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 Home Get Active Successful Organising
Growing the union07 August 2008Usdaw’s groundbreaking Academies are proving to be a driving force for growth. Gwen Jones is part of the Academy1 intake this year while Peter Devine has graduated to Academy2 New academy organiser Gwen Jones is using the Freedom From Fear campaign to help recruit hundreds of new members and raise the union’s profile in workplaces across the North West division. The 49 year-old organised a special campaign awareness day in July at the Tesco store in Atherton, Greater Manchester. “Membership increased by an impressive 23 per cent to 66 per cent,” said Gwen. “This is a real success story based on teamwork. A few years ago membership was as low as 16 per cent. After I did some stand-down a year ago I doubled this and I also recruited night rep Michelle Fury. She has done wonders and worked tirelessly to raise membership by a further 10 per cent. “The store has really been turned around now. I think we were all bowled over at the success of the campaign day and how many new members joined up. Many staff also picked up leaflets to find out more about the union. It was absolutely brilliant. “It was a great team effort from the reps in store, academy2 organiser Janet Ryan and we also had general secretary John Hannett along to give his support to the day. “I can’t speak highly enough of the Usdaw Academy. My enthusiasm is sky high, I’m loving every minute.”
Academy2Peter Devine is relishing the chance of another six months secondment to Academy2. “I’ll be able to build on the work and experience of Academy1 and the stand-down I’ve done,” said the British Bakeries warehouse worker from Scotland. One of Peter’s first assignments was to join the team at the Tesco store at Silverburn in Glasgow to promote Check Out Learning. “It was a huge, huge success,” said Peter. “It’s an Extra store with more than 600 staff and is one of the biggest in Scotland, so the campaign was an ideal way to raise the union’s profile. “And we certainly did that with a number of new members signing up as well as two new health and safety reps, two ULRs, one of them Polish, and a new shop steward. Working with the academy allows you to plan and organise your campaign days in a more organised way which means you have quality time to spend in each workplace and as membership figures show – it’s paying off.” 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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