Robust debate and disagreement are healthy benchmarks of a living, breathing democratic institution. But what happens when decision-making is structured such that an internal bloc can function as a de facto veto? When structural safeguards are weak, disagreement ceases to be productive and instead becomes paralyzing. This is the structural challenge confronting UWU.
The current leadership structure permits a small group of people to govern through obstruction and predetermined alliances that pay little regard to member’s wants and expectations. What appears as collegial governance operates, in practice, with brute force.
Over the last four years at UWU, many significant union-wide changes have been made not as a result of genuine debate and engagement with members, but because a majority group of directors have voted like a caucus again and again, pushing through procedural and structural changes without debate.
UWU’s world-class training and education team was outsourced. Union directors were removed from their portfolios without forewarning or consultation. Further, the current leadership majority has remained unsupportive of providing members access to the minutes of executive meetings to see how decisions have been voted on — something which we have made a core part of the Members First platform. These decisions are illustrative rather than exhaustive, reflecting a broader pattern of behaviors.
The current leadership majority has also strategically removed important functions and portfolios from the office of the national secretary. This includes governance, finance and administration, and communications. Attempts were made to limit my ability to directly communicate with politicians and the media. As national secretary, I have maintained public visibility and accountability without genuine decision-making powers at the governance level. The issue here is not a personal desire for power, but one of institutional incoherence whereby a union leader holds great responsibility without corresponding ability to have a say in how the union is run.
Great Job Tim Kennedy & the Team @ Jacobin Source link for sharing this story.
