I’m not driving yet but might be starting soon. I’ll probably start through agency to get some experience unless something good comes up.
I’m thinking about joining a union and just wondering which would is best for the transport industry and why.
none they are as bad as politicians, only out for themselves.
i would avoid if you really want to join one GMB as biggest bunch of cowboys i have ever been a member of.
Dont waste your money
URTU seems to be the only one I would consider being in again
The most important is to join a union
URTU has been very good for me. It concentrates on drivers. The magazine is interesting. The legal cover is more than worth the membership fee. So is the negotiating support in the event of a dispute. On average, employees in a unionized company enjoy better pay and conditions than those in non-unionized firms. If you aren’t in a union you are on your own. If you are treated badly by an employer or one of its clients you always have to weigh up whether it is worth getting sacked, getting punished with bad runs and wagons, or not getting the jobs if you are working for an agency. If you are victimized, it is interesting to see the effect of saying, “Please may I run that past my union”. Your house/car and possessions are valuable and it would be unwise to leave them un-insured by insurance. This also applies to your job. I would definitely not consider working without the professional strength and support of my union.
Well i was in URTU then UNITE as they where recognised by my employer but i left UNITE i had an issue i needed advise on phoned them several times kept being told someone will get back to you they never did so left UNITE make of that what you will but they where pointless so now i keep the cash in the bank until then i had always been a member of a union but im very disillusioned by them as has been said URTU send you a newsletter which is interesting and the legal cover is good if i joined one again i would go with URTU
RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) The monthly magazine is well worth the read. They are actively trying to recruit more HGV drivers.
Don’t bother with any save your money
‘Mother’s Union’ will be just as usefull as any, we were in the GMB and it was a waste of good money. 
Pete.
Im in Unite and think they are good, but its personal preference…
URTU were useless for me. Employer illegally deducted money from my wages and the union sent letters to the employer threatening legal action but told me they wouldn’t actually take any further action due to the costs involved, which they would have recovered anyway.
No longer a member!!!
Agency union has no point hun.
Every one is protected by the minimum employment rights.
There is no unionised collective agreement in an agency.
Terms and conditions already agreed for full time employees.
As said save your cash.
what an absolute load of tosh about better pay and conditions, established old companies may have but no union has any form of power to make ■■■■ all difference nowadays. look at royal mail, miners, ship builders to name a few all highly unionised and all sold off/fleeced and done with as they wanted.
save the tenner a month call acas if needed and put the £10 into an account for legal advice if needed. Union reps at most places look after number one so dont think different, they give (in my experience) awful advice.
learn a bit of employment law if needed it will stand you in good stead (i have had union reps at several disciplinaries and asked them to leave!), 1 i was suspended 4 hours after being given a verbal warning by a manager for refusing a reasonable request (not wanting a 15 hour shift when i was on 9, yet 3 guys on 11.25’s were not asked to do it!), told to accept a warning for a drive hitting my shunter despite being in the hatched area whilst i was shunting (policy was units didnt go in area!).
i dont care what anyone says how someone who works next to you can go on a couple of courses and ‘represent’ you at things like this is beyond me.
In my experience, union reps fall into one of two categories:
Politically ambitious; in which case they care nothing about the members (other than their votes) and are always stirring up trouble to get themselves noticed. or
The the well meaning guy/girl who got elected because no one else wanted to do it and they were the lowest common denominator; everybody’s second choice. (Think John Major). They try hard but management either ignore them or run rings round them.
■■■■■■00:
Agency union has no point hun.Every one is protected by the minimum employment rights.
There is no unionised collective agreement in an agency.
Terms and conditions already agreed for full time employees.
As said save your cash.
employment rights have been eroded. You have to put money up front if you need to go to an employment tribunal which your union would pay. I concur about agreement in agencies but your union will still fight your corner. Terms and conditions should be agreed for full time employees but this does not stop employers from changing these terms unilaterally. I hold no brief for unions but I know that every driver who accepts being bullied or underpaid without union protection, weakens my position and that of all drivers. URTU immediately appointed a specialist solicitor to maximise my injury compensation.
Euro:
The most important is to join a union
URTU has been very good for me. It concentrates on drivers. The magazine is interesting. The legal cover is more than worth the membership fee. So is the negotiating support in the event of a dispute. On average, employees in a unionized company enjoy better pay and conditions than those in non-unionized firms. If you aren’t in a union you are on your own. If you are treated badly by an employer or one of its clients you always have to weigh up whether it is worth getting sacked, getting punished with bad runs and wagons, or not getting the jobs if you are working for an agency. If you are victimized, it is interesting to see the effect of saying, “Please may I run that past my union”. Your house/car and possessions are valuable and it would be unwise to leave them un-insured by insurance. This also applies to your job. I would definitely not consider working without the professional strength and support of my union.
Did you copy paste that from their website? 
You have to put money up front if you need to go to an employment tribunal which your union would pay.
I love your optimism.
URTU immediately appointed a specialist solicitor to maximise my injury compensation.
You can do that yourself. The buggers speculatively phone you/text you that much that you don’t even have to ring them.
Unions are just another Sham to relieve you of your hard earned cash.
They haven’t got the power to do anything, but they are good at making lots of noise, costing you money, but doing no more than you can achieve yourself.
In over 45 years in this industry the union has never achieved anything for me, and I chucked back my card as soon as I could back in the 70s and have never needed them since,.,., save your money mate.,.,
can someone give any recent examples of a union doing good work ( extra pay increases/ holidays / pensions etc)?
i cant recall a single one, you have firemen striking for being asked to work until the same ages as the rest of the workforce, NHS being shafted on pensions to think of a couple.
in transport i dont see hear or read of any firms saying oh we gave our drivers a 10% PAY RISE thanks to unite etc.
and i still 100% say they are a buunch of cowboys who will take you for a ride. we were adivsed to reject a 10% pay rise back in the 90’s by the GMB ended up with 3 after negotiations i would lose my job if i was that ■■■■ at negotiations. 
I think that you’ll find that from a drivers perspective the Companies that offer the best T’s & C’s, the highest wages, and are generally known locally as prefered employers have a strong union presence.
Discuss…
example?
in nottingham most are paid similar, the big companies are ran by DHL etc. so where are these high union high paid companies?
a few like Royal Mail are paid well but did the unions prevent the sell off or the change in working conditions? no they didnt.
if you want a discussion provide proof/examples and i will respond accordingly, like i say i dont know any where the union has either a, a big enough clout to affect these or b, where staff are paid considerably more than joe bloggs a mile down the road. or c, have saved thousand of jobs.
in my years i have seen dockers strike as someones son didnt get a job over someone better qualified and lose. miners shafted rightly and royally with the unions being powerless. shipbuilder striking for some of the most stupid things i have ever seen in my life ( and the whole industry is alomst gone in the UK ), places and names like rover gone by the way as the unions prevented them moving with the times.
i may be wrong and have no issue if am informed different (i have never crossed a picket line in my life and never would as while i disagree with unions and striking in general believe if someone thinks that strongly then fair enough). but i have yet to see any proof of this and my own personal experiences are poor at best.