Don't want to join the teaching strike

[SweetRascal]

I'm a primary school teacher of 12 years and with the NEU. For my own reasons, I don't want to vote yes to striking but will this be judged negatively by other teachers? I just don't feel comfortable with the disruption it causes.

I've been teaching 12 years. The only time colleagues have volunteered the info regarding which unions they're in was in a situation where we were actually in dispute with management. And the union was the NEU and they were about as much use as a chocolate teapot. That was also the case when I once needed individual advice from them too. I ended up paying an employment lawyer in the end.

I switched to Edapt and have found them much better.

You are entitled to strike or not strike that is still your democratic choice.

if you joined the union, then you are bound by the vote - better to leave the union now if you don't want to abide by the majority vote

You always have a choice.

I've heard some bollocks in my time about privilege but this takes the cake.

My father picked spuds so as not to cross the line. Privileged?

I have never been asked what union I belong to (by SLT or anyone in the staff room) and then holding that information against someone is just wrong. Employers are not entitled to know if you are in a union or not.

I haven’t received my ballot paper. I’ve been sent several but none have made it to my house.

I think you'll need to look up the word prolonged. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

This is unusual, and against union advice (certainly my union anyway) Your SLT aren't meant to know who is in what union "for planning purposes" The whole point is that they don't know so they can't plan, and it's as disruptive as possible.

What you discuss on your own terms is up to you of course, but it's not generally advised that you make anyone aware of whether or not you intend to strike in advance.

I didn’t say that they were not striking due to money concerns but highlighted that there are others not striking for that reason which is fair enough.

It's your choice and you shouldn't be forced to strike but you should consider why you're a member if you won't respect the democratic decisions made by your colleagues.

If I was your colleague and knew you had crossed a picket I would judge you.

If you don't want to strike, you can write to the education authority or the academy trust and tell them you only want the payrise they offer, not any improvement negotiated as a result of the strike.
Or just join the Union that doesn't strike (and refuse the extra pay).

@DistantSkye management can ask but you don't have to tell them.

In reality, they mostly know already.

Am not teaching now but I remember going on strike when certain members of our staff did not strike but attended school as usual. They didn't cross our picket line as they came in via another entrance which wasn't usually open. I never said anything to them afterwards and worked with them as before, but I never thought the same about them again and I know others didn't either. I would imagine the non-strikers were unaware of our feelings.

I agree with gawditswindy about this:

I judge union members that don't strike, yes. Those who are happy with collective benefits but are unwilling to take collective action should not be a member of a union.

No way - I have worked as a teacher for many years, NEVER heard of a teacher being asked to leave a union. Striking is a difficult decision, it has impact on the students, but also the way education is going is frightening. I do think you might want to choose a different union, the NEU does tend to be more 'for' strikes - but you don't have to.

It's reality no matter whether you think it's wrong or not.

You are clearly ignorant about the suffering during the miners strike and how a whole community could be decimated.

So yes priviledged that you didnt have to choose between your kids going hungry or you getting your windows put through.

@baublesandbreakdowns
I know they can ask, and that they generally know (I'm in Scotland where the vast majority of teachers are EIS anyway) but I was disagreeing with the idea that they have to know for planning purposes.

The odd day here and there, even for a few months at a time, is not disruptive enough. Especially with wfh being so prominent now. I also feel to maximise impact you would need to strike closer to the exam period. Which I'm sure you can see many teachers would be unwilling to do.

Admiration for you standing by your beliefs. I just don't believe the strikes will work. But I totally support anyone's right to strike. Or not in the ops case!

Don’t strike. Refuse the pay rise. Negotiate your own.

Or join a different union.

I just don't believe the strikes will work.

It depends on whether you think that the only reason for the strikes would be to get a better pay rise from the government.

Furthermore, reps have the right to refuse to represent you. Someone will but in the case of scabs, they often have to bring someone in from regional/head office as local reps aren't going to put themselves out.

I read it more that they just know, not that they have to.

It used to really piss management off when they'd trot round with the list and no-one would tell them. Even the non members or members of a different union would tell them to bog off. 😄

It is illegal for someone to face union discipline for:

1. going to work despite a call to take strike or other industrial action
2. crossing a picket line during a strike
3. failing to take part in or support a strike or other industrial action
4. showing opposition to, or lack of support for a strike or other industrial action (for example, voting against industrial action)
5. refusing to contribute funds to support a strike or workers taking strike action

...but your striking colleagues will not be happy and memories are long.

It's also a bit ironic that posters on this thread are saying you should stick together and support the cause voted for by the membership, just as if they themselves are giving their support to the Tory government and Brexit following the respective votes.

If you do not support the strike action then do not strike. Having family in teaching personally seeing the work that they did during covid and continue to do now, them struggling with the cost of living, you get members struggles to get on the housing ladder etc I wholeheartedly support any teacher who decides to strike.
I understand what you are saying about disruption but I would argue that unless there is some disruption nothing will change.
Nurses, police officers, teachers are all under paid and do their job out of a lot of good intention and this is not fair or right. Why should they feel bad and guilty and not the governments. When you hear about the obscene amounts of money wasted on useless PPE given to Tory cronies, money that we ought to get back and won’t it makes me incredibly angry.

I’m too young (just) to really remember it, but didn’t the general strikes and the winter of discontent bring down the Labour Party in the 70s and render them unelectable for a decade? This government is ruining our country. It needs to be brought down and never brought back.
I’m a teacher and I’ll be striking because we, along with social workers have had the biggest pay cuts of any profession under the tories. We need a pay rise, more than that, we need a funded pay rise, so it’s not coming out of existing budgets that can’t afford existing costs as it is. Most of all, we need the tories gone.

Maybe I misunderstood - I read it as in they have to know so they can decide what to do. I must be lucky! I've never been asked by management if I'm in a union and with the upcoming strikes we were reminded by SLT that it was our right whether to disclose or not (not that they were asking).