- Conference
- 2024 National Young Members' Conference
- Date
- 2 August 2024
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes as part of our Organising to Win strategy, students and apprentices are being prioritised for recruitment and retention in our union, which stands to benefit UNISON, our young members and our trade union movement.
We have seen recruitment and organising success with student movements from UNISON branches supporting those causes, such as University of Warwick branch who formed a staff-student coalition Warwick Stands with Palestine demanding the University to divest from arms companies and invest in student staff welfare. By encouraging trade union workers to support youth movements in climate action, in anti-racism, in LGBT+ liberation, and just transitions to green and ethical jobs, these branches are ensuring that trade unionism is relevant to the next generation, and that our negotiating and bargaining experience and organising power is at the front and centre for strengthening our working-class interests.
Conference concludes that coalitions between UNISON branches and global youth movements are critical organising spaces and opportunities that engage young members, students and apprentices. That these coalitions sharing knowledge on organising, the support of our members and learning from them in turn are pivotal areas for our union to be working in.
This conference resolves to:
1. To call upon the National Young Members Committee to ensure learnings of successful UNISON branch staff and student coalitions are preserved and shared to create the legacy of young members and members in UNISON.
2. To call upon the National Young Members Committee to support Young Members Forums in our regions and devolved nations to engage, support and learn from youth movements in the country and across sectors.
3. To call upon the National Young Members Committee to work with Regions, branches, Service Groups and other Self Organised Groups for a more supportive and proactive approach to youth movements that are of import and in line with UNISON policy to their students, young members, and apprentices.
4. To call upon the National Young Members Committee to feedback Young Members’ wins in organising and desires to strengthen our organising power through Youth Movements to UNISON’s Organising to Win framework and report back.