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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not support strike action

297 replies

Happyhappyveggie · 25/01/2018 15:03

I’m in a university trade union and we have been called to take strike action over our pension.

The action is 14 days over 4 weeks, starting at 2 days a week and then escalating over that month to a full week.

I simply can’t do it. It will put my children and family security in trouble but now I am thinking should i leave the Union rather than strike break.

I am finding it all very stressful and upsetting actually as I support the need to protect pensions but it feels like my immediate circumstances are more important- as in keeping a roof over my kids heads.

Aibu? Can you be in a trade union and not support action? I find morally I am struggling with it.

OP posts:
anonymice · 25/01/2018 22:04

you should leave if you don't strike. That really is morally the thing to do. There will be others in your situation who will strike and it is galling to watch.

Domino20 · 25/01/2018 22:08

If OP leaves the union or not she will still benefit from any gain or retention of benefits arising from strike action. Basically, you are leaving the union knowing that you will likely benefit from other people being willing to put themselves in situations that you yourself are not willing to risk. Please note. I'm not pointing this out as a judgement but a fact.

SoupyNorman · 25/01/2018 22:22

You want the benefits and the money others fought for and now it is your turn to take action to help yourself, others and your children you don't want to.

Spot on Moussemoose

Tapandgo · 25/01/2018 22:41

If OP leaves the union or not she will still benefit from any gain or retention of benefits arising from strike action. Basically, you are leaving the union knowing that you will likely benefit from other people being willing to put themselves in situations that you yourself are not willing to risk. Please note. I'm not pointing this out as a judgement but a fact

This is correct. Non union members reap the rewards fought for by union members.

Morally if you are not willing to follow the decision agreed by ballot, then you should leave the union. That way you are not morally obliged to follow the union action. (You will still get the benefits though).

Callamia · 25/01/2018 22:48

Has there been any suggestion about how to manage the wage-hit?

I’m in UCU too, and haven’t seen a similar call (yet) for us, but it would cause us financial problems because my husband will be on parental leave soon, and we’ll be living on not much for a few months.

I’m sure that a wage-hit like that will be worse for more junior staff than it would be for me too, not everyone has a savings account and a partner to help cover the shortfall.

Callamia · 25/01/2018 22:50

Btw, I’m not against strike action at all. What happening to our pension is a bloody horror show.

I’m just interested in the practicalities for those who really will struggle financially.

tiddliewinkiewoo · 25/01/2018 23:05

OP you obviously have to do what is right for you and your family and if you can't afford to take the hit then you'll have to cross the picket line.

Morally though I'd have to take myself out of the union as you literally don't support what the union stands for. It's really quite simple,

Namechanged36 · 25/01/2018 23:11

Callamia There is a central hardship fund in UCU. You would be able to apply to that.
Your Branch may have its own strike fund too.
Get in touch with your reps - they will probably be pleased to hear from you.
You could suggest

  • fundraising activities before and during the strike
  • other unions active at your university may be happy to contribute to a strike fund
  • a workplace food bank
  • if a lot of people drive to work could you organise car shares for people coming in to picket?
  • could you arrange a break for a month from your mortgage if you have one?
Namechanged36 · 25/01/2018 23:14

Hear, hear Moussemoose

WitchesHatRim · 25/01/2018 23:32

All of you posters who are criticising unions you want what others fought for but you won't fight for your children's rights. Shame on you.

No shame on you for judging others.

Are you going to pay Ops rent? Pay their bills? Put food on their table? Do you know Ops situation?

No thought not.

OuchLegoHurts · 25/01/2018 23:37

You can't take the wins from the union and refuse to support them in the work to get it.

This.

Tapandgo · 25/01/2018 23:46

If strikes only took place by people who could afford to lose money there would be no strikes and no challenge to the hits taking place on working conditions, pensions and retirement ages.

Things in the workplace are deteriorating rapidly and various sectors are being picked on one by one. The government and employers rely on people not showing solidarity! then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.....then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me

JustWonderingNYE · 25/01/2018 23:50

Out of interest - and I genuinely don't mean this to be provocative or shit-stirring- but do people feel the same when the teachers' unions strike? I remember feeling absolute anguish and guilt over whether or not to cross the picket line because of missing cram sessions with year 11s about to sit a GCSE.
I'm just wondering whether people here would feel the same if teacher strikes negatively affected their own children's chances in an exam?
For what it's worth in the end I did go into work.. does that mean I don't care about the standard of teaching and education as a whole and can't look at the bigger picture? Perhaps. A lot of my colleagues did the same so maybe the fact I wasn't directly shamed made a difference
Would be truly interested to hear people's thoughts!

rachrach2 · 25/01/2018 23:53

This makes such sad reading. You should feel no shame OP, you are doing what you need to to provide the bare necessities and if the other members of your union can not see that then they are the selfish ones. I'm shocked that it looks like you have to explain your personal financial situation to try to avoid bullying.

I crossed a picket line (I wasn't in the union but they weren't to know that) and everyone at my civil service workplace was courteous and there was no fear or intimidation to those attending work those two days. I didn't realise how lucky I was to work with respectful colleagues.

Tapandgo · 25/01/2018 23:56

education has been the hardest hit by successive governments. Constant interference with assessments, inclusion/exclusion agendas, class sizes, holiday erosion for ‘cramming sessions’, inspections, testing and ridiculing of teachers professionalism and wage freezes. In the end, there is a teacher shortage.
Government has done far more damage to students educational chances than any strike I can remember.

ilovesooty · 25/01/2018 23:58

Great post Tapandgo

JustWonderingNYE · 26/01/2018 00:02

I agree! Problem is, there's such a culture of vocation within most schools that if you aren't prepared to quite literally lay your life (or at least the quality of it) on the line for your students then you're not worthy of calling yourself a teacher.
Most teachers, even the ones looking for a way out, signed up because they care. I wonder if that's part of the reason why teacher strikes have been so ineffective in recent years..

yorkshireyummymummy · 26/01/2018 00:18

Gosh it’s difficult isn’t it?
You are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Personally I would do the following.
I would try to reduce my expenditure from NOW to save a £ here and a £ there. Don’t buy coffee at work, take a packed lunch.
Apply to the unions hardship fund. Speak to your rep - they must have help available for people in your circumstances.

Start buying some cheap staple foods on offer. Pasta, rice, mince for the freezer, bread, butter, cereal, beans, loo rolls etc. Get as well stocked as you can.
Could you get an extra job for a few weeks (maybe ina bar) just to help get you Through?
Maybe look at selling some things on eBay - unwanted Xmas gifts, things the kids have grown out of/don’t play with anymore.

It’s only two weeks worth of wages. With help from the union I’m sure you could manage.
It’s important to remember all of the benefits you have now that previous generations of workers fought so very hard for.
By going against the strike you may make your job untenable if all of your coworkers strike.
Like previous posters have said it would be morally wrong to accept the benefit of the strike if you break the picket line.
Ultimately you have to put your family first and do what you feel is right.
But I would be doing all I could to ensure I kept the roof over my head and didn’t break the picket line. I would somehow make sure I managed.

Kursk · 26/01/2018 04:17

Wow this thread moved on a bit. Makes for some interesting reading.

It’s a shame that unions are still required, DH is lucky to work for a decent company that is anti union, but that’s ok because they don’t need one because they treat people well.

catwoozle · 26/01/2018 04:23

A lot of the posts on this thread amply demonstrate why a lot of people don't join unions.

echt · 26/01/2018 04:26

It’s a shame that unions are still required, DH is lucky to work for a decent company that is anti union, but that’s ok because they don’t need one because they treat people well

Precisely how is he lucky?

How are they decent?

How do they show they treat people well?

echt · 26/01/2018 04:27

A lot of the posts on this thread amply demonstrate why a lot of people don't join unions

Such as?

PancakeInMaBelly · 26/01/2018 04:48

Unpleasant and aggressive. We live in a free society and it's up to the individual to determine what level of support they can give to the cause. OP is looking after her family. Wouldn't we all?
The op IS "free" to leave the union and support from the sidelines...

safariboot · 26/01/2018 05:08

I know it's 20:20 hindsight and all, but you should have thought of your ability to strike when you joined the union.

catwoozle · 26/01/2018 05:24

Such as?

The level of kneejerk rabid aggression against the OP on this thread and the disconnection with the immediate reality of someone's life and the difficult personal decisions they may have to make.