Is the Union only as strong as the Local Reps.

[justanumber]

Before i continue i want to state that in places there are some great local reps and not all are in it for a free ride. But now more then ever in every DO especially, local union reps need to start and really should have started pulling their finger out.

For too many years ive seen reps hand in hand with the workforce giving it the big'un, to be seen then sipping coffee in DOM's office laughing and joking the day after, whilst the rest of us still had to put up with the shite.

Now more than ever these same reps need to be hammering home the basic fact. Start on time,take your break, finish on time.But that said, they should have been saying this for years. Standing on a picket line with a cwu vest on means sweet FA if then you walk back into the office and buy the DOM a coffee.

Long gone are the good old days, and theres no more a person than me that misses them. But we work for a different beast now. We have and should protect our jobs but that has to start and finish with those basic start,break,finish. Something local reps should for now and the future forever preach.

[DirtyHarry]

[scoobydo79]

Yes. some local reps need to start pulling their weight but equally so do some of the posties. In My office the posties making the most noise are the ones who invariably come in before start times,skip their breaks, put D2Ds in on their own time,throw their trolley in the yard then run round deliveries with a bag on each shoulder so to answer the union is only as strong as local reps are able to be dependent on the posties behaviour

[POSTPERSON50]

It's always been mutually beneficial for managers and reps to have a good relationship.
Plenty of potential issues are nipped in the bud that way.
The reps and managers shouldn't be adversaries in the workplace.

However, many reps slide into over familiarity.
It gives them a comfortable ride.

For me, everything has now changed.
It's never been more Us and Them. The reps need to recognise this and to now make it an uncomfortable ride for the managers.

You can guarantee that future potential issues won't be nipped in the bud by the managers, they'll be coming down hard on everything.

[DaveF14]

I was in the union for over 15 years until about 5 months ago.
I work on a rural round driving around 70 miles a day and would take my meal relief by parking up near the forest on my round and going for a 40 minute walk. Good way to clear the head, being a single parent, it was the only time of the day I had to myself. My union rep went to at least 4 different managers, that I know of, to complain that I was skiving and not doing any work. All of which turned him away.
This union rep now has access to everyone's PDA actuals and continuously goes into the managers office to try and snipe on other posties and what they do. He rushed through our last office revision with a new manager that no duty holder had any input towards making the office unworkable on more busier days. The list goes on.
Even though I agree with the strikes and have striked myself every day so far, at local level, the union have become a joke. Some offices might get lucky with a good rep, but unfortunately for me, in my office, these reps have way to much power and are just as bad, or worse than most managers Ive had in my time.

[guardianangel]

My rep is the bosses best mate,always laughing and joking with them and always sides with the boss,what really is the point.

[Dorset Plodder]

Bottom Line ... YOU have a say who your Unit Rep is.

If you feel he's not doing a good enough job put your name forward, or persuade someone you think would be more suitable for the role to put their name forward. At the next CWU Unit Rep Election (which I believe is meant to be held annually) vote for the New Guy.

If you're not sure what to do, or how to do it, contact the Area Office. I'm sure some BAD Reps just ignore comms mentioning Re-Elections as I never heard anything for years in our office.

The Truth be known I think some Posties just aren't Big Enough for the job, and have no moral compass whatsoever. They need to be moved on. One of the candidates for our last Election is our Biggest Strike Breaker FFS!

[GRS]

[quote="Dorset Plodder" post_id=1005054 time=1666801099 user_id=8450]
Bottom Line ... YOU have a say who your Unit Rep is.

If you feel he's not doing a good enough job put your name forward, or persuade someone you think would be more suitable for the role to put their name forward. At the next CWU Unit Rep Election (which I believe is meeant to bee held annually) vote for the New Guy.

If you're not sure what to do, or how to do it, contact the Area Office. I'm sure some BAD Reps just ignore comms mentioning Re-Elections as I never heard anything for years in our office.

The Truth be known I think some Posties just aren't Big Enough for the job, and have no moral compass whatsoever. They need to be moved on. One of the candidates for our last Election is our Biggest Strike Breaker FFS!
[/quote]

Biggest problem being that the ones who slag off, moan & criticize their rep would never dream of putting themselves up instead. When I've heard people in our office slagging the rep I've suggested they stand against them, however you get the usual " nah, ain't got the time, or I've got a life outside of here etc etc. What they mean is they have got the bottle to give it a go. To those who criticize their rep put up or shut up.....it's a thankless task!

[crimson king]

And.....it's let's have a pop at the local rep time! Bring, popcorn and inflatable hammers.

Right, firstly, regarding coffees and jokes with the managers. Well, I've found this approach tends to work better than greeting them every morning with a Glasgow Kiss. Most of our job is being a mediator and a compromise is easier reached if you have a decent, basic working relationship. I'm not necessarily talking about waking up together on a Sunday morning, but something a little more congenial than gobbing at each other across the DO floor is a happy medium.

Secondly, any rep that has grasped enough power to be trawling through PDA actuals like that is the sign of a weak workforce. If I tried something like that my members would invite me out for Saturday night drinks and then drop me off the harbour wall on the way home. And rightly so. The slightest of perceived aberrations has them in my ear and I want that. I set myself high standards and encourage them to keep me on my toes and the straight and narrow.

Lastly...as someone above said, its a democratic process. There are local elections. Ours are going on right now. If you want to know when yours are and suspect your rep is keeping quiet about them, ring your local branch. I stuck news about ours on the noticeboard and in our social media groups...hoping to god someone will stand against and rescue me from this largely thankless task where I get whinged at on a daily basis by colleagues who refuse to support their Union by taking their breaks, using the correct methods, stop rushing around and finishing two hours early on a daily basis and have more deals with their best pal manager than a bent rep could dream of.

The same colleagues that are currently whining at me about management wanting to take 100 plus hours out the office...