Unions support Activist Academy

THE three largest school teaching unions are among the first group of 10 unions signing up to support a new TUC Activist Academy being launched at the Trades Union Congress this month.

The Activist Academy aims to increase the involvement of union reps and activists in organising campaigns and assist them in building stronger workplace unions by recruiting new members and activists and running issue-based campaigns. The 10 unions will support their reps and activists in attending academy programmes.

The academy, which is supported by Unionlearn, will provide training on organising, recruitment and campaigning, based both around the workplace and in the wider community. It is to be piloted in three TUC regions – Yorkshire and the Humber, Midlands and Southern and Eastern – from this month before being rolled out nationally in early 2009.

Union reps attending Activist Academy programmes will need to be supported by their unions, who will help them identify projects and provide support and mentoring. The programme will also offer reps the potential to:

• broaden the range of their union activity;

• build links with the wider union movement and community;

• secure additional resources for campaigning;

• get an accredited qualification in organising and campaigning; and

• secure a place in the candidate interview pool for the TUC Organising Academy Trainee Organiser programme.

The first 10 unions to sign up are ASLEF, ATL, NASUWT, NUT, NUJ, PCS, Prospect, TSSA, UCATT and UCU.