U.K.'s biggest union is formed; workers urged to 'Unite'

Britain’s biggest trade union was launched on May 1 with a “join us to stop exploitation” message to young workers – and the announcement of a major new recognition agreement.

“Unite – the union” is the two million-strong combination of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers’ Union (T&G). The joint general secretaries of Unite, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, on May 1 pledged that the new union will pour resources into organizing non-union members across Britain and Ireland, particularly in sectors with younger workers, and will seek mergers abroad to build a truly global trade union.

Unite’s call to reach out to new workers comes as the union reveals the results of a new poll, conducted exclusively for Unite by ICM Research, showing that younger workers are significantly better off if they are a member of a trade union. The results suggest that the world of work is failing young people, and is creating a “Generation Anxiety’” as work-related worries spread stress throughout their lives. Yet the scale of Unite’s task – and opportunity – is clear, with just 1 in 4 saying they are a member of a union.

Unite also announced a recognition agreement with one of the country’s leading airlines, Thomas Cook. The first joint organizing campaign by the T&G and Amicus means more than 1,000 employees at the airline’s seven United Kingdom bases will be covered by Unite.

Unite has two million members and will be the dominant trade union in manufacturing, transport, finance, food and agriculture, and printing, with a very strong presence in the public services, voluntary sector and services from construction to contract cleaning. It is the largest affiliate to both the Labor Party and the TUC and will have an annual membership income of £150 million. Unite’s creation was endorsed by an overwhelming majority in membership ballots in both the T&G and Amicus earlier this year.

Unite will shortly have an annual budget of £15 million for organizing – an unprecedented amount in British and Irish trade union history – which will be spent taking on anti-union employers across the economy and organizing the thousands of workers of all ages who are not yet members. The T&G’s organizing strategy has recruited thousands and won recognition in cleaning, aviation, the food industry and logistics over the past year, while Amicus has led initiatives to promote the message of union solidarity to young workers, including targeting students, Glastonbury festival-goers and supporting the Love Music Hate Racism campaign.

Unite’s will also have an unprecedented approach to the challenge of globalization for trade unions, indicated by last month’s agreement in principle to seek a merger with the USW (United Steelworkers) of the United States and Canada.

Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite said: “Two unions with a proud history but an even brighter future come together today to form one progressive, organizing, fighting-back industrial giant. Unite will be focused above all on winning for our members in the workplace and taking trade unionism to the millions who need it.”

Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Unite, said: “Unite is uniquely placed to build an international trade union, capable of protecting working people of all ages from exploitation, whoever they work for. Since 2004, Amicus recruited a quarter-million new members. We intend to build on this significantly in our new union, Unite. We aim to offer the benefits of membership of a strong and internationally connected union to working people in every workplace in the U.K. and Ireland.”