According to Jackie Schneider, a primary school teacher and NEU member of 30 years, this growth has been been accompanied by a fundamental shift in how teachers view their unions: whereas once regarded as “an insurance policy”, “people are now much more interested, much more engaged” in organising.
I hope so
This year has definitely helped radicalise some teachers I know who went from seeing their union as an 'insurance policy' as the article puts it to an actual potential power base they can use to try and get the things they want.
Strangely, at least two of them who are just sort of causally soc-dem at best have cited Labour pushing an adversarial position with the unions over this shitshow as the reason they started engaging and realising the Union might be the only actual people who give a shit at all.
Obviously actual steadfast political support would be better, but Labour dropping the pretence as the the media and politicians went after them might actually prove to be a good thing for the unions.
