new unionism›› is work in progress

Below you will find the answers to the questions we are most often asked. If you can't find what you want to know there, please feel free to leave us a question in the box on the right. Alternatively, you can email us at enquiries@newunionism.net.   

		Ask away!
		If the information to the left doesn't help, just click "ask a question " below. We reserve the right to delete questions if they're rude or silly (unless of course they're also really funny!).

1 Who are you people?
We are these people
New Unionism is the collective name for an approach which is being developed internationally by unions who want to make change and set agendas, rather than just reacting to them. This network, which was launched in March 2007, is bringing people together to further these principles. As a network we have no formal structure, nor do we have officers, vision, policies or goals. We have no links with any other group or organisation. We're just us, and we want you to be us too.

2 Where does all your money come from?
So far the work has been all done by volunteers, and all expenses have been met out of volunteers' pockets. See here for exact details. We are committed to keeping our finances 100% transparent. There is also a membership fee, which we have not yet actually collected from anybody. This is based on how much the member earns for one hours work, on the basis that this is about how long it takes to process membership data and requests per annum, and that our time is worth no more or no less than theirs. We are hoping that this will see us through, but will be reviewing the situation in July.

3 How do you make decisions?
A network seldom needs to make decisions. However one group - those who are involved in collecting and giving out solidarity funds - will need to do this quite often. While we would hope that this is achieved largely by consensus, we have set up a secure voting form here This can be used by members wherever and whenever necessary.

4 Why are you doing this?
Our sense is that working people have all kinds of ideas and insights which they simply do not have the opportunity to develop collectively. At global level, union democracy is (of necessity) representative. People speak for us. We think this website is an important addition to the process, because it brings working people onto the global stage (and into the union world) from where they are. We want working people to experience, in a personal way, the eye-opening, the sociability, the power and the potential of global solidarity. To reinvigorate the union movement we want to "younionise" people, as well helping to unionise them. For examples of the kind of scenarios we are talking about, see here

5 Do you think this will make any difference?
For some people it already has. The network is really just a vehicle where people meet informally, and discuss, plan, inspire, joke, advise, pass on contacts, and do all those things that normally happens between sessions at meetings. New Unionism seems to be unique in the labour movement (to our knowledge) in that it is a principles-based membership network, as well as being international. So, as to your question, well... it's an experiment. Ask us again in six months. Better still, we'll ask you.

6 How do I contact you if I want to know more?
You can use the facility at the top right of this page to ask us a question, or you can contact us in other ways by way of the information on this page