!! Do I think unions are a good thing? Yes I bloody well do!!
Just a thought - if unions as useless as some posters (mostly on another thread, I grant you) say they are, why do bosses in the UK and in many counties abroad spend so much time and effort trying to keep them out?
Happie Chappie
mauvais
on reddit or something
I'm in a union (Amicus) for no practical reason but instead thanks to some slightly absurd notion that I should be, and that it deserves my money - some kind of weak socialist principle thing going on there.
Re: unions being as good as their members - in part, I agree. However I think they're fairly ineffectual because the leadership and coordination at each level is poor. Most members I know put self-interest above any idea of collective responsibility, but many others would engage far more if they were better led and motivated by someone who took the initiative in the first place. That's simply something fundamental about any social group.
Re: unions being as good as their members - in part, I agree. However I think they're fairly ineffectual because the leadership and coordination at each level is poor. Most members I know put self-interest above any idea of collective responsibility, but many others would engage far more if they were better led and motivated by someone who took the initiative in the first place. That's simply something fundamental about any social group.
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