Why Build the Union?

These pages are designed to help you, our branch officers and representatives, to build our union at branch and local association level.

UCU is a democratic organisation reliant on the large-scale participation of its volunteer members. How effective we are as an industrial force and professional body, protecting our members, depends on how well our participatory structures work.

• Do we have enough local representatives?
• Are members able to get involved in raising the profile of the union locally?
• Are our branches communicating effectively with their members?
• Are members coming to branch meetings?
• Are members participating in elections and ballots?

The answers to all these questions determine how much our employers—and the government—listen to us.

That is why the union has put in place a series of initiatives to help build our union:

• a drive to recruit new members to offset the effects of the government's cuts to post-secondary education.
• a drive to recruit new local department or workplace representatives, to ensure that UCU branches are healthy at the most local possible level
• a drive to ensure that our branches are equipped with the resources and skills necessary to ensure the maximum possible engagement in branch life from their members.

In these pages we will feature all our latest advice and guidance to branches, alongside all the examples of good and inspiring practice that we know is already happening.