Topic outline

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• Course Introduction

  Welcome to the course A Call to Action. The purpose of this course is to encourage trade union members to participate more in their union. You will be familiar with what can be achieved by having a strong union in the workplace. Now it is your turn. You need to be involved in your union. By the end of this module, you will be better enabled and will have taken a number of steps, to become more active in your union. 
  

  This will strengthen you and other members' ability to influence and improve your working life. 
  

  Unions have many different activities and campaigns that members can get involved in and support. Its just a case of finding your niche. Many of these tasks or activities are not particularly time-consuming, however, when members participate more they help to ensure that the union is relevant to them and their needs.
  

  
  

  Learning Outcomes

  By the end of this module you will:

  • Know how to go about becoming more active in your union
  • Have a better understanding of union campaigns and activities
  • Have the confidence to take an action, however small, to make a difference

  
  

  Good luck and enjoy! 

   

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    Being Active Brings Rewards

     

    Your union is only as strong as its members and membership numbers enable the union to act effectively on your behalf. High membership numbers mean more influence with management and for this reason, it is vitally important that as many of your colleagues as possible are members of the union. 

    It is crucial to a union’s success to understand that organising and recruitment are essential for the future. Only by building a strong, stable membership base can the union use its influence to represent all its members. 

    For a union to truly represent the interests of its members, those members have to get involved and tell the union what is important to them and what issues are affecting them in their workplace. 

    This would not happen though without the members deciding to become active in the union. Becoming active can be done in many ways and each action taken, however small, can have a real effect.

    
    

    
    

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    Take a look at the following, click on the blue arrow to move through the cards. Use the blue arrow to move through the slides.

    
    

    
    

• Becoming an Active Member

  
  

  
  

  There are many ways you can become more active in your union.

  
  

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• Taking Action at Work
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    This brief comic strip illustrates why workers should take action to have a voice in their workplace and to make change happen.

     

    

     

• Call To Action
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    Help A Friend To Join A Union

    In many cases, one of the main reasons why people don’t join unions is because nobody asked them. By talking to a work colleague about the benefits of being in a union you have an opportunity to turn this around. Remind them about the hard-earned rights that unions have achieved and what they can hope to gain by becoming a member. 

    Action point:

    • Log on to your union website and find out how people can join your union.
    • Give potential members information about the union and an application form.
    • Agree with them to follow up and see if you can be of assistance. 

     

    Powerful people recognise the need for workers to be members of unions. Take a look at the following video.

    (Video Duration: 1.00 minute)

     

• Call to Action - Local Level
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    Talking about the Union at Work

    
    

    Talking about union recruitment with those you work with may not be easy however this first union conversation is key to engaging new members. When you think about it, we often talk about our jobs and the challenges that they can occasionally present so in effect we can talk about current union issues relevant to us. By doing this we can learn about our colleagues' concerns and issues, about giving colleagues information to consider and about where to go in the union to get support.

    
    

    Take a look at the following video from the National Tertiary Education Union for some inspiration.

    
    

    
    

    Action point:

    • Become familiar with the recent achievements of your union.
    • Take a look at the breaking news or recent event section of your website or talk to your local representative about current issues.
    • Start talking about your union in the workplace.
    • Bring any workplace issue to the attention of your appropriate union representative.

    
    

     

• Finding Your Niche
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    Apart from taking an interest in your local union activities, there are many other areas of interest that you may wish to get involved in.

    Click through the following slides for some examples:

    
    

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    My Union: Personal Action Plan

    Now that you have nearly completed the course, we hope we have convinced you of the importance of members’ participation through collectivism and by encouraging your participation in trade union affairs. In that regard, we will now look at setting priorities in terms of your role in your trade union and how you can play your part.

    Download the template below which will give you ideas to start you off and assist you to become more active.
    The document is available in two versions below: Microsoft Word and PDF, to suit your individual preference.

    
    

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    Personal Action Plan - Microsoft Word Version File

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    Personal Action Plan - PDF Version File

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• Conclusions
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    By completing this course, you have already started to make a difference

    You can download your certificate by clicking the link below.

    
    

• Thank you for completing the course

  Not available