Ellie Levenson on joining up

A few years ago, I began working at the Fabian Society, a centre-left think-tank, editing its pamphlets and magazines. I was delighted to be following in the footsteps of George Bernard Shaw and to work for the organisation that, along with the trade unions, helped found the Labour Party - a society whose early publications included Fabian Essays in Socialism in the wake of one of history's most famous and successful examples of industrial action, the 1888 matchgirls' strike. But I was also disappointed in the low pay (which has recently improved), and in how this mammoth of the left did not count many trade union members among its staff.

Perhaps I am a born trouble-maker. Perhaps I took too literally the idea that bosses, even those on the left, will always exploit their workers. But in less than a year I had instigated a pay review and unionised the workforce.

To do this, I needed to get half of the workforce (five people) to agree to join, and then put a motion for recognition to the executive committee. That was the easy bit. The hard bit was finding a union. I phoned several and was met with blankness by many. They either promised to send information that never materialised or insisted that they couldn't think which branch the Fabian Society would fit. Only one union sent a representative to talk to the staff, so we went with them. It was Unison, not the most appropriate for our needs, but at least it wanted us. At the Labour Party conference the following year, Unison's general secretary, Dave Prentis, expressed surprise (and delight) that we had joined his union. We were surprised, too. We would have fitted much better with the TGWU, if only it had returned our calls.

I hoped this failure to welcome new recruits was a blip in union history. Then I left the Fabians and, earlier this year, started lecturing part-time at a London University college. I resigned my Unison membership and awaited what I thought would be a deluge of union reps from higher education teaching unions. I expected that I would be an ideal recruit, precisely the kind of member trade unions today are trying to attract - young, a woman, part-time. Oh yes, and on the left and eager to be involved. I didn't expect the choice of which union to join to be easy. I don't agree with boycotting academics, whatever the regime, so that ruled out the Association of University Teachers (AUT). Nor am I interested in a teaching union that is not affiliated to the Labour Party, which ruled out the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL). But I did expect a choice. I am stunned that after more than half a year in the post, I have not been approached by a single union representative.

If trade unions really do want to gain new members and ensure they are a political force in the 21st century, they must start by trying to recruit new members - something that I have seen fail now in two sectors. Only then can they hope to fulfil their promises of renewal.

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