Belonging to a Union

[francovendee]

I'm not referring to the current dispute in the news but wonder if any member has belonged to a Union?
My second question is have you ever had to join in industrial action against your own views?

I confess to never joining a Union. I may have been lucky in always working for small companies where there was no union recognition. I don't think it ever meant I wasn't paid decently but working conditions were less than perfect. This was in the 60's and through to the 80's.
I think if I'd worked in a company with a Union presence then I would have joined.

[reohn2]

I'm not referring to the current dispute in the news but wonder if any member has belonged to a Union?

Yes

My second question is have you ever had to join in industrial action against your own views?

No

[Jdsk]

I'm not referring to the current dispute in the news but wonder if any member has belonged to a Union?

Yes

My second question is have you ever had to join in industrial action against your own views?

No

Jonathan

[Vorpal]

Despite working in mainly professional jobs, I have been in unions for 20 years.
Something like 80 % of workers in Norway are protected by unions, though I don't actually know how many of those are members.

My union were instrumental in getting me back to work after a covid furlough. The company I work for planned to make my entire department redundant.

I have never taken industrial action myself, but I was once threatened with dismissal in the USA when I refused to cross picket lines. The company told me that the protection for employees not crossing picket lines didn't apply to me because of my position, but the law said otherwise & the union backed me up.

By personal observation, where unions are strong, all workers benefit from much better working conditions & it works on both a micro/company scale, and a country scale.

[rjb]

Even in retirement my union (life member) works tirelessly on my behalf on issues such as pensions, health related industrial disease and more. I would recommend membership to all.

[Jdsk]

Even in retirement my union (life member) works tirelessly on my behalf on issues such as pensions, health related industrial disease and more. I would recommend membership to all.

Me too. And this often comes up in this forum when people need advice after "accidents". Or have employment problems.

Jonathan

[Carlton green]

Where there has been Union recognition then I have belonged to a Union. Nothing in life is perfect, Unions do cost money to belong to and there’s the risk of having to stand in solidarity with your co-workers. However I’ve always found that in practice the benefits clearly outweigh the costs and risks. I have taken part in industrial action but that action has always followed a vote and whether for or against action I’m happy to respect the outcome of the vote and act accordingly.

Perhaps there are exceptions to the rule but I believe that you can only be unwilling drawn into industrial action if you’re the type of person who doesn’t accept the outcome or validity of a vote. Validity might occasionally be an issue - often is if your read the Express or Mail - but members do have a say about how their Union is run.

[Jdsk]

By personal observation, where unions are strong, all workers benefit from much better working conditions & it works on both a micro/company scale, and a country scale.

And it's very interesting to watch the recent appearance of unions in the giant USA companies.

Jonathan

[thirdcrank]

I was prevented by law from being a member of a union. It may say something about the effects of other legislation the the Police Federation - established as the government's poodle - should now be portrayed by the likes of Teresa May as powerful.

In retirement, my situation seems to have been protected as a side effect of the work of the Fire Brigades Union. (The inflation proofing seems under regular attack. It's provided partly by the occupational pension scheme and partly by the state retirement pension. The details are beyond my but at one point the Home Office tried to lose a bit down the back of the settee but the FBU spotted what was happening.)

[reohn2]

Even in retirement my union (life member) works tirelessly on my behalf on issues such as pensions, health related industrial disease and more. I would recommend membership to all.

+1

[PedallingSquares]

Yes and a Union rep also.
25 years ago I was a rep and I'm just retraining.In fact I'm on a Stage 2 advanced rep course 4-8th July.I would not work anywhere that doesn't recognise a Union.
Things are very much different now to when I was last a rep.

[Psamathe]

I'm not referring to the current dispute in the news but wonder if any member has belonged to a Union?
....

Never - though that was not on a point of principle or belief. Through my career I've only had one job where union membership was a possibility - working for a Gov. QuANGO. It was very early in my career and finances were very tight so I didn't purely because I didn't want to spend the money or couldn't afford the money. There were strikes whilst I was employed there and I didn't cross picket lines or go into work (I was fortunate in that it was easy for me to take time-off-in-lieu - working from home not practical back in those days). So I did a bit of a cop-out - not present in terms of counts of staff not turning-up for work but not attending picket lines.

Since then never worked for a company where Union membership was an option.

Ian

[Pendodave]

Yes.

No.

And despite what the propaganda machine has been pumping out for the last fortnight, not currently taking any action.

[millimole]

Yes
No

I was a Trade Union member for about 35 of the 40 years I worked in the NHS.
I was involved in a couple of acrimonious disputes, but never went on strike.

When I needed Union support at the tail end of my career I was severely let down, and although I remained a 'retired member', I've now let that lapse as I was seeing a very poor return on investment.

I'm a supporter of Trade Unions as a principle, but they can let people down by having mediocre local reps, and by having leaders who are out of touch with the members paying their (sometimes huge) salaries. A pincer movement of failure.
Trade Unions need to get back their roots and rebuild local movements.

[Carlton green]

Yes
No

I was a Trade Union member for about 35 of the 40 years I worked in the NHS.
I was involved in a couple of acrimonious disputes, but never went on strike.

When I needed Union support at the tail end of my career I was severely let down, and although I remained a 'retired member', I've now let that lapse as I was seeing a very poor return on investment.

I'm a supporter of Trade Unions as a principle, but they can let people down by having mediocre local reps, and by having leaders who are out of touch with the members paying their (sometimes huge) salaries. A pincer movement of failure.
Trade Unions need to get back their roots and rebuild local movements.

Early in my career I was a Union rep, no one else was prepared to do the job so I had a go for the twenty or so of us that had me as their first link in the Union support network - a lad doing a man’s job. Management used to make life difficult for troublesome reps and, eventually, promote people who showed themselves to be thinking folk; indeed good managers listen to sensible Union folk and the result is a happy work place. The point I make here is that Union members get the support that they deserve when they stand behind their shop steward and give of their own time and skills to support their fellow workers - don’t just pay your subs and leave all the rest to someone else.

Some Union leaders do get paid a packet and some might be worth it and some might not. Truly professional help costs money, but failing to get effective help also costs money too. So, members need to take an interest in their Union and ensure that their Union responds to their needs.