Organising in the UK:Identifying future

priorities for unions and the TUC

Carl RoperTUC National Training &

Consultancy Officer (Organising)

A quick ‘history’ lesson

• By mid 1990’s unions had spent 15+ years in decline

• Unions lost six million members between 1979 and the mid 90’s

• Union density had collapsed• Harder to effectively represent

our members in the workplace and beyond

1996 - Move to Organising

• Decline is neither inevitable or irreversible

• Growth needs to be sustainable• New approach to organising

−Strategically planning campaigns−Developing and sustaining

member activity−Organising around workplace

issues that matter to members

What we do makes a difference

• Increased union focus on, and investment in, organising and recruitment

• TUC Organising Academy• Development of specialist organising

teams and departments• Internal ‘Academies’• Significant investment – training and

resources• Building organising into all our other

work, for example union learning and H&S

• Gradual cultural change

Good, but not good enough!

Future priorities• Address members and potential

members perceptions of unions and what they are for;

• Make unions fit for purpose;• Continue to build capacity;• Support for activists and

activism.

Perceptions of unions

“I’ve got a miserable man here, he’s got a flat top haircut which he most probably did himself because he’s a bit of a scabby bloke. He’s miserable now – I’ve drawn a bloke striking at a dockers’ yard because it’s just like miners, you know you associate striking with miners, dockers, postmen, you know, it’s just certain professions… manual” (Male, over 25, Cardiff)

Source: OLR research for Wales TUC, 2006

What’s the deal?

• Individual services and representation

• The union in the workplace• Who is the union?• What does it look like?• Who gets involved and how? • Getting the balance right

between organising and servicing

Making unions fit for purpose

• Leadership• Leading Change programme

• Union Modernisation Fund•USDAW’s LEAP project•Support for migrant workers

• Role of national centre?•Strategic direction•Building capacity and supporting

members

Building capacity

• Scale up organising efforts– Increase investment– Move away from organising

workplace by workplace, company by company

– Engage lay reps• Development of the Organising

Academy programme– Strategic Organising – Busting the Busters

Support for reps and activists

• Facility time• Building the reps team

– ULRs– Equality Reps– Health and Safety Reps– Active members

• Increase access and relevance of Organising training

• Activists Academy

Summary

• Success by lots of measures – but there is NO silver-bullet! But we need to…

Build on successes?Scale up?

Engage reps and members?

Keep a focus on what this is all about!