May 22, 2020
The new UnionDues podcast unpicks the TUC’s Better Recovery programme and asks if General Secretary Frances O’Grady was right to declare “Unions Are Back.” New Economic Foundation’s Rebecca Winson tells Simon about the most fun she has had on a picket line, the empowerment that comes with taking strike action and why Birmingham’s Druids Heath will be forever in her heart. Plus a shout out for the Fire Brigades Union as they battle proposed cuts in East Sussex. The companion blog is here. A Makes-You-Think production.
May 14, 2020
In the new UnionDues podcast, Simon dissects a tumultuous week, from calls to return to work to an extension of the furlough scheme. He talks with the TUC’s Clare Coatman, author of the Missing Half Million report, on the vital task of driving up youth membership in unions, and reviews the calls for an ambitious new jobs guarantee. Thank you to all our Key Workers. A Makes-You-Think production.
May 4, 2020
In the latest UnionDues podcast, Simon chats with Andrew Pakes about Prospect’s root-and-branch rebranding project, and what happened when he issued a call-to-arms to meet the challenge of Covid. Unions21’s Becky Wright tells us about communicating in a crisis, and we champion the work unions are doing for their members and the public during the pandemic, including CSP, NEU, STUC and CWU. A Makes-You-Think production
April 20, 2020
In the latest episode of the UnionDues podcast Simon and guest Vic Barlow get to grips with Vic’s concept of a membership journey - from “first contact” to signing up to renewing subscriptions each year. And with 54.3 million Britons being part of over 8000 membership organisations, Vic’s ideas have a resonance far outside the labour movement. Also up for debate are the lessons for member engagement from a standout Union response to coronavirus. Plus a round-up of union news and Kate Raworth’s “Doughnut Economics” reviewed. A Makes You Think production.
April 6, 2020
In the first episode of the UnionDues podcast, Simon chats with the TUC’s Digital guru, John Wood. Is the Covid crisis the ultimate stress test for the work he and others have been carrying out in their Digital Laboratory?
We gather in news stories from unions that you may have missed, wonder how unions will change and be changed by the crisis, and review The Lost Decade, the new book that tries to set the agenda for the 2020s.
Email your comments, thoughts and ideas to uniondues@makes-you-think.com
March 27, 2020
There's a new podcast in town and it's called UnionDues. Hear all about what it is and why it matters. With Simon Sapper. A Makes You Think production
