UNION related chat, reflections and experiences. Reps & members alike!

[redsquirrel]

Basics questions are what union (if any) are your colleagues in? And which unions (again if any) have collective bargaining rights in the sector you work in?

If the answers to those questions are none then I'd try to find out if Unite would be able to support you practically if you got in trouble.
Can you give us any more information about the type of sector you're working in?

 

[nottsgirl]

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[redsquirrel]

Looking at the TUC guide I'd say that from a first view Unite seem as good as any (have to confess I've not heard of some of those)
So you could stick with Unite for now. If once you've settled in and got to know your colleagues you could see if there's a better alternative.

The other option would be joining a base union but unless there is one actively organising in your workplace they probably would find it difficult to support you.
Sorry that is probably not as helpful as you wanted

 

[redsquirrel]

As a general guide my selection criteria are (in order of importance)

1) collective representation - I want a union that is able, and willing, to represent workers collectively, so ideally I'd join a union that has a collective/recognition agreement in place and/or has the enough of a workplace presence to fight collectively. (This would rule pretty much rule out any of those "unions" that make it a point of principle not to take industrial action).

2) individual representation - I want a union that is able to protect me if I'm going to be in the shit, so has good reps, provides decent individual support and has a good knowledge of the sector/business, and how good the local branch is

After that there are other considerations - such as the wider politics of the union, ideally I'd want to be in a organising union but that might always be possible/easy, its ability to offer other support etc. Hope that is some help

 

[hitmouse]

Yeah, more or less what redsquirrel says - if it's a small private sector business then odds are that it probably won't have a recognised union with much presence, of the three biggest mega-unions Unison is public sector only and so probably not relevant, and of the remaining two Unite is on average a fair bit better than GMB imo. So think I'd say probably stick with Unite, if you really want to be sure you're in the right one and you're not confident about asking your colleagues, you could try emailing the regional offices for both Unite and GMB to ask if either of them have much of a presence at your company.

 

[InArduisFouette]

Quick question as this is a pretty active union thread. I’m in Unite which was the main union at my last workplace. I’ve moved jobs and now work in a reasonably small business in the private sector in an office. Should I stay with Unite? Any better suggestions?

What sector is the new job in ?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

agree with the above.

if there's official recognition of one or more unions for your workplace / job role, then it's generally better to join a recognised union than another

if you're in an unrecognised workplace / job, then it's still worth doing. some unions are better than others at representing members on an individual basis rather than through big workplace branches. i've been a union member a couple of times like that (Prospect and TSSA - the latter was a bit odd, as some jobs within organisation were on a recognised basis, mine wasn't as that job had previously been done within another organisation) but never had to call on their services. Used to know someone who was a mobile care worker with a non recognised employer, and she got some help from GMB locally. That sort of thing can depend on how good a local branch / officer is, though (although to be fair, the same can happen within big workplace branches.)

Unison is public sector only

not entirely - Unison still has active branches in various sectors that have been privatised (water and gas sectors for example) and staff within public services that have been privatised / made 'arms length' one way or another (e.g. health / schools / colleges / housing associations / transport etc) are usually eligible for membership of the health or local government branch that matches.

Bus company i worked for many years ago, the office staff and supervisor levels were (then) NALGO - i never asked why at the time, but not sure if it was a result of a small union merging in to NALGO - it was a company that had never been owned by the local council/s. It doesn't seem to be an active branch any more, but looks like some Unison branches still cover these grades at privatised bus operators.