Organised labour

Trade Unions

• AMICUS ( now called Unite)
  Largest union in the United Kingdom with over two million members in the public and private sectors. General Secretary Derek Simpson.

• Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)
  160,000 members including teachers, lecturers, headteachers and support staff teachers, lecturers and teaching support staff in nursery, primary, secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges.

• Association of University Teachers (AUT)
  Largest trade union and professional association for academics, lecturers, trainers, researchers and academic-related staff working in further and higher education.

• Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) t is a trade-based union of workers in the food industry.

• Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU)
  Broadcasting, film, video, theatre, cinema and related sectors.

• Communication Workers Union (CWU)
  Union for postal and telecoms sector.

• Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
  Represents firefighters at all levels within the Fire and Rescue Service across the UK – in fire stations, control rooms or other departments.

• GMB - Britain’s general union
  Primarily NHS, local government, care education. Also engineering, construction, shipbuilding, energy, catering, security, civil air transport, aerospace, defence, clothing and textiles.

• Musicians’ Union
  For performers engaged in the music profession including music writers and instrumental music teachers.

• National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
  NASUWT is the only TUC affiliated teachers’ union representing teachers in the UK.

• The University & College Lecturers’ Union (NATFHE)
  Largest trade union and professional association for academics, lecturers, trainers, researchers and academic-related staff working in further and higher education.

• National Union of Journalists (NUJ)
  Trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

• National Union of Teachers (NUT)
  Trade union of school teachers in England and Wales.

• Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
  Main union for government departments and agencies, public bodies, private sector information technology and other service companies.

• National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)
  Main trade union for transport workers -railways and shipping, underground, road transport. General Secretary Bob Crow.

• Scottish Trades Union Congress
  Scottish Trades Union Congress.

• Industrial Workers of the World
  The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union run directly by its members, promoting global solidarity and direct action for the abolition of capitalist wage slavery.

• Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU)
  Main trade union for those working in administrative, clerical, technical and supervisory areas; also agriculture, building, construction and civil engineering.

• Trade Union Congress

• UNISON
  Britain and Europe’s biggest public sector union.

• Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW)
  Representing workers in retail, distributive, food processing and manufacturing, laundries, catering, chemical processing, pharmaceutical, home shopping, warehouses, insurance agents, clerical.

• Wales TUC (TUC Cymru)

Resources

• International Centre for Trade Union Rights
  An organising and campaigning body of trade unionists, labour lawyers and academics worldwide with the fundamental purpose of defending and improving the rights of trade unions and trade unionists throughout the world.

• LabourStart
  A near-instantaneous real-time online labour news service in 10 languages maintained by a global network of volunteers who constantly upload news stories about trade union and labour struggles they find on the Internet, which are then archived.

• Institute of Employment Rights (IER)
  Funded by trade unions, individual donations and subscription fees, the IER is an independent organisation providing a wide variety of high-quality publications to stimulate debate and analysis about employment law policies and legal developments in industrial relations.

• Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC)
  A Dutch-based activist NGO linked to autonomous campaigns in ten Western European countries, which aims to improve working conditions in the garment and sportswear industry through mobilising the purchasing power of consumers.

• Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN)
  A Canadian network of over 400 individuals and organisations promoting solidarity with groups in Mexico, Central America and Asia, organising in maquiladora factories and export-processing zones to improve conditions and win a living wage.

• Home Workers Worldwide (HWW)
  A member of Homenet (www.homenetww.org.uk) – the international solidarity network of homebased workers’ organisations and supporters – HWW works in collaboration with organisations in the UK and around the world to raise awareness and build and train grassroots organisations of home-based workers.

• Labour Behind the Label
  A UK network of aid, alternative trade, labour and solidarity organisations publicizing and campaigning on behalf of garment workers’ efforts, at home and abroad, to defend their rights and improve their wages and conditions. The UK platform for the European Clean Clothes Campaign.

• No Sweat
  Inspired by the American anti-sweatshop movement, No Sweat is a broad-based, activist, campaigning organisation in the UK fighting the existence of sweatshops at home and abroad. It has organised major protests, demonstrations and stunts outside (and inside!) Nike and Gap stores.

• Jobs With Justice
  JwJ is a national campaign for workers’ rights in the United States founded in 1987 which includes both individual members and affiliated organizations. It exists in over 40 cities in 29 states in all regions of the US and has been a key actor in recent workers’ struggles.

• WIEGO
  WIEGO stands for Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organising, a worldwide coalition of labour grassroots organisations, research or academic institutions and international development organisations concerned with improving the status of women in the informal sector.