£104 million in recovered back pay, £41 million in members’ pay per year going forward, 5000 new members recruited and 164 days of Industrial action with employers who refused to engage. That’s the output, so far, for Unison’s campaign to recruit and organise Healthcare Assistants in the NHS. National officer Louise Chinnery tells how it was done and what’s been learned, and why she describes this work as “the single most amazing thing I have had the pleasure to be involved with”, in her 30 years of working in the union movement.

We’re grateful to have the support of Thompsons, the leading trade union and social justice law firm, The General Federation of Trade Unions - delivering trade union education, building solidarity and the home of StrikeMap, Pellacraft, award winning and trusted supplier of promotional goods, and Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council. Thank you all.

Episode run time 30m33s. The Organising For A Change podcast is presented by Martin Smith and Simon Sapper. Music is by Scott Holmes. It is a Makes-You-Think production. Contact the show at organsing@makes-you-think.com.

“Employers will often seek to divide people at work…by sewing doubt and fear. We need to replace that with anger, hope and self-confidence.”

This is the first of 5 principles of building unity, joined by a focus on workplace issues, building solidarity between groups in the same workplace, using bargaiing as a means of building and, crucially, making sure that structures and decision-making are democratic (and on this last point, reflecting that unity is not the same as unanimity ).

Peppered with anecdotes and illustrations from a combined 80 years in the union movement, this is a conversation of our times for our times.

As ever, our discussion is calm and measured. Where we disagree, we do so amicably.

We’re grateful to have the support of Thompsons, the leading trade union and social justice law firm, The General Federation of Trade Unions - delivering trade union education, building solidarity and the home of StrikeMap, Pellacraft, award winning and trusted supplier of promotional goods, and Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council. Thank you all.

Episode run time 28m08s. Organising For A Change is presented by Martin Smith and Simon Sapper. Music is by Scott Holmes. It is a Makes-You-Think production. Contact the show at organising@makes-you-think.com. This episode was first published on 8 November 2024. Next episode drops 22 November.

We are joined for this episode by Avril Chambers, the driving force behind one of the GMB union's biggest union building successes - organising school support staff. Avril shares the background to identifying and then union building amongst a new workforce of several hundred thousand. Those who say "it can't be done", "it costs too much", "it will never work" need to pay particular attention. The rest of us can only listen in admiration! More information at gmb.org.uk/public-services/schools-academies-and-education/. Companion blog here!