“Today 70 percent of the workforce are precarious workers, while only 7 percent are union members. Many unions are now perceived as being stale traditional institutions that no longer reflect the reality of work,” BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson told a group of young trade union leaders at the first BWI Global Activist Network Academy hosted by the Dutch union FNV in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
“Now right-wing parties everywhere are gaining ground, even amongst our membership. The challenge for us is how we can capture the original spark that animated the trade union movement, while adapting to the new issues and technologies necessary to stay relevant.”
The young leaders representing BWI affiliates across the globe had been sharing their experience on what activism meant to them and how it shaped their union activities. Many shared about the dangers that are still involved in union organising, and all participants were united in the idea that activism involves some kind of personal sacrifice to achieve collective ambitions, including forming broad alliances beyond the labour movement.
“Young workers are carving out a space for ourselves within the BWI’s structures, however we at the same time we are pioneering our own approaches to activism,” said FNV Union Officer and BWI World Board Member Zamaney Menso. “Learning lesson from activism of the past, as well as exchanging experiences with other young activists helps us in developing our activism.”
One space where young union leaders had gained ground was in school-level education on trade union organising, according to Jonas Andersson from BYGGNADS of Sweden. Similarly, Stuart Grice from UNITE the Union in U.K., noted that while they were somewhat politically-constrained in their union’s school-level outreach activities, bringing workplace democracy practices to tomorrow’s workforce could help prepare them for trade union engagement. On the other hand, Angelo Ayala from FETRACOMA identified the privatisation of education in Latin America as a potential impediment to this kind of organising, opening up an additional domain for activism.
“Unions must listen to the demands of their members, but it is important that we don’t end up becoming an insurance company that is simply providing a service. It is a sad fact that sometimes business demonstrates better solidarity than labour; when we practice activism, we have to keep in mind actions that will deepen that solidarity in the long term”, said Ryan Kekeris, Assistant Organising Director at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and Chair of the North American Youth Committee.
The Global Activist Network Academy is the result of a resolution passed at the 4th BWI World Congress in December 2017, that called for the creation of a BWI International Youth Committee with representation at the World Board and the creation of the Youth Global Activist Network. This reinforced the deliberate emphasis on youth in unions, where the establishment of a formal youth structure and an agenda for youth activities is one of seven convergences of the 2017-2021 BWI Strategic Plan.