Hi, just wondering if its worth joining a union, and if it is which one? Any ideas? 
Ta
I was in URTU for a while and they were a useless bad joke when I needed them, never again 
tachograph:
I was in URTU for a while and they were a useless bad joke when I needed them, never again
I was in casualty once for more than 3 hours, never again! Stick to drivers hours advice TG youāre better at that!
Pinky666:
Hi, just wondering if its worth joining a union, and if it is which one? Any ideas?
It depends on whether the company you work for has a union presence in which case it would probably be best to join the same union as the other lads. If itās just you then take your pick, URTU is specifically for drivers.
44 Tonne Ton:
tachograph:
I was in URTU for a while and they were a useless bad joke when I needed them, never againI was in casualty once for more than 3 hours, never again! Stick to drivers hours advice TG youāre better at that!
I speak from my personal experience of URTU rather than the rose coloured rhetoric youāll get from some union members, and they were a bloody joke.
Like I said never again
44 Tonne Ton:
URTU is specifically for drivers.
From my experience URTU is specifically only interested in your money
Whatever one the MPs are in, they seem to get a decent deal
newmercman:
Whatever one the MPs are in, they seem to get a decent deal
OBC
Old Boys Club!
44 Tonne Ton:
newmercman:
Whatever one the MPs are in, they seem to get a decent dealOBC
Old Boys Club!
And you pay your dues twice a month in the kharziās on Clapham Common or Hampstead Heath 
No point at all if youāre the only one there.
However the best jobs iāve had over the years have all been unionised including the present, all except my first job have been TGWU, now Unite.
The most important choice is who to select for your union rep/steward, strong enough to stand up for themselves and members, decent enough not to be for sale or feather their own nests at their members expense, sensible enough to be realistic and stop militants members from being unreasonableā¦good stewards iāve known have been excellent middle men, though often making the jump to management in due course for several reasons, hence choose your stewards carefully.
imo nope was in the GMB at asda offered 10% pay rise union rejected it went work to rule strike etc etc etc lost loads of money and ended up taking 3% save the Ā£10 per month imo! unless your somewhere where the union and the reps are strong but they are few and far between now 
.
Wheel Nut:
Mothers Union seems as good as any
I prefer the WI, much more militant!
Juddian:
No point at all if youāre the only one there.The most important choice is who to select for your union rep/steward, strong enough to stand up for themselves and members, decent enough not to be for sale or feather their own nests at their members expense, sensible enough to be realistic and stop militants members from being unreasonableā¦good stewards iāve known have been excellent middle men, though often making the jump to management in due course for several reasons, hence choose your stewards carefully.
No point at all really. You can be as straight as a die, do yer level best for the members etc but when the chips are down guess what? You turn around and all of yer ābrothersā who voted for you to represent them have gone missing!
Donāt want to rock the boat, need the job, bills to pay blah,blah,blah!
No spine, no balls and no flippinā hope!
As someone else has said, the WI would probably suit most!!
Not a lot of point joining one imho, as most firms donāt recognise unions. Thereās nothing your tenner a month buys you, that you canāt get from the cab or acas. Free advice on legal standings etc.
isnt it the law that if x amount of the total employees are in a union the company has no choice but to recongise it?
If you donāt have a Union to represent and speak for you collectivelyā¦who will?
as some say, it depends on if there is a union recognition deal where you work. As you are asking not about a specific union I guess that there isnāt one where you work.
URTU, as stated claims to be entirely for drivers but in my opinion have less clout than others.
(not that any have any real clout nowadays)
USDAW, although they have in the past negotiated many cracking deals , especially in the retail area, my own experience of them was that they consistently failed to back up stewards and that their officers were far too cosy with management (read into that what you will)
TGWU (UNITE) been a member for over 40 years and have mixed feelings.
certainly there have been times when being a member has paid off but there have also been plenty times when it hasnāt been worth the effort.
However, with the recent merger and a new General Secretary,( who seems to have more testicles than the previous Gen Secs) I am starting to see more proactive results for members that are in my Branch.
One thing to consider is the mentionof ālegal adviceā.
Check if it is legal advice or legal representation, free representation is a lot more valuable than advice.
Been lots of discussions here wether unions are good , bad or simply pointless.
My own opinion is and has always been, yes they are worth being inā¦but donāt expect a fairy godmother to wave a wand and make all your problems disappearā¦ it doesnāt work that way!
newmercman:
44 Tonne Ton:
newmercman:
Whatever one the MPs are in, they seem to get a decent dealOBC
Old Boys Club!
And you pay your dues twice a month in the kharziās on Clapham Common or Hampstead Heath
If thatās all you pay in dues Iāll take the job!
I thought of joining one to get a payrise and the wife said no lol
Divorced the wife now so pay myself what i like and be away how long i like
del949:
ā¦Been lots of discussions here wether unions are good , bad or simply pointless.
My own opinion is and has always been, yes they are worth being inā¦but donāt expect a fairy godmother to wave a wand and make all your problems disappearā¦ it doesnāt work that way!
Biggest problem the workers have at present is finding a political party who will represent them. Until then ^^^^^.