In this episode we look at the idea of so-called “big bargaining,” and the way that fits into an overall organizing strategy.

We’ve talked in previous episodes about building unity and the five core principles that union builders, we believe, should adopt to build that unity in workplaces.

This goes into more detail about how you do that, by exploiting the bargaining agenda. Our starting point is that union building and union bargaining are two sides of the same coin, and as well as being a really important principle behind what we discuss in this episode, it also fits into a wider portfolio of skills or strands that form what we would regard as a complete and comprehensive organising strategy.

As ever, our discussion is calm, measured and derived from a combined 80 years of union activism. Where we disagree, we do so amicably. But there’s no getting away from the importance or relevance of this debate.

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 24m02s. 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 orgainsing@makes-you-think.com. This episode was first published on 31 January 2025. Next episode drops 14 February.

Big Bargaining is waiting for you!

The first episode in the third series of the Organising For A Change podcast is preoccupied with targeting – or in other words a model of strategic choice for union builders.

Because two things seem to be universally true; First, activity is frequently measured on process (how many leaflets handed out, how many social media hits), rather than outcome (how many members signed up).

And second, if your AIM is true, then you will hit the target.

But this AIM is different from most – we use it as an acronym for Access, Issues and Momentum. And this AIM is a model for setting effective, appropriate realisable targets to support the union building process.

Listen to hear what that means in practice!

As ever, our discussion is calm, measured and derived from a combined 80 years of union activism. Where we disagree, we do so amicably. But there’s no getting away from the importance or relevance of this debate.

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 26m24s. 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 orgainsing@makes-you-think.com. This episode was first published on 17 January 2025. Next episode drops 31 January.

Campaigning is in our blood – isn’t it? The answer must surely be Yes, but do we always campaigning for the things that we really truly want and need?

So, if you have lost sight of your campaign objectives, are bedazzled by spurious metrics, listen to this Organising For A Change podcast and feel better. We don’t have the answers, but we know the right questions to ask yourself to make sure you do.

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 19m14s. 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 published on 6 December. Organising For A Change will return early in the new year.

£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!

Organisationstend to do what they were designed to do, And unions were designed quite a long time ago in some cases. And what they need to do and what they actually do has kind of diverged.

Unfortunately, there's no theory of change a union can take off the shelf and say, right, if we do that, that'll work. You have to start in your own organisation.

Easy to say, more difficult to do - Simon and Martin share their decades of union experience to try and come up with a few pointers.

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 30m07s. 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 11 October. Next episode drops 25 October.

Welcome to Series 2.

In this episode, we're going to talk about how and why people join unions, and it’s not just because it's obviously the right thing to do.

Over the last 30 years we can probably say we know a lot more than people might think about the dynamics about how and why people join unions.

While the power of data is growing and is phenomenal in terms of helping us understand the how and the why. But the fundamentals don't actually change much, and we discuss how the 5 C’s are still at the core of any union building strategy.

So far so good, and potentially very powerful stuff. So to find out what the 5 C’s are, and why (and if) they still hold good, listen and make up your own mind!

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 29m10s. 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 orgainsing@makes-you-think.com. This episode was first published on 27 September. Next episode drops 11 October.