Which union can I join??

There is, of course USDAW- Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers

http://www.usdaw.org.uk/

Anyone got any info on them? Are they worth joining?

I was in USDAW. To be honest I never had a clue about who I was supposed to talk to about issues which I should take to the union or anything. Given no contact details, not ever talked to. Generally it was much like not being in a union except technically I was a member. They were of absolutely no use to me.

However that was at a Tesco superstore and if you organised it in your workplace you might have more scope for making something useful about it (I don't know anything about whether USDAW as a whole is good or bad, I just know that they were crap at my Tesco)

Just looked at the site. It looks like it was entirely designed by whoever does Tesco's marketing. That's freaky

USDAW are one of the worst -- colaborators with management to the Nth degree. maybe marginally better than joining no union, but I'd look into what your local GMB or, even better, T+G are like and joining them.

Given that we have a 'labour govt' and all of them are up to their armpits in it, you can't expect much more, but they do provide legal back-up if you need it. there is nothing to beat workers in a workplace dealing with issues together.

Sounds like you need to work in the political arena from where I am standing.

Well in theory you could try unionising them just in that workplace on an a-s basis, building up your own strike fund etc and then affiliating to Solfed or IWW , but at a pinch I seem to remember Amicus have been arguing with the big stores recently and seem particularly predisposed to throwing their weight around in that sector.

yeah i've heard some good stuff about Amicus.

Would it be possible to perhaps affiliate to bothe a 'mainstream' and 'radical' union at the same time? It might be tricky, but worth a go.

I would ask around & see what (if any) union your workmates are in & join that one.

TUC-affiliated unions are much of a muchness & any strength a union might have in your workplace (same as any other workplace) will come from its members, & the extent they're prepared to stick together.

Agree with sali, form your own little union within the store, news of any actions will spread quick and create more solidarity than through affiliating with some employers lackey. Ok so it takes a lot more commitment, audacity, risk and a greater degree of communication with your fellow workers, but isnt that what were supposed to be about?

Alan, no one else is in a union? Or is keeping it quiet...

If you work for a chain, take a look at what unions are active in the other branches of the cahin, if any.

GMB -- 'general municipal and boilermakers' union' -- another general union like the T+G.

Yeah USDAW are so shit it even looks like for Tesco workers the company helps them make the leaflets cos thye're all in Tescos colours with Tescos logos everywhere!

Get in contact with your local GMB, T+G and USDAW branches and ask them if they've got recognition at any Spar branches; failing that, any similar small supermarkets in the area. Bear in mind that these unions are really crap at organising and, unless you come accross a particularly good rep you may have to keep nagging for a while to get much support or info.

Are people on local trades councils worth asking if they can help organise? (If there is one near you)

I've been looking for a contact for Colchester Trades Council on the net (anything to be of assistance ) and all I could find out is that there is one. Couldn't find any contact details, though. I really must learn to use the internet one day.

Yeah we had that trouble as well. If you get hold of one of the local social centres they usually have some contacts, or the NUT/T&G will probably be in it.

Hey B!

Isn't there a way of getting a listing of trades councils, as i'm not sure of the way a trades council works, are they a grouping of local TUC affiliated unions? If so shouldn't the TUC have contact details?

... you'd think so, wouldn't you? I checked the TUC website & they have links to trades council websites. However, not all of them have websites.

The TUC is, however, prepared to sell you a directory of Trades Councils for twenty quid. Fucking good of 'em.

That's what we're here for . Keep us posted -- all the best & try not to get yourself fired

http://www.iww.org/PDF/org.pdf is the IWW's basic organising-&-how-to-do-it leaflet.

I'm not in the IWW, but I think it's pretty damned good anyway . They have lots of good stuff on their US website -- good, basic know-how about workplace organising. It's www.iww.org then just click on the "organise" tab at the top.

Also, SolFed do a good, general your-rights-at-work leaflet, "Stuff Your Boss," which is available from...... er......... me, if you like. Otherwise, drop them an e-mail at solfed@solfed.org.uk

Ring around the main local unions. Have a look at the phone book and just ring them up, ask to speak to someone in the retail section and whoever's on reception should be able to tell you if they have one or not. Once you get through ask them what stores they're organised in. If they don't have members in Spar maybe they have them in similiar type shops.

Obvioulsy its better if you can convince everyone else to join too but even if you can't the union might be able to help out if you're in danger of getting sacked etc.

USDAW organises the delivery workers for Spar if that helps.

You can join the IWW if you are also a member of a mainstream Trade Union. You pay £1/month in subs regardless of your takehome pay, although I guess if you're working at Spar you'd be paying that anyways.

As for what union to join generally. Until Saturday, I was working in an ununionised student union with appalling conditions that I will spare you hearing me moan about. I'd been trying since starting last April (minus the uni holidays) to organise, to build up resistance to mistreatment but was finally forced to give up in the face of many of my coworkers being either apathetic students who don't care, or shitscared of being fired. I'm also not an experience union organiser and didn't have much local support from anyone who was, because of the small size of the IWW generally. I don't know if I would have been more sucessful trying to organise with a Trade Union but honestly I doubt it.

Down the road from me there is another student union which is organised with GMB. The staff there get better wages and more respect, but I think a lot of the difference comes down to the culture of how the two places are run, because my freinds who work there, while generally happier about the jobs, are also still of course subject to ridiculousness at work. The union isn't very accessible to them and when they do have problems it doesn't really represent any power they have to solve them.

I am personally quite comitted to the IWW and will continue to try and organise, now that I have this experience under my belt, wherever my next job is. There are problems such as the lack of support and infastructure, but my view of it is that I don't want to fight for a trade union because that's fighting for a concession.

I think that IWW organising tactics (linked to by someone else above) are better in the short term because they rely more heavily on groups of workers asserting themselves and claiming power over their workplaces and less on appealing to the law and the state for help. The emphasis is on direct action and solidarity rather than on playing legal games. In the long term, the means are the ends, and if we manage to shift power in the workplace from one centrally-organised, authoritarian body (capitalists) to another (labour bosses) then we haven't achieved much. On the other hand, if we organise unions the way we would like to organise the economy, we are much better set to make that "new world in the shell of the old" a reality.

So while unionising will always be hard work, and if you go with the IWW you don't have the law even vaguely on your side, it's more worthwhile and more likely to end in success, I think.

Solidairty,

Gwen