Query Blog: Unions

Friday is registration day. The day when I’ll finally get to meet other people on the course and my tutors. There will also be Trade Union representatives present on Friday. Now, this has got me wondering about Teachers’ Unions.

I’m the first to admit that I’m absolutely hopeless when it comes to jargon, especially regarding legal or financial issues. This is obviously something that I need to work on. With this in mind, the more I think about joining a union, the more I become confused and intimidated by my lack of knowledge.

Currently I’m trying to understand a teaching union in the same terms as a Student Union. My SU defended the rights of the student, offered incentives to the students, offered advice to the student. This is what I’m hoping for from a Teachers’ Union.

However, my knowledge of the market is shamefully thin. I’ve heard of NUT and NASUWT. Comparing the two from their websites, I have a favourite.  I guess the point of this post is to fish for a bit of advice. Aside from the two mentioned, are there other Unions of merit? What should I expect from being a member of a Union?  Should I even join a Union?

These are kinds of questions buzzing around my head this weekend. What would you suggest?