Organising to Win – a new whole UNISON organising strategy

Motion 1 at the National Delegate Conference in 2022 provided the mandate for a new national organising strategy to meet the changing demands on UNISON and provide a clear vision for a stronger union.

The Organising & Recruitment Strategy Development project has analysed UNISON membership data in depth and the resulting report takes an unflinching look at our membership and activist levels and trends. The University of Sheffield Centre for Decent Work has undertaken an objective review of the sectors in which we organise, including anticipated changes that will impact UNISON members and potential members. Extensive engagement with activists and staff across the union has identified organising best practice and key lessons have been tested and evaluated in a series of unionwide organising pilot projects. At every stage, the NEC liaison subgroup has played a key role in the development of the goals and implementation actions.

The ORSD project report findings and recommendations were presented and unanimously endorsed at a meeting of the National Executive Council on 18 May 2023.

Goals

The strategy sets out ten key goals to deliver successful organising to scale:

A UNISON definition of ‘organising’.
‘One UNISON’ organising priorities with effective planning and resourced implementation.
Equality as a workplace organising priority.
Workplace communications that promote the core benefits of membership while encouraging collective action and participation.
Increased member participation.
An urgent increase in activist identification and recruitment.
A renewed focus on activist support and development.
Increased member recruitment.
Improved member retention.
Consistent and best practice organising tools, techniques, and training.

Implementation

Key implementation actions contained in the full report include:

Organising priorities

A smaller number of national ‘one UNISON’ organising priorities within a 3 to 5 year medium term and 1-year short term planning cycle. Priorities for 2023/4 will be:
- Multi Academy Trusts(MATs)
- NHS Pay Fair for Patient Care
- Ballot and action readiness
- Devolved Nation Social Care (in place of MATs)

Organising planning

Review of the Organising Framework as a planning tool for effective “Base Organising.”
Roll out of the UNISON ‘5 Phase Plan to Win’ as the planning tool for successful “Strategic Organising”.

Organising tools

A best practice set of organising tools, techniques, guides, and multimedia resources
An organising equality impact assessment to maximise equality organising outputs.
Review of existing resources and guides to ensure consistency with the strategy.

Organising skills and capabilities

An organising skills and methodology course will be accessible to all members
All activist stage 1 and 2 courses will be reviewed and updated
A stage 3 course will be developed to support building branch collective capacity.

Organising staff

Recommendations to the 2023 staffing review will include:

A national strategic organising unit with sufficient capacity and expertise to lead national campaigns
Regional strategic organising units with the capacity to deliver UNISON’s organising priorities.

Organising active members

The ‘workplace contact’ will be replaced with an ‘active member’ category, coordinated as a campaign arm of the branch.
Self-organised and equality groups will be supported to identify strategic organising campaigns to encourage participation and activism.
A ‘participatory bargaining’ approach will engage members in activity in pursuit of a meaningful collective goals
Promotion of the UNISON College with one-to-one follow up of every learner.

Organising workplace activists

A ‘participation pathway’ will support members to become ‘active members’ and progress to formal activism and leadership.
A unionwide mobilisation to support peer (member) identification and nomination of new workplace activists and leaders where current organisation is insufficient.

Organising systems

The Member Engagement Programme (MEP) will review and develop:

Equalities data collection.
A central point for expressions of interest in activism.
A new digitised ‘trained and active’ platform
‘Movement’ as a powerful organising tool.
‘Improved data to better identify, understand, and retain potential leavers.
Systems for the support of members in small and isolated employers.

Organising communications

Develop content and messaging that promote the core benefits of membership while encouraging collective action and participation
Ensure the most effective communication tools and platforms for all sectors, occupational groups, age, and other demographic profiles.

Organising structures

Where UNISON organisation does not align with an employer bargaining unit, cross branch activist and member forums will be established to ensure members can organise effectively around collective bargaining issues.
Further consideration will be given and recommendations made for the growing challenge of supporting members in small and isolated employers.

Achieving our vision will require a process to develop knowledge and skills and re-align resources and structures. Activity will be continuously evaluated to adapt and improve the UNISON organising approach, to reflect and represent the diversity, values, and aspirations of the public service workforce, provide expert advice, and support, and empower and improve the lives of members through community, solidarity and effective collective activity.

The new strategy will be launched in a series of webinars for activists/members.

Webinars

Monday 5 June at 18.00

Sign up here: 5 June Webinar Organising to Win

Tuesday 6 June at 12.30

Sign up here: 6 June Webinar Organising to Win

Organising Definitions and Framework Review

The new national organising strategy defines UNISON organising as:

‘Base Organising’ – the routine development and maintenance of a strong and functional union at workplace and branch level.
‘Strategic Organising’ – building member participation and strength within an escalating plan to win a specific material change.

UNISON needs to deliver both. But each requires different tools, techniques and resourcing for success.

The strategy requires the Branch Organising Framework be reviewed and developed into an effective regional and branch planning tool for effective base organising.

We are therefore conducting a survey to gather your views and experiences of the process together with your suggestions for improvements. The survey will be launched from the NDC Unizone. But why wait – the survey only take a few minutes and is open now.

To take part please scan the QR Code or follow this link Organising Framework Review Survey