There is power in a union?

[diffrentcolours]

For a while now various friends have been talking about UTAW, the United Tech and Allied Workers Union. Technically it's a branch of the CWU, with a focus on the tech industry, and attempting to organise online rather than through geographical branches.

I've never been a member of a union, and slightly sceptical of them. We had a bad time when mother_bones needed employment support from her Unison branch but they were too busy running a high-profile campaign. And I saw the way some unions backed Labour over the National Identity Database when I was campaigning against it. I did look into UTAW but their campaigns seem worthy but not particularly relevant to the issues facing the UK tech industry. There's nothing there about AI/LLMs, nothing about return-to-office mandates and the associated risks of Covid and Long Covid.

But the people I know who are members are adamant that I would be pushing at an open door if I raised these issues on the UTAW members-only Discord, so today I signed up. We'll see how it goes and whether this is a useful activism outlet for me.

Comments

[otter]

I've been a union member off and on since I was 16 years old. Food workers, Teachers, Service Employees, and maybe one or two more. My grandfather was a strong union man from the early 1900s (he was born in 1893) and I have a draft of a letter he wrote to a state Senator telling him to support unions in the 1950s. I grew up on Pete Seeger music.
Do modern unions do all I wish they would? No. Not by a long shot. And union busting is a nationalist/capitalist pastime here, and we're seeing the results of it now.

Edit - end rant. I do hope the union is open to addressing your concerns.

[diffrentcolours]

I'll give it a go and see what happens. Worst case scenario, I'm out a few quid. I'm trying not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

[otter]

I still hold my nose and vote in every election. Especially the local ones. There are some good folks running for those jobs.