Would you join a union?

Every place I have worked, people who join the Union say that the Union is next to useless. They regret paying the sub.

Yeah, they're also the people who never attend branch meetings, never return a ballot and would never stand for shop steward. A union is only as good as its members. That's their strength and weakness. If your shop steward is crap - vote them out and stand yourself.

Can we stay on topic please and give it a rest with the personal attacks? I'd hate to have to give out warnings etc. Thanks

Unions are about workers voicing collective interests and protecting pay and conditions. To be against that, you're either a boss/owner, top layer management or a mug.

Oh and you don't have to contribute to the Labour party.

Calling a scab a scab is not a personal attack. Its a statement of fact.

That's the ideal. But we have laws to protect worker rights now, Unions can be great and I'll admit I don't have a lot of personal experience with them. However my Dad does, and so did my Grandpa, and my Uncle, and my Mum and quite a few other people who's opinions I respect, and they have very few good things to say about them in general. And my Dad rose through the Unions, and is of the opinion that the 'Union Men' are just as self serving as the ever demonised 'management' in the companies.

Unions do contribute to Labour generally and I'd have no say in it, so no Union will be taking my money or membership unless I have desperate need of them.

Negged for having a perfectly reasonable alternative opinion For all the people on here who preach freedom of speech and tolerance you well err aren't very tolerant.

But, but, but you have the liberty to starve in that case! It was a choice which you made totally freely. A genuine free market is all about teh liberty!

Its true that union bureacrats are generally self serving. Which is why a strong rank and file is so important. Union full timers are usually the ones trying to avoid strikes, its the rank and file who usually push for them.

If you want a democratic union with no full time bureacrats, then Industrial Workers of the World are the one.
https://www.iww.org.uk/
We won the recent John Lewis cleaner's dispute.

We're an officially recognised trade union with no affiliation to Labour, run by members for members. Also worth joining the union that has the collective bargaining agreement in your workplace. I'm in the IWW and Unison and the RCN.

No. They're selfish, impractical and everything they claim to be fighting against. As bad as big business imo.

I don't really have a problem with organised labour in theory - but the reality of it is that most unions are fronts for far-left politics. They needn't be. Equally young, middle class people are generally quite happy to put in long hours and to work hard in order to progress early in their careers.

I'm a member of the Law Society of Scotland, which I suppose is vaguely a trade unon in some ways.

I'd rather not be part of a Union with a storied affiliation with Anarcho-Socialist movements, equally I've got no time for Unison or the RCN as they fund and are affiliated with the Labour Party.

As I said, I have no real interest in being part of a Union. Should I find myself in a hostile work environment then maybe, but unless I feel a real need of them, I'll abstain.

I joined one before going self-employed. To be fair to them they were very helpful-but they couldn't stop me being sacked. However I loved being in one-for the most part they were very helpful.I would recommend joining one .

I'd rather not be part of a Union with a storied affiliation with Anarcho-Socialist movements, equally I've got no time for Unison or the RCN as they fund and are affiliated with the Labour Party.

As I said, I have no real interest in being part of a Union. Should I find myself in a hostile work environment then maybe, but unless I feel a real need of them, I'll abstain.

care to check your sourses there.

the RCN is not TUC or party affiliated.

As has been explained several times on this thread, you can opt out of paying the political fund.

I'd agree with you in real life, but this isn't a picket line, it's supposed to be a structured debate, so try and attack the opposition's stance rather than making an ad hom remark. Ta.