Model of Democracy
Henry Ford, with typical American chutzpah, is said to have sold his revolutionary Model T Ford with a firm pledge to potential customers: "You can have any colour you like - so long as it's black."
Well, the trade unions could teach the arch-American capitalist a thing or two - about the hard sell of politics - a hundred years later.
Union members can support anyone they like when it comes to party politics - but union bosses will continue to act as if their members all vote Labour.
Take Unison's political fund, for example - unlike other Labour affiliated trade unions - Unison has two political funds.
One is called the Afffiliated Political Fund and channels all its money into the Labour party - the other is the General Political Fund and is used for more general political campaigning.
The two political funds came about becaue Unison merged from three former unions - COHSE, NALGO and NUPE - in 1993 but before then NALGO did not affiliate to the Labour party - while both COHSE and NUPE did.
So, the solution was a third way - a twin political fund in one union - whereas the other big beasts in the union jungle, e.g. UNITE and GMB, retain just one fund - which only supports Labour.
But, of course, this freedom of choice only extends so far - witness what the following Unison recruitment leaflet has to say:
4 Political Fund
It is important that you indicate a choice of funds by ticking one of the boxes below. Your subscription above includes a political fund payment so you do not have to pay any more by being in one of the funds.
In the following section, members are given the 'choice' of ticking one box - for either the Affiliated Political Fund or the General Political Fund - no mention is made of the fact that members can, of course, choose not to pay into either fund.
The bold statement that - 'you do not have to pay any more by being in one of the funds' - is also untrue and deliberately misleading.
Because by 'opting out' to pay into the political fund - a member's union subscriptions would be around 8% less - a significant saving.
So, the very different worlds of selling cars and politics - are more alike than you think - or at least they were - since times have changed in the motor industry since Henry Ford was in his pomp.
Now you really can get a new Ford - in any colour you like.
But sadly, the trade unions are still stuck in the last century - they say reflect their members' views when it comes to party politics - but only so long as they are pro-Labour.
Well, the trade unions could teach the arch-American capitalist a thing or two - about the hard sell of politics - a hundred years later.
Union members can support anyone they like when it comes to party politics - but union bosses will continue to act as if their members all vote Labour.
Take Unison's political fund, for example - unlike other Labour affiliated trade unions - Unison has two political funds.
One is called the Afffiliated Political Fund and channels all its money into the Labour party - the other is the General Political Fund and is used for more general political campaigning.
The two political funds came about becaue Unison merged from three former unions - COHSE, NALGO and NUPE - in 1993 but before then NALGO did not affiliate to the Labour party - while both COHSE and NUPE did.
So, the solution was a third way - a twin political fund in one union - whereas the other big beasts in the union jungle, e.g. UNITE and GMB, retain just one fund - which only supports Labour.
But, of course, this freedom of choice only extends so far - witness what the following Unison recruitment leaflet has to say:
4 Political Fund
It is important that you indicate a choice of funds by ticking one of the boxes below. Your subscription above includes a political fund payment so you do not have to pay any more by being in one of the funds.
In the following section, members are given the 'choice' of ticking one box - for either the Affiliated Political Fund or the General Political Fund - no mention is made of the fact that members can, of course, choose not to pay into either fund.
The bold statement that - 'you do not have to pay any more by being in one of the funds' - is also untrue and deliberately misleading.
Because by 'opting out' to pay into the political fund - a member's union subscriptions would be around 8% less - a significant saving.
So, the very different worlds of selling cars and politics - are more alike than you think - or at least they were - since times have changed in the motor industry since Henry Ford was in his pomp.
Now you really can get a new Ford - in any colour you like.
But sadly, the trade unions are still stuck in the last century - they say reflect their members' views when it comes to party politics - but only so long as they are pro-Labour.
