unions worth the money?

smithers1981

I've been in the unite union for 10 years at a cost of 10.90 every 4 weeks thinking of cancelling to save money, union are very poor and don't think I would be any worse off by leaving thoughts please....

DVardysShadow

If you have been in the job 10 years, the negotiations the union have done for your pay are probably paying your sub many times over. If you think that it is OK to not pay your sub and ride on the coat tails of the paying members, remember that once union membership falls too low, you lose negotiating power.

I would say your take on it is shortsighted.

mazza111

Have to agree, the more people in a union, the better clout it has.

ohreally

DVardysShadow wrote: »

remember that once union membership falls too low, you lose negotiating power

To expand on this, the group runs a real risk of potentialy losing recognition and that may be very dificult to come back from.

Op, is your dissatisfaction at local or regional level?

Remember, you elect the stewards and they are accountable to their members.

markwilkinson

Never been a member of a Union and never felt the need to. Waste of money in my opinion. The damage they have done to this country in the last 40 years is just short of criminal.

But that's just my opinion.

mazza111

markwilkinson wrote: »

Never been a member of a Union and never felt the need to. Waste of money in my opinion. The damage they have done to this country in the last 40 years is just short of criminal.

But that's just my opinion.

But if you were working for a company where the union negotiated the pay rises you would be happy to take the pay rise?

That's the only benefit I've had from being in a union in all honesty, but I liked the idea of them being there to have my back should anything have gone wrong

marybelle01

smithers1981 wrote: »

I've been in the unite union for 10 years at a cost of 10.90 every 4 weeks thinking of cancelling to save money, union are very poor and don't think I would be any worse off by leaving thoughts please....

Read 300 threads selected at random from this board, then make your own decision. Unions may not be perfect, although in my experience they are better than a lot of people paint (as others have said, people forget the stuff like pay rises and policies that you don't really think about), but when the !!!! hits the fan, who else is going to there with you? And how do you know it won't hit the fan?

If you then decide to cancel to save the money, you may as well cancel the house insurance too. There's little chance of it burning down or getting flooded after all, is there?

markwilkinson

mazza111 wrote: »

But if you were working for a company where the union negotiated the pay rises you would be happy to take the pay rise?

That's the only benefit I've had from being in a union in all honesty, but I liked the idea of them being there to have my back should anything have gone wrong

As I said, just my opinion and I'm fully aware that many won't agree lol.

Sasha101

I'm with Unison and have been for the past several years. I work in a school and my biggest fear would be an allegation made against me from a child, parent or other member of staff. I have the peace of mind knowing if I needed help and advice they are only a phonecall away for the sake of a few pounds a month.

Although I have had my pay frozen for the past three years, a few years ago my Union Rep helped me win a pay increase against the Council after Single Status was brought in. Unison are worth every penny to me.

ohreally

To quote Stefan Cross (most hated lawyer, trade union persona non gratis)

Whatever his doubts, he (Cross) says he would always recommend his clients to join unions.

franklally

It's a matter of where your priorities lie really - to me I have always belonged to a union and although £195 a year is expensive - to me it is worth every penny for peace of mind.
I agree with the above posts that the unions are usually in the background negotiating fair pay and conditions for us all - if members start pulling out as soon as the going gets tough the unions will lose their negotiating power and the value of unions will then only be missed when it is too late.:)