Would you recommend your union?

[18yearstooold]

I'm starting my degree in primary ed next week

On the first day we are being introduced to the unions and we are being recommended to sign up to one

Now while I plan on taking full advantage of the free pens etc you can never have too many pens they hand out to try and entice us with, I would rather find out what people's experience with unions is

Would you recommend your union?

Would you recommend joining a union at all?

DH is with ATL. He says because they have him best offer at the time! :) besides that when he was having a tough time at work they have him some really great advice and he has a great ISA saving scheme through them.

1. Definitely join a union. Don't enter a school without being in a union. If you are the incredibly unlucky one a child makes an allegation against, you need your union backing.

1. Join all the unions at this stage - it's free for students.

1. When you get a job, join whichever union the majority of your colleagues are in. If it comes to a strike, you don't really want to be the only one going out (although I have done that and will do it again, it's much easier when you're not the only one!). Also, if you are unlucky enough to end up somewhere where there is a break down between leadership and teachers (unrealistic workload expectations, for example), then life is much easier if you're all in the same union.

Or the one you've decided you like best by that stage. ATL hardly ever goes on strike, NUT is much more militant, NASUWT in the middle somewhere.

That's my observation anyway. Did I mention that you should JOIN A UNION BEFORE GOING INTO A SCHOOL?!?!?!?!?!

Ok, so I think the point you're trying to make is not to go into a school without joining a union???

What toomuch said.

Do not THINK of going into a school without being in a union.
As a student, join ALL the unions (free pens or not ).

Once you start work, then it's often sensible to be in the union that most people in your school are in. Very difficult to be taking any action if you are the only one - much easier if there are a few of you, should the need ever arise.

I think they are much of a muchness tbh. What used to annoy me (but I believe it's the same with all) is that a considerable % of your membership fees goes to things that are nothing to do with improving your T&Cs - they pay into political parties, they give donations to overseas 'causes' - all of which may, or may not be causes you wish to donate to, but you don't get a choice. So might be worth asking what the latest is on all those things.

I'm in the NUT & will stay with them. I had an accident at school a few years ago, and their legal team was amazing - they sorted everything out for me, and the local rep was a huge support when going to meetings with LEA / personnel etc.

I'm not particularly militant, but when I needed help, the NUT really came through for me.

Agree join them all whilst its free - my preference is the NASUWT because they give me the tight kind of communication, at the tight time, not too much of, fantastic free CPD. NUT sent endless bumpf, all of it political and strident, and seemed solely obsessed with getting Gove out, rather than focussing on professional issues, so dropped them and ATL (which communicated nothing) when they were no longer free.

ATL were terrific a few years ago when I was bullied and ultimately pushed out of my job by my head teacher. I left NUT Cymru as felt they were too militant and I didn't want to strike.

Thank you

You are all putting me off the NUT -I do have strong political views but I'm not up for being militant for the sake of it

I'm surprised you can join more than one though

Only as a student can you (or would you want to) be in more than one.

I was in NUT for 21 years - never found them to be anymore militant than the NAS/UWT, talking to colleagues. Was never requested 'to be militant'. Did find them very helpful whenever I've had a query though, and found that their reputation was enough for school managements to respect and listen to them (don't know if that's regional, or if we had particularly good Union officers in the area?). Never found them obstructive or militant over any issue.

I'm happy in the NUT :)

I would not recommend ATL at all.

Join a union. In every school I've ever been in the HT, tosser or not ,has said join a union.

ATL used to pride themselves on not striking, i.e. culling the benefits of those unions who DID strike. Wankers. I regarded their members as scabs.

If they've changed their sanctimonious, leeching stance, please tell.

I'd recommend NASUWT. They support international unions too as they are part of the TUC, so they have political views but aren't as militant as the NUT. I went to the annual conference last year, and after hearing teachers moan about the idea of losing PPA time, the deputy-president of the Bahrain Teachers' Union spoke and apologised for the president's lack of appearance, just that he'd been shot and killed for being a unionist. She then detailed her own experiences of being imprisoned and sexually abused for being a unionist.
The room went very quiet. I'm not saying teachers aren't entitled to complain about the changes to our terms and conditions, but it definitely put our problems into perspective. NASUWT had awarded their union with their international solidarity award, hence they were here to accept it.

Anyway!

Historically, NUT have always gone on strike more than the other two unions. I'm not a fan of strike action (although I will support my union if they call a strike) which is why I joined NASUWT after my ITT. That, and their freebies were better...

While I agree it's good to join a union, I do feel it's worth mentioning that they are not always or even sometimes necessarily helpful if something horrible happens.

I had essentially 'what a shame but we can't help' from mine!

Me too! I would always seek legal advice now. I may as well have been throwing my subscription fees out of the window for 8 years for all the use they were.

The NASUWT were helpful with my complaint, right up to the bit where they would have needed to back me in a constructive dismissal claim. Then they said it would be easier just to get another job. There was at that point not a cat's chance in hell that the HT would have given me a decent reference. The union should have just said, 'get out and get a new job' at the start of it, instead of pretending that they would be able to sort it all out.

I'm with FabulousFudge - I should have just gone to an employment solicitor.

Rubbish! Did they help you get a good reference in the end?