The strongest union in the UK?

Daniel Smith · February 24, 2009

I'm not ready to join any union as I'm still in education however, a tutor told me he was a member of BECTU.

Just wondered if there was anything better, in the UK?

John Holland · February 24, 2009

Dont waste your money joining BECTU , toothless , like all unions in post Thatcher Britain !! John .

Stephen Williams · February 24, 2009

Dont waste your money joining BECTU , toothless , like all unions in post Thatcher Britain !! John .

Hey John,

I am still a member, should I quit? I just remember how difficult it was to get a ticket in 1979.

Stephen

Rich Steel · February 24, 2009

Dont waste your money joining BECTU , toothless , like all unions in post Thatcher Britain !! John .

I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time joining. There are some benefits to joining, like cheaper Public Liability Insurance, a host of free legal services, discounts etc etc etc.

Daniel Smith · February 24, 2009

KK thanks for the repsonses. Won't be joining anytime soon anyway, need to actually start bringing in enough work to make it worth it, and that's after I've fininshed my degrees.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Daniel Ashley-Smith

Brian Drysdale · February 25, 2009

An outside Public Liability Insurance will cost you more than the BECTU membership dues. They managed to get money out of some non payers for me in the past. Although they're nothing like the ACTT, that was a tough union to get into and you didn't get to work on many productions or ITV programmes unless you were a member.

Adam Frisch FSF · February 25, 2009

The only British union that has any bite left to it is the grip union. Other than that I don't even hear it mentioned, let alone meet anyone who's a member.

Phil Rhodes · February 25, 2009

I'm in BECTU for the cheaper insurance; it's worth it for that alone, but they're also quite helpful in general.

It's a catch-22 situation. If unions become strong, you can't get in, but if they're weak, there's no point. I certainly wouldn't want to be in the US situation where the unions have become big money, thereby attracting scumbags, and appear to be little more than a protection racket.

P