KirstyPals, join a union. Do it now. Not when things kick off. There are rules against asking for help from Union Officers if the situation you’re in is active when you sign up. Don’t be the person that finds that out the hard way.
kauer@pampelmousse Seems like a weird rule. "You are allowed to join Uunion at any time except whhen you need one". Makes me think you must be in the USA.
Sin Vega@kauer @pampelmousse seriously. those are the people you want joining most. Otherwise you're turning "I went to the union and they were great. You should join too" into "I went to the union and they told me to fuck off because they don't want anyone who needs help. Don't waste your time"
Tris 👭🗺️🍞🔔@sinvega @kauer @pampelmousse have any of y'all hit this in practice? I am a union steward in the US (IFPTE) and we don't have such rules. the law requires us to represent everyone in our bargaining unit, even those who choose not to join the union. we can't do that effectively without dues funding the staff/structures we rely on, so join your union! but I'd love to hear more about where this comes from, because it does not match my experience, and I'd love to advocate for fixing it if I can
That's kind of the point, yeah. If you make it an exclusive club it's not collective bargaining, it's divisive.
I'm in the UK so may not be much use in practice, but I've joined a union right when I needed help before, and even got advice from a rep (who I didn't personally know; this wasn't just friendly advice) who knew I wasn't a member
@tris I don't remember the details, but another I was in would have been able to help less if I wasn't a member. I *think* it was that he wouldn't have been able to personally represent me in meetings etc (which, fair enough, although in the end I didn't want that), but could still advise. It's pretty basic outreach tbh