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 Home Get Active Successful Organising
Ann and Mo branch out23 July 2008Putting a lot into the union brings its own rewards as stand-down reps Ann Poole and Mo Shanks have discovered Part-time Sainsbury’s petrol cashier Ann Poole recruited more than 90 new members within three weeks of her stint as a stand-down rep. The 57 year-old, who works at the Watchmoor Park store in Camberley, Surrey is also on a mission to increase the number of reps both in her own store and beyond. “I spent a week in my own store focusing on the night shift and then a week in one or two smaller stores in and around Surrey,” she said. “Staff were very pleased to see me and keen to have a chat and find out more about the union. Even if people didn’t join there and then they picked up leaflets and took them away. I was delighted with the response. “We need to see more reps in Sainsbury’s stores. We have a good agreement with the company which allows access to inductions as well as facilities for stand-down reps. If more reps used the agreement to its full, we’d see a massive improvement in membership within Sainsbury’s. “Being involved with the union is fantastic for your own personal development too – thanks to the training which is excellent. I’ve been to summer school and I even spoke at ADM this year. If you’d have asked me to do that a couple of years ago I’d have run a mile! I’ve also just been elected branch chair. “Usdaw is starting to make its voice heard in Sainsbury’s now but we need more reps and I’m sure that even more members would sign up.” Both Ann and Mo are members of Southern division’s North Hampshire branch H58 which has more than 1,600 members. Meanwhile fellow branch official and part-time Tesco general assistant Mo Shanks has been the driving force behind a surge in membership at her store in Aldershot. After a gentle push by her area organiser Chris Skilton, Mo took some time out to work as a stand-down rep. “Chris asked if I’d be interested, but because I don’t drive I thought it would make it difficult for me to get out and about to other stores in the area,” said Mo, 66, who has been a rep for fifteen years. “Chris suggested I concentrate my efforts on my own store to begin with. This worked brilliantly because as a stand-down rep all of your time is spent working solely on recruitment and organising. I’ve never had that kind of luxury before in my own workplace. “I decided to target the night shift as we didn’t have a rep and membership was very low. I had a brilliant response and signed up 40 new members and two new reps. I was delighted. “People were very pleased to see me. Most had never had a visit from the union and were more than happy to join. “It was a great experience and one I can’t wait to repeat. Stand-down means you can totally commit your time to recruiting and the results speak for themselves.” Contact Details Media and Communications Department Ph: 0161 224 2804 Fax: 0161 249 2490 communications@usdaw.org.uk  Printer Friendly Page  Email to a Friend
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