Crossing a picket line

[Boneweary]

Although I’ve been teaching for twenty years now this is actually the first strike that’s affected me. There was one I vaguely remember from 2011, I think, but it wasn’t a big affair at my school.

A picket line is being arranged at my school. I think I am possibly misunderstanding the language - I presume they are literally going to be rallying support and awareness and won’t physically stop me going in. But is the expectation that they are there to discourage staff going in? Probably seems like a daft question but I don’t want to annoy my colleagues: equally I don’t want to break the terms of my contract!

@limitedperiodonly I heard some of them bring their dogs... surely not ... 🤣🤣.
Good look to everyone striking btw, as a parent of GCSE and A Level aged children preparing for exams, I am always disappointed to hear of yet another substitute teacher, teachers bursting into tears at work etc etc. The staffing crisis does not take long to filter down to the exam results and mental heath of pupils.

@Alexandernevermind a colleague brought her dog once. The increase in support from the public was noticeable that day. Though law governing the make up and conduct of picket lines is strict it doesn't specify species. He'd have been in trouble if anyone had asked to see his union card though.

Looking at stats 23% belong to a union in U.K. down from 32% in 1995 so my experience isn’t that in the minority.

Aside from op’s question you’ll be fine I doubt your colleagues will be aggressive etc

Looking at stats 23% belong to a union in U.K. down from 32% in 1995 so my experience isn’t that in the minority.

i know people bleat on about causation and correlation - but i wonder if the steady erosion of workers' rights and the lack of pay increases etc might have anything to do with that?

I'm a bit concerned about what's going to happen to DC when they go to school on Weds. We've had confirmation that school will be open as usual, so they will be going in, but if some of the staff are striking and there is a picket line, I'm assuming they're not going to try and prevent children from going in? DS would be quite upset and confused if he gets to school on Weds and some of his teachers try and stop him going in.

Those things haven’t happened though. Minimum wage has gone up by far more than inflation, and rights such as maternity and parental leave are better than ever.

Equality legislation at work is stronger now than in prior decades too.

Union membership has been sliding since the 1980s for a number of reasons. No one disputes that. What is also not disputed is that union members, particularly those who work in industries where they are in the majority of employees, generally enjoy better pay, terms and conditions that those who for whatever reason decide to go it alone.

I can’t agree with that my pay was good compared to many non unionised sectors. Companies wanted to attract us with that and via benefits.

Edwin yours are private aren’t they? Mine too and it seems no strike is happening, so far

@MarshaBradyo yep, it's a private, but I'm pretty sure they recognise NEU as there was a strike a couple of years ago over the school leaving the TPS. So not sure if maybe some will be striking but others not - allowing them to open.

I apologise. It is not true that all union members enjoy better pay, terms and conditions than people who are not in unions. It depends in what industry you work and even then, when a dispute is settled non-union employees reap the benefits negotiated by their unionised colleagues. I never liked that but I accepted that it made sense from an employers' point of view to reward people for not taking industrial action.

What I should have said is that people who are in a union are more able to do something about it when, like everyone from time to time, their employer disappoints them.

Could you go to work very early so that you get there before it's all set up?

It depends in what industry you work

It also very much depends on supply of and demand for good quality, capable staff.

Salary and benefits in Technology tend to be good, because we are always crying out for trained staff. Teaching historically at least has tended to attract more than it's 'fair share' of applications because it's a 'well thought of profession' and the possibly potential for school term work only (whether that really happens ...)

All these things might change in the light of the current circumstances.

If you look at stats it’s easy to see why someone in London at bottom of unionised table might say they don’t know anyone in a union

I’m in London towards the bottom but that doesn’t mean we are badly paid nor does it mean employees are subject to more things that make them unhappy as competitive market gives options.

Fwiw I have never seen a union strike in my sector and have not benefited from a pay rise due to it. Pay rises happen because the employer wanted to keep me and others or I switched jobs.

Looking at stats 23% belong to a union in U.K. down from 32% in 1995 so my experience isn’t that in the minority.

@MarshaBradyo Most people don't do a lot of things such as skydiving or going to the Royal Opera House but something being a niche interest is not a reason for no one doing it.

And 23 per cent is not that bad. It's more than the UK average smoking rate of about 14 per cent which you'd never believe if you relied on Mumsnet anti smoking threads. And I think union membership has more benefits and a greater future than taking up smoking.

If you don't think union membership is worth it to you then that is a valid personal decision. It is worth it to me for both tangible and ideological reasons.

Therefore I joined a union in the 1980s when overall union membership began its decline and continue to remain.

I like my union - the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) - for lots of reasons. Pay is pretty low on the list. I'm not complaining because I love my job and my lot is much better than many other people's but journalism is not as well paid as people think. However, while an employee in companies that reluctantly recognised the NUJ, my pay and conditions did not slip below the collectively negotiated settlement while leaving me free to negotiate my own arrangement as an individual employee. Most people would think that ideal.

The support from professional union officers and the advice from legal experts employed by the NUJ is the chief reason I continue to pay my (tax deductible) subs. It has been outstanding both for employment and professional matters I have encountered in my career and undoubtedly still will.

Training is very important to remain employable in an industry that has seen as many changes as mine. The NUJ runs a series of courses both free and charged at a reasonable rate. In my last redundancy payment a sum of £3,000 was paid on top of the settlement for legitimate training to assist me in my future career. You can be sure I used every bit of it and the NUJ courses were accepted without question.

The other benefits are excellent: discounts from affiliated organisations on work essentials, insurance, travel, entertainment, education etc.

All of the above are common benefits within most trade unions.

For reasons of personal ideology I believe union membership is a benefit not just to me but to wider society. I look forward to my long service medal if I live long enough.

That is my view and not something I would force on others. I'm sorry you don't think your union is much cop and I wish you and others belonged to one giving the excellent representation and benefits I have. But as in all organisations the service and experiences vary.

The personal experience, good or bad, of others is never a reason not to explore the idea of something - union membership in this case. As I explained, the idea that something is not good because not many people do it, is not a good reason not to explore it for yourself.

It's a personal choice. If people don't like it they can always stop paying. But like me they might.

Limited I’m of the same opinion in that I would not invalidate your decision as I said below. I haven’t even talked about whether a union I could join is much cop it’s that low on the agenda in the sector I’m in so there’s no reason to be sorry. It’s absent as a factor.

I don’t actually have a positive view re unions so I’m least likely to pay union fees in any case. If people benefit and are happy that’s great I’m not going to dissuade them.

@edwinbear If the school is open then your son will be able to go in and do something with whatever staff are working that day. If there is a picket line no one will try to stop your son entering or distress him in any way.

I expect it will be a bit like when I had a mammogram on a day the junior doctors were in dispute at my local hospital but with less tit-squashing.

We said hello to each other as polite people do and I crossed their picket line. Why would they not want me to have treatment? Better treatment for patients was one of the reasons for their dispute and teachers want similar things for pupils.

On the way out they gave me a badge but didn't force me to wear it. The decision to pin it on my jacket was entirely mine. It was useful because later the woman on the checkout in the supermarket touched my hand and said: "I think you are a wonderful person."

I thought of telling her I wasn't a doctor but a journalist. But as you can imagine I don't get much praise in my line of work so I smiled humbly and thanked her.

@MarshaBradyo you don't have a positive view of unions and I do. We are all individuals.

Yep that’s pretty much my motto on mn so I’m not going to disagree there 😀

In Scotland NASUWT, EIS and SSTA have all told pregnant teachers that they are not expected to take part in strikes because of the possible affect on maternity pay.

I have had to cross picket lines a few times recently as I am SSTA so went in on the days when it was only EIS on strike. No issues or worries and the janitor is making everyone rounds of tea.

@limitedperiodonly thank you, that's very reassuring (and made me smile). DS's teachers are lovely people and I can't imagine for a minute any of them would want to upset or worry the kids. I have spoken to him about it and said he might see some of his teachers outside school striking and why they are doing so, but he'll probably just be able to walk in as usual. I just wanted to double check that was likely.