Considering Union Rep postion. Advice please!

[Pokemon Postmon]

Hi!
I work in a small delivery office which has just undergone a 'Light Touch' revision which, in my eyes, is a complete balls up. I've been speaking to our area rep about this and he has suggested that I should become Union rep in the office. This is something I have done briefly done before but I ended up quitting after not so long due to stress and the inevitable backstabbing that comes from the job. However, he advised me to reconsider taking the position as I may be fingered (oo-er!) as a troublemaker and stitched up, but as a rep I would have extra cover. I think it's already clear to our manager that I'm vocal about things, however, but perhaps becoming the rep will give our complaints extra weight.
That aside, looking at this current revision and the mess our office is now finding itself in just before the Xmas pressure starts, I feel that someone should be challenging the manager who is trying his best to make it look like it's working when it clearly isn't. I was on leave for the 1st week, but when I walked into the office on Monday, it was a shambles. He was wheeling yorks in and tipping trays and although I have challenged him about doing CWU work, he carried on regardless. Now, if a revision is in it's trial period, surely doing this is going to give a false impression that the work is getting done. I could go on about other things but before I do I would like to hear from some other reps and the like as to how I should go about dealing with our DOM. I would also like to know that, if I do accept the role, that I will be able to ask questions on this forum from time to time to help me out as I am unsure as to when I'll be able to get to Area meetings, training sessions and the like. I've always found this forum a great place to find things out occasionally but I may become a bit more of a pest! :)
Advice please!!

[pcb]

Do it and take the manager to task, your area rep will help.

[Son Of God]

Take on the role... get yourself a sub rep or two... ask all you wish on the forum.... enjoy :)

[clashcityrocker]

What do the other union members in your unit think?
Without their support you will find it difficult to achieve anything. They might prefer the Area rep to be in charge.
Another round of backstabbing and stress isn't going to help the office.

[Pokemon Postmon]

What do the other union members in your unit think?
Without their support you will find it difficult to achieve anything. They might prefer the Area rep to be in charge.
Another round of backstabbing and stress isn't going to help the office.

Well, I think there's enough people there who would be glad to see me do it again. My one problem is that already some folk in the office are starting to come in early, not using trollies, working through breaks, cutting corners, etc which I will have trouble with. How do I go about representing people who are unwilling to follow the advice from the CWU?
Our Area Rep does cover quite a number of offices of varying sizes and I bet he would be glad of some of the work being taken off him for sure. To be fair, an Area Rep doesn't have much of a grasp when you get into local details about deliveries.
I agree with what you're saying tho', as I don't really want to go through all that shite again BUT I do think we need a local rep and no-one else is willing to step up to the plate....or should I use the phrase, 'put their head on the chopping block'?

[beanmuncha]

I think if you want to have your voice and ideas heard properly you should go for it.
You will get some moaning from others but this is mainly from ones that would never volunteer to do the job the themselves.
It is a thankless job at times, you feel as if your talking to the wall, but if you do a reasonable job you will earn the respect of your members.
I have done it for the last 3-4 yrs and yes i get backstabbing from a few but in the main most members seem satisfied with my results.
You can only advise them how to do the job properly, if they ignore this then it's their own fault if they end up in trouble.

So go for it.
And good luck.

[Himaggen]

I would suggest you only take on the role if you are sure to get the backing of a good sub and the majority of the membership.

The best way is to advertise for a Rep and Sub Rep on the unit CWU notice board, (with a vote if required).

[Pokemon Postmon]

Firstly, thanks for the words of encouragement and advice. Much appreciated. After mentioning it to a couple of folk, feedback was very positive. So far, however, I've yet to get anything done towards beginning the role as it's been a rather daft week as far as work goes. This revision is an even bigger f**k up than I thought. For example, my shared van had to have 90 minutes work taken off us yesterday, and then we still went over by 20 mins. Today, they took an hours work from us and we finished right on time, but I know at least two others brought mail back. So f**k knows what will happen come Xmas pressure if they aren't sorted by then.
So anyway, back to the point, I am going to become rep (I'm sure I've got the backing of the majority of the staff) but it's going to be uphill work from the get-go!

[justdeno]

Good luck.