Thread by @karamballes

🧵NEU Democracy an example from #NEU21.

Executive Elections are starting, I encourage all members to vote, read the candidate booklet, attend a husting, members have real influence when they get involved, mass involvement makes better policy in my opinion.

#edutwitter

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1381009596521807872

I am standing myself, people in District 11 in the South East can vote for me if they want me to represent them.

Please use your vote, whoever you choose to vote for, this is where members not normally involved in the union have power to improve the NEU

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1381572055024435202?s=19

Unfortunately not enough members actively participate in union democracy, this is across all unions and the unions suffer because of it. If you want a better union, get involved, if you want the union to represent you, then use your vote. Candidate choice does matter

Members may hear activists talking about factions and slates and not understand what they are talking about. I certainly didn't when ATL came together with NUT to form the NEU.
Factions controlled the NUT, they didn't exist in ATL, taken me a while to get my head around this.

In ATL you threw your name into the hat,wrote election statements that went into a candidate book then turned up to meetings to speak and answer questions to members.

Each exec voted independently on each individual issue and explained their decisions to members.

Factions operate like political parties. Factions have asked me to join them, I declined after the importance of factional discipline was explained to me, you must always vote on every issue in line with the factions agreed positions, you must vote for their factional candidates

People will argue that factions are vital, I don't mind collaboration with like minded individuals who generally vote the same, but I can't stand the idea that I will use my vote as I am told.
Probably losing allies as I type this for challenging an orthodoxy that benefits them

People will argue that factions improve policy and are core to union democracy.
They aren't, factions aren't in the rulebook, they don't appear in conference motions,sometimes it feels like mentioning them is considered poor etiquette, but its important members know about them.

Several reasons I think they stifle democracy.
Collectivism and solidarity should be at the core of unions "the people united can never be defeated" and all that, but we arent united if we are constantly splitting off into silos having seperate debates.

Several times big government decisions needed a strong response I've seen the factions calling seperate meetings on the same issue at the same time, its either a case of not in the faction not in the debate, or feels like the meeting focuses on growing the faction

People talk of the importance of mass participation then they go huddle in the corner and tell people you cant join the debate unless you vote on factional lines afterwards.

This can make a mockery of formal debate before a vote.

I've been in some great union debates in the past where I've completely changed my stance after someone has spotted some minutely fine detail with big implications that everyone else has missed.
This doesn't happen very often if lines have already been drawn.

Does breaking up into 3 or 4 echo chambers and solidifying stances produce the best policy?
Some of the best work the NEU has done in the past year is emergency execs held in response the day after a gov announcement, everyone comes to the table to sift through new details and

and information from Mary and Kevin, it felt like policy was properly thrashed out, with many individual voices shaping multifaceted strategic planning from national coms to supporting organising and negotiating in the workplace. We're at our best when factional walls come down

There are times when factions can be useful,they are organised groups and can quickly mobilse their base to get out campaign messages and petitions or organise action on workplaces,of course non factional organising groups could do the same,but a lot of effort goes into factions

In my opinion factions are at their worst during elections, they can also have a negative effect on the atmosphere of conferences which I may get to later.
Factional lines always come first, and I feel some candidates engage in campaigning tactics that I feel goes against..

my principles of solidarity for all. The union should be like a family, some branches are closer than others, there will be those relatives that really iritate you, but you all share a bond, a love of education, and although we disagree we should have each others backs.

I think it can narrow debate, almost feels like breaking a taboo by talking about factions outside closed circles, because when we discuss the future of the union and how it operates you always have to begin at the starting point that the best thing is for that faction to have as

much power as possible. I'm sure I'll get replies saying factions are essential, thats how unions work, its democracy.

Union exec shouldn't be like parliament with a governing party and opposition, whipping to vote along party lines. Everyone needs to bring their own ideas and

experience to the table. When it comes to members of executive voting on committee appointments it should be who they think the best person for the position is not who is in the right faction, to be fair delegation votes normally seem a bit freer than committee places.

This is how other unions work as well. The question is, is this how unions SHOULD work? How well is it working?
How effective have unions been in recent decades? Some still have large memberships but they arent the mass participation movements they used to be, there are a lot of

unengaged union members. Millions around the country, many, particularly in my own age group, see membership as almost an insurance like subscription service, in case anything goes wrong.
I know when I first joined I didn't understand that a union is so much more than that.

This means even those unions who have maintained good numbers (union membership had started rising pre covid, the NEU has been growing since creation) have a smaller number of activists to organise and do the all important casework to protect members, which increased thanks to

austerity and a decade of the government weakening employment law.
The increased workload then discourages other people from taking up roles. So growing our activist base is vital for protecting members, I don't think they kind of factional politics that plays out in some unions

districts/associations/branches etc create a welcoming environment to those looking to get involved in their union for the first. Talking to ppl in other unions it appears to me that this is particularly an issue for the larger unions. Some districts end up factional strongholds

I've chaired the NEU New Professional and Young Workers Council for 2 years. Unsurprisingly those in factions feel the problem is the other factions, but for those that can't be bothered with this nonsense they find factional thinking really off putting, and can actually limit

their ability to get involved. Large union conferences can have what is nicknamed "the gauntlet" lines of people either side stuffing fliers into your hands, some are for for interesting fringe meetings but many are just telling you which way to vote. Factions think its vital ppl

are informed.Many non faction people think they are capable of reading a motion,listening to debate and making up their own minds.Of course districts do agree beforehand on some motions anyway, makes sense on some clear issues but what's said on the conference floor should matter

Its the same old story of the Left, talk of solidarity and collectivism, then shatter into squabbling splinters.
NEU doesn't have the insurmountable divisions we see in the Labour Party, thats warfare, we just have rival camps whose conduct doesn't always strengthen the union

Incase your wondering, the current NEU exec is made up of 2 large factions, 2 small factions, a few independents and a block of former ATL Exec who are friends, discuss policy but can and do vote in different directions.
Over this term the two larger factions have come together

I like a lot of people in the new big faction, I agree with them on a lot of policy, but I can't join the discussions because I refuse tight "factional discipline" because sometimes I think the views of factional activists aren't in synch with the wider membership we must serve

While I dislike the way the larger group goes about trying to control the union, I also dislike how one of the smaller factions goes about trying to increase its influence, everything becomes about attacking the executive as they make calls for actions that go down well with

a decent size portion of the activist base, but are a lead balloon with the greater membership who aren't activists. Once again debate is good but its how the factions go about briefing and organising against each other which puts people off and can harm the union.

Although I agree with them on lots the big factions control freakery grows distrust while the way the smaller factions seek to increase power is by undermining the executive as a whole, sometimes in unfair ways which get into the media which means we have to waste time battling

misconceptions. Most members and even many activists don't realise the extent these games are played and unless your willing to pick a camp it makes it difficult to get elected. Districts can put out election materials for preferred candidates and so can factions.

Factions claim subs and donations from their members, in essence they're unions inside a union, if you're not in a faction its daunting standing against candidates who have the money to mail out slick election materials to thousands of members schools and homes.

They'll talk about diversity and making things more representative, but it doesn't matter how hard someone works, how much someone has done for the union or if they're a strong voice for an under represented group, if youre not in the faction then there's no space for you

A lot of people in factions deep down know its not right, but they're sticking with the crowd , speaking up means they lose the factions support and they're either out in the cold completely or keep being told "its not your time yet" when they want to stand for an election.

Effectively it starts looking like gatekeeping on factional not identity lines, strong voices with knowledge and experience that would strengthen policy go unsupported because they would only vote with a faction 90% of the time.Elections feel ruthless and it shouldn't be that way

Some candidates will campaign for removing barriers to member engagement while benefiting from barriers they maintain.
Ppl will talk of increasing representation be it Black members, support staff etc, but they put forward 4 white teaching staff rather than lending their support

to that experienced black or support staff campaigner who would still vote with them the vast majority of the time. Ppl I really respect and consider friends grow blinkers for elections, dont think a lot of them realise it but I think they make the same mistakes politicians do.

Sometimes what's best for a Factions influence, isn't what's best for a union. Seem a fair few union's general secretary elections spill into the media due to how they're conducted. Its not good for a union, the members or the movement in general, puts people off engaging

Fortunately factions and differences of opinion in NEU don't have the depth or hostility you see in political parties. There is still plenty of common ground and shared passion,compromise on policy does occur,of course there's been errors but overall I'm a proud to be NEU

But I'm frustrated that we could be better, more representative, while factions have a lot of control at executive, there's enough non factional active members going to conference that good well informed speeches and debates can change opinions. Got to love those people who make

you realise you were wrong, its usually someone speaking with calm passion and a thought provoking viewpoint,we should all try and remember that with our own debating,I sometimes don't

I believe in vying for the activist base,factions inadvertently discourage mass participation

Unions want more members involved, but active members can end up focusing on things that don't matter to the ppl they want to get active. Most unions members will wonder how much time can be spent debating a small and specific union detail like committee honorarium

These internal issues are important, but they need to be put in perspective of wider memberships interests. Every member is the union, no one is in control of the union, decisions are made across different structures, it is leadership by democracy and committee although some have

more influence than others. The democratic structures are much better than a political party,of course there are improvements but these structures are only just over 2 years old, they work and the means to improve them and the NEUs policy is mass participation.

During covid we've had a lot more engagement from members, gained a lot of reps, including a lot of younger members from a diversity of backgrounds and experience in education, but of course I know there will also be members unhappy with various elements of policy. I don't think

anyone is happy with every decision, thats democracy, some votes will come down nearly 50/50,but as I said, the structures are sound, the only reason why a group would have too much influence is if participation is low.
All you need to do to influence a union is get involved,

just using a ballot and posting it back does steer decision making. If most of a unions membership got involved they would have better policy that most the membership would get behind, improving the chance to collectivise and see that policy implemented.

If you don't like the idea of ridged factions you shouldn't be put off, you should be emboldened, because its everyones union and you do have the power to shape it, get involved, vote, if you agree with factions your probably already voting for one.

Sorry for the length, its been cathartic although I know I will have annoyed a fair few people.

But just imagine how mass participation of hundreds of thousands of members could shape the the NEUs democracy and the future of education.