Silos are a big problem for all organisations but unions in particular. High-trust and dynamic activity risks being undermined by suspicion, and dysfunctional priority-setting.

Martin and Simon explore the causes and characteristics of silos and what can be done to dismantle these barriers to effective union building, and to stop them developing to start with.

We’re grateful to have the support of ⁠Thompsons⁠, the leading trade union and social justice law firm, The ⁠General Federation of Trade Unions⁠ - delivering trade union education, building solidarity and the home of ⁠StrikeMap⁠, ⁠Pellacraft⁠, award winning and trusted supplier of promotional goods, and ⁠Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council⁠. Thank you all.

Organising For A Change is presented by Martin Smith and Simon Saper. Music is by ⁠Scott Holmes⁠. It is a ⁠Makes-You-Think⁠ production. Contact the show at ⁠orgaising@makes-you-think.com⁠. Episode run time 24m45s. This episode was first published on 30 August.

National pay bargaining is in decline and doesn't always work as intended. In the episode we argue that we should disaggregate the one-size fits-all approach and encourage and empower more local union activity - a race to the top if you will.

But what if local structures can’t or don’t support such a model? What might be the unintended consequences of accelerating the deterioration of national bargaining? Will there be debilitating jealousies between or within unions? We certainly don’t dodge these key questions:

We’re grateful to have the support of Thompsons, the leading trade union and social justice law firm, The General Federation of Trade Unions - delivering trade union education, building solidarity and the home of StrikeMap, Pellacraft, award winning and trusted supplier of promotional goods, and Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council. Thank you all.

Organising For A Change is presented by Martin Smith and Simon Saper. Music is by Scott Holmes. It is a Makes-You-Think production. Contact the show at orgaising@makes-you-think.com. Episode run time 26m12s. This episode was first published on 16 August.

In the new episode of Organising For A Change, we look at Leadership in the context of our unions.

We discuss how and why notions of leadership in the labour movement have become constrained within very tight parameters, and think about Machiavelli’s universal truth that what you need to do to achieve leadership status is often very different to what you have to do to preserve it.

We also look at how ideas about leadership can end up disempowering the very members unions need to enthuse and energise.

What does good, effective leadership look like in today’s movement – and how can we give ourselves the best chance of securing it?

Two things are for sure – first, that the best leaders of tomorrow are those we don’t even yet know. And second, we need to leave space for those future leaders to develop, grow and, yes, lead.

We’re grateful to have the support of ⁠Thompsons⁠, the leading trade union and social justice law firm, The ⁠General Federation of Trade Unions⁠ - delivering trade union education, building solidarity and the home of ⁠StrikeMap⁠, Pellacraft⁠, award winning and trusted supplier of promotional goods, and ⁠Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council⁠. Thank you all.

Organising for a change is presented by Martin Smith and Simon Sapper. Music is by ⁠Scott Holmes⁠. It is a ⁠Makes-You-Think⁠ production. Recorded in April 2024, first published August 2024.