Union Myths #6 - Unions just go on strike all the time

We've all heard it, at some point in our lives, possibly from our parents or at our workplaces; all those bloody unions do is go on strike all the time, bunch of useless troublemakers.

Well I beg to differ. (Don't act all surprised now.)

Unions, and union members, do a lot more than strike. There are many unionised workplaces who probably haven't been on strike in the last decade. In fact, the gossip reports that work stoppages (i.e. industrial action, including strikes but also other tactics) fell by nearly a third from the previous year. Not only were there less stoppages in 2006 than in 2005, there were less work days lost, despite the 25 day lock-out of union members at Progressive Enterprises.

Here are a few other things unions do:

• lobby and campaign for the democratically decided policies of their members
• represent members when their employment agreement is breached or they are treated unfairly
• negotiate and organise union member deals and discounts, such as insurance, retail savings, and more
• train and develop union members, delegates, activists and leaders
• debate and decide the direction of the organisation, and the way it will spend its money
• support and advocate for members who are in trouble in their job
• negotiate collective employment agreements, constantly seeking to improve the pay and conditions of members
• get involved in supporting broader union and social justice campaigns that their membership think are ka pai, sometimes off their own bat, other times through organisations such as the Council of Trade Unions, or Labour Start.
• provide specific member benefits and services, like union health centres, bereavement payments for the families of union members who die, scholarships for members and their children, and hardship funds
• engage in professional issues, and industry wide planning, for the sectors they represent
• and much much more!

All of these aspects of unionism, and strikes too, are membership activities. A union is its members, and although some are bureaucratic and daunting to the newcomer all give their members a voice - within the union as well as to the outside world.

Yes unions strike, when they need to. It's a tactic of last resort in most cases, although sometimes you have a pretty good inkling before bargaining starts that you'll probably have to look at industrial action. There are strict legal rules around striking, or taking other forms of industrial action, and actually the legal windows when you can strike are quite limited. Long gone are the days of being able to down tools because you don't like the tea, if they ever existed in the first place.

Workers don't get paid when they are on strike, and while it can be a very exciting and invigorating time it's also a hard slog for everyone involved. In my experience union members don't vote to strike lightly. Most of the time workers aren't on strike, they're just doing their jobs, and being union in other ways entirely.



Previous posts in the Union Myths series:

• Compulsory membership (so 1980s) (#1)
• All unionists want to be Rick Barker (#2)
• Unions are just like businesses (#3)
• Unions just protect the incompetent (#4)
• Shortland Street tells it like it is (#5)

(Pic Via.)