stage 1 interview

[fishtank]

You have to be nice to non members,just in case they become a member?
And then the non member who decided to feck the union off then goes crying to them when they are in the s**t.

You have to be prepared to build the union,...not stand back and watch it shrink.
You will make mistakes and trust the wrong people and sometimes get burned by tossers but as far as the big picture is concerned that's not important..
There are also loads of members who,apart from the £3 give absolutely nothing to the union but take plenty in return.

[banddy]

Hell -fire I wouldn't represent you

I would have.
Not on behalf of the CWU....but as a colleague.
I think there are enough tossers in this company without us starting a lynch mob every time a non-member turns up.
Any non-members reading this thread are really going to want to join now aren't they?.
Does anybody actually know why unions were formed...and why they are dying on their arse?.

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yes, there is a problem with some aspects of trade unions.
one of the problems is people like him, who will take the pay rises and any other benefit which the union manage to gain, but he doesn't want to give anything in return.
if he is a man of such great wisdom, why will he not put himself forward as union rep?

i bet all reps have...been there, done that, got the t-shirt...take take take

he's in for a shock when privatisation happens. it will get ten times worse!

[fishtank]

one of the problems is people like him, who will take the pay rises and any other benefit which the union manage to gain, but he doesn't want to give anything in return.

You make the unfortunate and all to common mistake of lumping all non-members together banndy.
There are many kinds of non-members from those who simply know nothing about unions to disillusioned ex-members right through to union haters.
There are no "people like him" because he is an individual and deserves to be treated as one,not neatly packaged into your opinion of a non-member.
As i said earlier there are plenty of members who want to take the pay rises and any other benefit which the union manage to gain, but don't want to give anything in return....except £3...that £3 doesn't cloud my opinion of them and neither does not paying £3.
If i feel someone genuinely needs help....i will help them...in my own time of course.

he's in for a shock when privatisation happens. it will get ten times worse!

We will all be in for a shock when privatisation happens...member and non-member.
The days of pointing and laughing at the non-members are gone banndy...this deal alone commits the business to 24,000 redundancies....VR..so most will be long serving and most will be union members.
There will be no replacements for those members other than possibly the non-members already amongst us so you can see the position we find ourselves in...engage and recruit or die...that's the choice.

[POSTMAN]

I near enough 100% agree with what you are saying Fish,i don't think there is enough at local level where new starters are introduced to the union or where decent reps (which seemingly seem to be getting thinner on the ground) bring non members together and go through the motions with them,especially in the present climate.

BUT,i wouldn't help tigercat (who may be the nicest bloke in the world and i'm hoping he doesn't take offence) or others like him who throw a strop when they don't get their own way and expect others to help them for free.

[Theghost]

Fishtank,I dont think there is anything wrong in the guy being represented by anyone but the union rep.

I know if this was the case in our office members would be dropping at a rate of knots and our union rep knows that,Thats why he helps members,End of.

If i dont pay my house insurance does that entitle me to be paid out should my house have a flood?

Should i be entitled to a lottery pay out if i stop paying my £1 to the syndicate im in and they win the Jackpot?

Do i get free food from ASDA If i dont have any cash at the till?

So why should he be represented by a union he pays no fees to and Thousands of others do? Am i missing something here FFS.

[fishtank]

So why should he be represented by a union he pays no fees to and Thousands of others do? Am i missing something here FFS.

Yes.
No-one said he should be represented by the union or enjoy any of the facilities open to union members.
I just said if he asked me for help....i would have helped him...simple really.
If it helps him to rethink his position with the union...double bubble.
I will have helped a colleague and helped my union....that's a solution not a problem.
If any members left the union for such a pitiful reason as me helping a colleague then quite frankly...they are probably the dumbest f*ckwits on the planet.

[tetley smooth]

If the fellow was a new starter or been in the job a few months and had not been approached or offered the chance to join cwu, which goes on a hell of a lot of the time nowadays, then by all means represent them with every trick, rule, past agreement and slight of tongue you know. Show them benefits of what being a member brings. Even if you dont win their case just having some experienced moral support in a formal situation will reasure any newbie for any future situations they may find themselves in. But the original poster already new of the benefits and has spat his dummy and threw his toys out the pram because he doesn't like what has happened either nationally or locally, (he doesn't say where he feels shafted). Bet his local rep would feel shafted if all his members thought like this. So no i wouldn't represent him.

[patno1]

In my opinion just go in on your own I did the other day and got off with it after 4 absences in less than twelve months just tell them you want to make a big effort to not have any more time off and give them a bit of speil or if your nervous take in a friend other than that you will just have to accept it but remember if you have time off in any six month period they will start the next six month period from when you were absent not a lot of people know this good look.

[fishtank]

But the original poster already new of the benefits and has spat his dummy and threw his toys out the pram because he doesn't like what has happened either nationally or locally, (he doesn't say where he feels shafted). Bet his local rep would feel shafted if all his members thought like this. So no i wouldn't represent him.

Then that unfortunately,is a lose/lose solution and i fear the only real reason behind it would be so that a group of members could point the finger and say "we told you so".
They would be right...but would it be right?

[tigercat]

I seem to have ruffled a lot of feathers. I approached the rep as a work colleage to ask for a bit of advice, I wasnt expecting him to go in the stage interview, I hoped he would give some guidance as a fellow worker not as a rep. I was in the union for just over 8 years, manned the picket lines, lost money and supported the union. I got disillusioned with the unions failings letting RM walking all over the workforce and left the union. My choice, no crime in that, and no tantrums and no dummy spitting on my part. I expect I will get the stage tomorrow but its not the end of the world. Thanks for all the comments, er I think. Certainly no hard feelings towards you guys for some of the honest responses.

[Theghost]

Why would they be dumb fuckwits for leaving the union?
If they need you help they can still get it from you as you have said but save £3 per week in the process,Correct?

[fishtank]

Why would they be dumb fuckwits for leaving the union?
If they need you help they can still get it from you as you have said but save £3 per week in the process,Correct?

If you think that me helping a colleague is this same as full union representation and protection you either have a very high opinion of me or a very low opinion of what your union can provide for you.

[dvbuk55]

Fishtank,I dont think there is anything wrong in the guy being represented by anyone but the union rep.

I know if this was the case in our office members would be dropping at a rate of knots and our union rep knows that,Thats why he helps members,End of.

If i dont pay my house insurance does that entitle me to be paid out should my house have a flood?

Should i be entitled to a lottery pay out if i stop paying my £1 to the syndicate im in and they win the Jackpot?

Do i get free food from ASDA If i dont have any cash at the till?

So why should he be represented by a union he pays no fees to and Thousands of others do? Am i missing something here FFS.

Well let's have a look at the premises you quote shall we:

You could easily pay house insurance and then find the small print precludes you from recompense or only part recompense.
You could pay your £1 syndicate money only to find your syndicate isn't legally binding
You could root in the bins at the back of ASDA for free food
Advice is free, you don't need to pay a union for it.


Non union members are bound by the same agreements as union members and so SHOULD have the same rewards or loss of pay in this instance and you could get that without the union too.

[Theghost]

Fishtank,I dont think there is anything wrong in the guy being represented by anyone but the union rep.

I know if this was the case in our office members would be dropping at a rate of knots and our union rep knows that,Thats why he helps members,End of.

If i dont pay my house insurance does that entitle me to be paid out should my house have a flood?

Should i be entitled to a lottery pay out if i stop paying my £1 to the syndicate im in and they win the Jackpot?

Do i get free food from ASDA If i dont have any cash at the till?

So why should he be represented by a union he pays no fees to and Thousands of others do? Am i missing something here FFS.

Well let's have a look at the premises you quote shall we:

You could easily pay house insurance and then find the small print precludes you from recompense or only part recompense.
You could pay your £1 syndicate money only to find your syndicate isn't legally binding
You could root in the bins at the back of ASDA for free food
Advice is free, you don't need to pay a union for it.

Ok smart arse,Ur telling me that you dont pay house insurance?

Sorry but the syndicate is legally binding,Contracts signed etc.

Would be easier to shoplift than tresspass over the barb fences of ASDA.

Tell me what you pay your union fees for exactly?

Fishtank,I do have a low opinion of the union,End of

[dvbuk55]

I don't pay union subs.
I do have house insurance, though I realise the limitations of insurance.
I shop at Sainsburys, on line, they deliver, so I never see a checkout.
I am in two syndicates for the lottery and have never won anything, at least to my knowledge.