[Closed] Changing union - politics post

Not sure if this helps, but I chatted with all the reps/conveynors and made my choice based on what my local representation would be.

sc - xc has a good point

However Unite are far from hard left - its just the press are all rightwing and love to slate them so they appear hard left

TUC website has a union finder if you want to change that will point you in an appropriate direction

Given Unite's support of Corbyn and Momentum providing them office facilities etc I think most people would see the union to be very much on the hard left or left-left if you like of British politics.

Prospect here. Delightfully white collar union. Our CEO was a member until not to long ago I believe. A couple of directors still are allegedly.

No right wingers like you would. Corbyn and momenteunm are very much centre left and their policies would not look out of place and indeed are often less radical than european mainstream parties of the left

Name one hard left policy

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Can I have some crumbs please CFH? *tugs forelock*

No. Now get back in the scullery where you belong.

😉

TBH though it doesn't really matter what you call it, what matters is whether the OP agrees with it. Well, hopefully, there's always a chance he's just put off by the name Hard Left but it doesn't seem like it.

Unite are generally considered pretty effective though. Not really a fan of McLuskey himself but the leader is only a small part of a union. I don't even know who the leader of my union is.

Given Unite's support of Corbyn and Momentum providing them office facilities etc I think most people would see the union to be very much on the hard left or left-left if you like of British politics

Essentially any union that is active and opposes management and a right wing neo con agenda on low regultion [ reduced workers rights and pay] will be portrayed in the , largely right wing, media like some sort of Marxist revolutionary. None of the actually live up to the crudely drawn caricature

Remember when the DM portrayed Ed as REd Ed - no wonder these frothers think Corbyn is Che Guevara with less cool.

BAck OT
Personally on a local level I think it matters more how effective your union rep is - unless one union has collective bargaining recognition- than which union they belong to.

IMHO the role of union rep is not even political its just about representing the workers and speaking to management on their behalf.
I said plenty of things I did not agree with in my role as a representative and nothing I did was overtly political - trying to get better pay rises for those on the lowest bands above those on the top but that was fairness rather than politics per se.

Workplaces are much better when management and workers get on together. Both sides need to be willing to work to achieve that IME.

davidr - Member
I'm a big fan of collective organisation but would like a union that supports workers without a lot of the seemingly hard left stuff - I'm more centre left. Any thoughts?

How many times have you used the service of the union?

Have collective bargaining improved your condition of work?

If you answer 'No' to both questions above then it's time to leave the union.

If you answer 'Yes' to one question then flip a coin.

I'm a member of Unite as I don't have an industry as such, mainly business support type activities across sectors.

I have not come across a union that is not political. Fact.

igm - Member
Prospect here. Delightfully white collar union. Our CEO was a member until not to long ago I believe. A couple of directors still are allegedly.

As everyone has said, go and speak to your local reps.

As an ex rep, I can assure you that most people become reps because they want the best possible working environment and relationship between management and staff.

If you answer 'No' to both questions above then it's time to leave the union.

Nonsense.
It just means you, personally, haven't needed them yet.

Union is only as good as the local reps IME.

We fought for recognition in my previous job for years, finally got it, reps couldn't wait to play Billy big baws with management, which ended with 200 redundancies.

Worst thing was that at no point did anyone from higher up at unite step in and attempt to talk some sense into them.

fwiw

I saw Len McCluskey stop & help a blind guy find his train at Euston station who was being buffeted by the important commuters in the concourse at Euston.

everyone else (myself included 😳 ) was too busy rushing to get their train

reps couldn't wait to play Billy big baws with management, which ended with 200 redundancies.

Recognition was 10 years in the planning, company were desperate to avoid it (aircraft engine overhaul) as it would be seen very negatively by parent company. The while campaign became very toxic in the end, split the workplace in half - both sides as bad as each other tbh.
The first minor issue, and i mean minor, I can't even recall what it was, resulted in an overtime ban called at a union meeting. The place had lived on overtime for 30 odd years, it's an incredibly difficult process to plan, so having guys off shift willing to work got the engines out the door.

The ban became a who blinks first, and the company decided to flex its muscle.

When your operating costs per hour are over 130 dollars per hour, and the company have shops in Brazil and far east that are less than half that, you don't play hardball over some stupid issue.

I still believe that if both management and union had acted in a mature manner, it would have benefited all parties, but they couldn't put their egos in their pockets.

Worked out for me, got voluntary package and a job in a far steadier industry.

Cheers
Seems like a bunch of nobheads on both sides tbh