What I Learned About Real Union Work at GFTU Summer School

SWU National Organiser & Union Contact Manager Jessie Hoskin reflects on this GFTU Education Programme course for trade union activists who want an opportunity to think outside the box with key leaders from across the movement.

A week ago, I attended a session at the GFTU Summer School that made me think about union work. Gawain Little, the GFTU’s General Secretary, led a discussion about something lots of us get wrong – the difference between mobilising people and actually organising them.

Before this session, I thought getting people to turn up to protests was the main job. You spread the word on social media, get people fired up about an issue, and hope they show up on the day. That’s what Gawain called “mobilising.” But here’s the issue he pointed out – after everyone goes home from the protest, what happens? Usually not much. People return to their normal lives, and we’re back where we started.

Proper organising is completely different. Instead of trying to get people to care about your cause, you focus on one specific group of people who already share the same problems.

What really surprised me was that real organising isn’t about getting existing union activists more involved. It’s about reaching the workers who’ve never been to a union meeting, who don’t see themselves as political, and who might even be suspicious of unions. These are often the people with the most influence in their departments.

The goal isn’t just to recruit members, but to find and develop leaders from within the workplace itself. Gawain explained how these natural leaders – the people others already turn to for advice or who can get a group together for someone’s leaving do – are the key to building real collective power.

Why This Matters for Unions

What struck me was when Gawain talked about how unions have moved away from this basic approach. Instead of doing the hard work of talking to every single person in a workplace and building real collective power, we often just focus on winning single issues or campaigns.

But winning one dispute about pay or conditions isn’t enough. The real goal should be changing the balance of power at work permanently. That means developing workplace leaders who can hold management accountable day after day, not just during big campaigns.

This is about more than individual grievances; it’s about building the kind of collective strength that forces employers to think twice before making decisions that affect workers. When you have genuine workplace organisation, management can’t just impose changes without consulting the people who actually do the work

When unions focus on genuine organising – bringing everyone into the conversation and decision-making – members feel like they actually own their union. It’s not just something that exists somewhere else that they pay dues to. This kind of mass participation changes everything. Instead of union leaders making decisions and hoping members will support them, the members themselves are driving the agenda because they’ve been part of building it from the ground up.

The GFTU has just bought out its new 2025-2026 Education Programme which includes Health and Safety training, Workplace Reps Trainings and Employment Law session. Most of the sessions are held at the beautiful Quorn Grange Hotel in Loughborough but there are also online courses too, and the majority are free for SWU members including the residential courses!

The GFTU Education Programme is open to all SWU members and is invaluable for any member looking to get more involved in improving their workplaces.