NASUWT only 42% voted

[bridgetjonesmassivepants]

Can't believe this. Apparently 90% of those who voted voted to strike but the union can't go ahead with strike action as a 50% threshold is needed.

Why wouldn't you vote? I can understand we will all have different views but if the current situation isn't enough to make you vote what is?

Do we now have to hope that the other unions will do better?

So if around 113,000 of NASUWT members said yes to striking (42% of 300,000 = 125,000; 90 of 125,000 = 113,000), and a lot of those people have joined the NEU (approx 12,000 new members this week), the NASUWT could have lost a good number of people who are extremely keen to strike.

12,001.

I can't walk into work on 1st Feb, knowing that neu colleagues are losing pay to try and secure better conditions for all of us.

Some may have kept their NASUWT membership though, and possibly seeing the NEU vote yes may inspire some? Plus there were clearly issues with how the NAS ballot was run.

I do think it's not impossible they could get a yes vote BUT the question would be how long this will take. I think anyone in secondary who is on the fence will struggle with striking after Easter and having a more direct impact on exams, for example. If they are going to do it, they need to do it quickly.

Nas are now saying anyone who wasn't a member of neu at the time of the ballot can't strike. Perhaps both unions could get together and tell us.

Oh, the NAS are also not happy at the NEU poaching its members:

"Advice to ALL members across the UK

Is it appropriate for unions that are taking industrial action to recruit members of the NASUWT to join them?

A founding principle of trade unions is solidarity. Amongst other things, that means not undermining sister unions by poaching members. Our movement is stronger where we work together in the interests of all of our members.

Union membership is an individual’s choice. It is therefore not appropriate for any trade union to deliberately and actively seek to poach members of other trade unions to bolster industrial action. This contravenes TUC principles which state:
“All affiliates of the TUC accept as a binding commitment to their continued affiliation to the TUC that they will not knowingly and actively seek to take into membership existing or ‘recent’ members of another union by making recruitment approaches, either directly or indirectly, without the agreement of that organisation.”

www.nasuwt.org.uk/news/industrial-action/when-other-unions-take-industrial-action.html

I don't think they are poaching.

But I would like actual clarity as to whether new neu members can strike. I can't see that in the guidance, just the reiteration that if you aren't in neu, you can't strike.

How can it be poaching if those NASUWT members are themselves choosing to join the NEU as they are not happy with their union?

But I would like actual clarity as to whether new neu members can strike.

TES says yes. I haven’t seen anywhere saying no.

I think there has been an awful lot of encouragement for NAS members to switch unions.

If you join the NEU before 1st Feb you are a union member and can strike as an NEU member.

I think there has been an awful lot of encouragement for NAS members to switch unions.

I am a rep and every single person who has changed has come to me of their own volition. You're underestimating the strength of feeling about striking, if joining the NEU is the only way to do it that is what they want to do.

By the time the NASUWT get round to a potential second ballot, and even if that did happen and striking did go ahead, nothing will happen until the autumn. People want action now.

I am a rep and every single person who has changed has come to me of their own volition.

That doesn't mean that there hasn't been a lot of encouragement to switch unions, on here, and in real life.

We are never going to agree on this but on this thread alone these comments were made without any encouragement from anyone in the NEU:

• Is it too late to join the NEU?
• Does NEU have an app?
• If NEU gets the vote through then I will join them.
• I am now in a Psu setting and i'm happy to change to NEU. If I change now can I add to their mandate? I'm totally fucked off with the uselessness of NASWUT

I truly don't know what your issue is with this, you are in the NASUWT and you don't have to strike or join the NEU. So don't. But your union has been immeasurably weakened by their failure to get this ballot passed.

I truly don't know what your issue is with this

Your claiming that there hasn't been any encouragement to switch unions. I know there has because even the NEU rep in my own school has suggested it.

I posted that the NASUWT was said other unions shouldn't be poaching members. You can get shirty about that, but it doesn't mean it hasn't been happening.

But your union has been immeasurably weakened by their failure to get this ballot passed

And if I didn't have serious reservations about your union, I'd switch. 🤷‍♀️

Do you have a link/source for this, please?

I believe it to be untrue, but would like to share with someone more experienced than me.

One thing I would say is that no-one should tell your head/employer details of your union membership except you due to GDPR.

This is also untrue, because un-unionised teachers can strike, as can teachers who are members of Edapt etc who have not balloted (this is what Edapt have advised their own members btw, I know they are a non-striking union not suggesting Edapt members should strike, but they can if they wish according to their own guidance!).

I try not to slag off the NAS too much, but they aren't very collegiate in terms of consistently trying to undermine NEU action both on a national and (local to me) level.

In my experience on a local level, NAS have a massive overconfidence when it comes to ballots and industrial action, and then often messes them up, leaving NEU members out on a limb because we have actually organised.