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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Crossing picket lines when in a trade union

113 replies

Kiddiewinks2008 · 26/05/2016 13:14

I'm a public sector worker in a trade union who is currently out on strike. I didnt vote for the action but feel that if I am in a union, then I have to support their decisions. I have had to use them in the past for bullying in work for which they were invaluable.
My manager is also in the trade union, has been lecturing non union members all week about the pay dispute and how the employers are in the wrong. And then crossed the picket line and went to work.

I'm really cross about it- I have lost pay etc but feel collective union power is undermined if we all dont support their action.

AIBU to be pissed off about manager crossing the picket line? I have no idea about the etiquette of strike action anymore but surely its defeating the object of a picket line.

OP posts:
WriteforFun1 · 26/05/2016 15:08

oh there was a pension raid?
that's interesting
my dad always wanted me to work in the public sector because of the pension.

this thread is an eye opener, I saw a small thing on the news about it and that's it really. I remember my lecturers going on strike but that was a long, long time ago Wink

CoolforKittyCats · 26/05/2016 15:08

There are many reasons to vote for or against strike action. If a person doesn't agree with the reasons for striking, they aren't going to strike. Seems logical and fair. I wouldn't belong to a union if I felt they were dictating to me.

Completely agree.

YorkshireTeaDrinker · 26/05/2016 15:10

Many of my colleagues, who I know are in UCU, are working today (all support staff). I took a late decision to join the strike (had a big project check point meeting today, didn't want to drop my non Union colleagues / team in it). However, the response I have had from those colleagues has been largely supportive.

My view was that, despite the fact that my missing a day damages mainly me (lost wages, work that has to be picked up tomorrow) the benefits gained by strike action (I.e a strengthening of UCUs negotiating position) would benefit all staff. Personally I didn't vote for strike action, But the union has taken the decision to call members out and I need to abide by the majority decision.

uglyswan · 26/05/2016 15:15

Your boss is a scab, OP. If the stike is successful (which I hope it is), I take it he will profit from it to the same degree as other workers in your industry? Or will he refuse any pay rise you are awarded on the grounds that he didn't support the strike?
If you're a union member, you stand with the democratic decisions taken by your union. Or you leave. If striking would exposed you to undue hardship, then ask your strike committee for help and advice. But crossing a picket line and undermining your union's strongest collective bargaining tool because it's far more important to you to express your personal opinion is absolutely despicable IMO.

OrangesandLemonsNow · 26/05/2016 15:18

Your boss is a scab, OP

You don't know the reasons for them working. The OP doesn't fully know if it is the same union.

Name calling quite frankly helps no one.

uglyswan · 26/05/2016 15:25

Oranges - would you prefeer "strikebreaker" then?

"A strikebreaker (sometimes derogatorily called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired after or during the strike to keep the organization running. Strikebreakers may also refer to workers (union members or not) who cross picket lines to work. " - Wikipedia, italics mine.

Atenco · 26/05/2016 15:26

I'm amazed at the people who think that you can belong to a union and strike break just because you disagree with a majority decision? Surely you at least have the opportunity to vote on this and even to canvas opinion to persuade more people to vote like you?

I hope you are not the same people that say children should obey stupid school rules just because...

ilovesooty · 26/05/2016 15:29

I think your manager should be ashamed. I have nothing but absolute contempt for anyone who crosses picket lines or thinks they can break a strike and continue to be a union member. Unfortunately I believe you can no longer expel strike breakers from the union.

BoodlesMcToodles · 26/05/2016 15:39

The clue about how a union works is in the name. You shouldn't break your own union's picket line. That's a fundamental understanding, surely. Otherwise you're throwing away all the power of collective bargaining!

RedToothBrush · 26/05/2016 15:46

Otherwise you're throwing away all the power of collective bargaining!

I actually think this is part of the problem.

Collective bargaining is exactly it. The idea is that this is what should be done. A strike is the thing of last resort.

You could easy argue that your union hasn't bargained hard enough or well enough if its resorted to a strike.

You join a union to have bargaining power for every day things, not just 'big issues'. You do not join a union explicitly to strike. You expect the union not to get to the point where you need to strike.

There are some unions that are led by strike happy muppets and will try and call a strike even though its not in the best interests of their members and its not ended well for the ordinary members.

MaudGonneMad · 26/05/2016 15:49

You could easy argue that your union hasn't bargained hard enough or well enough if its resorted to a strike.

Or you could easily argue that the position of the employers is so intransigent and bloody-minded that striking is the only weapon available to us. Do you know anything about this dispute RedToothBrush?

TheNaze73 · 26/05/2016 15:54

I didn't want to leave and run but, there isn't enough information here to suggest who is or isn't being unreasonable.

enterYourPassword · 26/05/2016 15:57

I would (and have) crossed a picket line because I didn't agree with the reason for action.

I crossed it proudly convinced I was in the right, with the same sense of morality that those stood outside refused to work had.

BombadierFritz · 26/05/2016 16:03

Thats acceptable if not your union enteryourpassword but if it was your union there is no moral high ground in undermining your fellow union members. I hope you at least resigned from the union.

CoolforKittyCats · 26/05/2016 16:06

Are those that are calling 'scab' saying that junior doctors that crossed the line are 'scabs' too?

Rowanhart · 26/05/2016 16:06

I didn't vote for today's strike action.

However, as a member of the Union, then morally I know I have to stand with them. They've helped me at times and I've accessed benefits.

If you are willing to strike break, then don't be part of the Union as you're undermining unionism and how it works.

RedToothBrush · 26/05/2016 16:12

Or you could easily argue that the position of the employers is so intransigent and bloody-minded that striking is the only weapon available to us. Do you know anything about this dispute RedToothBrush?

Maud, this thread is a general thread about crossing a picket line. I am responding to that.

I am NOT responding to individual strike issues.

I would say that was fairly clear from my posts.

If you want a thread on this particular strike, why don't you draw attention to the particular issues in that thread rather it being diluted in this one?

BombadierFritz · 26/05/2016 16:15

The doctors union agreed terms for how to run their strike. It was quite complicated but yes i would call anyone who broke the terms of their own union call to strike, a scab.

BeckyWithTheMediocreHair · 26/05/2016 16:16

I once crossed a picket line on the advice of my union. I had recently moved jobs and the local office hadn't updated my records, so I was not included in the number of employees expected to strike. The union explicitly told me to report for work because they couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't be penalised otherwise.

enterYourPassword · 26/05/2016 16:21

BombadierFritz

Explain why. It was when I was a university lecturer doing my PHd. The benefit of a democracy is that as long as I don't break the law, I can do what I want.

Ignoring the fact that unionism almost brought our country to its knees and that most strikes are not representative of its members based on the small turnouts they tend to receive, are you honestly telling me I should strike although I believe it to be wrong? If so, what moral high ground do you think you hold?

Rowanhart · 26/05/2016 16:28

Enteryourpassword

Then you shouldn't be in a Union if that's how you feel. Then you're not a strikebreaker, simply an anti-unionist.

SeekEveryEveryKnownHidingPlace · 26/05/2016 16:29

Coolfor If you're in a union that's voted to strike and you break the picket line then yes, that's what a scab is.

It doesn't change with how noble your job might be perceived to be!

RedToothBrush · 26/05/2016 16:33

Unions do lots of different things....

Not just strike.

CarrotVan · 26/05/2016 16:33

I saw no evidence of picket lines on campus yesterday or today. I'm not in the union and know very few support staff who are. I have been involved in the contingency planning around the assessment period and, as in previous years, it's looking manageable. In our office we have no-one out on strike action.

Apparently if you die whilst striking you're not eligible for death in service benefit I found out this week although I doubt any university would enforce that technicality

BombadierFritz · 26/05/2016 16:36

You can do it. Its not illegal. Its immoral. You are a scab undermining all your union colleagues if you do so (honourable exceptions aside). You are taking (eg legal protection, legal advice, insurance) without giving in return. The worst are the ones who cant even be bothered voting then break a strike, putting their colleagues at risk.