Luke Chester
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Building Tomorrow’s Trade Union Movement – Today! - 14/09/2006 19:15
This thread discusses the Content article: Building Tomorrow’s Trade Union Movement – Today!
Arthur's paper highlights some key issues we need to tackle.
Some of his suggestions are already being implemented by UK unions. My own union, TSSA, is working to take advantage of the new organising and administrative applications of ICT.
We are responding to what Arthur refers to as a need to "explore the unvarnished needs and wants of current and propspective members" through implementing an online survey tool. This tool has the capacity to be tuned to recognise the individual member responding to the survey and tailor the questions accordingly. So it can recognise if there are gaps in the member's details held on the membership system and ask for this information to be updated by the member.
Our first application of the survey is to survey the national membership to find out if there are different reasons for getting active in the union (or not) depending on member characteristics such as gender, sexual orientation, disbaility, race, age etc. This should help us tackle a lack of diversity in our representative structures and, as Arthur suggests, begin to tune our messages by the "vital characteristics of the message receiver".
I strongly agree with Arthur's second key point that, as a Movement, we need to investigate the possible future of work globally and nationally. Beyond the capacity to help us "mitigate....dangers posed by foreseeable corporate and governmental developments" this would enable us to become more strategic about selecting organising campaigns - an urgent need discussed elsewhere on the UIN.
Arthur's proposal of an "Information and Communications Technology Group" could perhaps also address potential synergies between TUC affiliate unions in the purcahse and use of ICT tools. How many unions are developing their membership systems in isolation from one another? Shared learnings and bulk/combined purchases of systems required by individual unions may bring down costs?
I believe Arthur is correct in asserting that we can use ICT to "change cultures, foster improvements, become better at what [we] do and imagine entirely new enterprises....make innovation routine". TSSA has used technology to streamline its operations and direct resources to the "front line". Progress in this respect continues apace. We will be introducing a new communications tool which will help flatten vertical union structures and faciliate greater involvement from members, activists and lay officials.
Member involvement in all of what we are trying to achieve as a Movement is the key. Effective organising is about empowering members (as the other essays featured this week point out). But we must be strategic about this - a one size fits all approach is not good enough. Modern marketing techniques are about identifying "market segmentation" and targeting our messages, organising campaigns and services at the 'real' worker rather than the 'imagined' worker. ICT can help us with researching and reaching the 'real' worker.
I believe we should examine Arthur's proposals very seriously indeed.
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