IER Conference
Wednesday, 27th March 2013
ORGANISING AGAINST AUSTERITY
Kevan Nelson
UNISON NW Regional Secretary
Nature of the Problem
Threats to union organisation in public sector
 Cuts agenda – redundancy and redeployment
 Outsourcing, privatisation and marketisation
 Attack on facility time
 Generational change – membership concentrated in older workers
and lack of awareness among younger workers
Organisation centred in specific sites – some sites with no UNISON
presence
Loss of experienced stewards through retirement and/or redundancy
Some branches dependent on small number of stewards – overstretched
and overworked
High levels of case-work - limited time to devote to wider organising
activities
Increasingly passive relationships between members and branches – gap
between membership and activists
Objectives & Aspirations
Increased density - key goal but not sustainable without stronger
organisation
Identification, recruitment and development of contacts and new shop
stewards
This would underpin sustainable gains in membership density in the
medium to long-term
Creation of a more active membership – encouraging members to take
greater responsibility for representing their own interests.
Key Challenges
Barriers to recruiting and developing stewards were cited
 Fear that new activists will be targeted by management for unfair
treatment
 Time commitment and workload involved in representative duties is
a deterrent
 Limited availability of facility time.
Developing workplace representatives is a slow and incremental process
– need for patience
Increasing and maintaining the visibility of the union in the workplace was
crucial
Expectations and communication between organising teams and
branches
Nature and selection of targets – employer attitude, access and union
presence
Availability of information – mapping
Early Progress and Achievements
– June 2012
Development of detailed maps of union organisation within the targets
Activities of local organisers have boosted the visibility of the union and
started to create a sense of re-engagement with the union
Over 1,200 one-to-one conversations between local organisers and
workers conducted in the first quarter
215 new members were recruited
Teams had begun to identify, recruit and develop potential ‘leaders’ and
shop stewards
 7 new stewards
 Over 70 potential leaders
 Workplace contacts established some sites with no previous union
presence.
Progress in improving communication and setting out clear working
methods – protocol for recruitment and training of stewards
Early Lessons and Key Issues
The need for an organising approach
 Recruitment creates expectations of union action
 Without stewards service provision is undermined
 Servicing without organising is unsustainable
 Organising around issues alone?
Focus of organising
 Target selection represents a strategic choice
 Organising from a position of strength or extending into new areas?
 Need for organisation remains in workplaces and organisation
where union traditionally strong
Early Lessons and Key Issues
Key success factors
 ‘Right place, right time’ – confluence of issues
 Large workplaces – easier to map
 Positive employer attitude – access and resources
 Organisers on site – existing organisation to build on
Branch involvement – negotiating relationships
 Need for branches to be involved in design phase
 Role of organisers needs to be clear from the outset
 Clear processes for recruitment and training of representatives
 Need for flexibility on both sides
March 2013 Outcomes Update
Phase 1. 3 Projects. 11 Target Employers.
-1,065 New Members
-99 New Stewards Appointed
-166 Workplace contacts / Potential Stewards
Lessons Learnt Update –
March 2013
Projects confirmed our understanding of what works – ie Use of mapping
info to target dedicated resources & 1-1 organising activity around
collective workplace issues.
Use of issue based organising approach requires a degree of flexibility to
re-focus priorities & re-deploy organisers as issues arise in other target
areas.
Staff & Activists working in partnership to deliver clear objectives.
Direct membership recruitment by organisers was most successful in
areas of shift work outside of “office hours”. Workers appreciated the visit
and unlike day workers had often never been approached. Fewer
Management meant more space for 1-1 conversations.
Although membership recruitment fell slightly short of target, steward
recruitment was significantly over target. Stewards were easier to recruit
than anticipated when they were offered clearly defined local level
constituencies of around 20-40 members.
Cont’d/...
Lessons Learnt Update –
March 2013
The Union now has to ensure the effective integration of new activists into
existing structures and deliver on the commitment to train, develop and
support to ensure sustainability of improved workplace organisation and
membership levels. Will require significant ongoing commitment at branch
and regional level.
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QUESTIONS