NATIONAL GROW THE UNION CAMPAIGN – NEW TIMELINE AND NATIONAL BRIEFING ON THURSDAY 10TH FEBRUARY 2022
All Branches will be aware that Motion 11 was agreed at our recent Special General Conference and this requires the whole union to come together in a National Campaign to prioritise and increase membership in our organised sectors.
For ease of reference the relevant terms of the motion are reproduced below:
“There is an immediate requirement to stabilise and increase membership density in the Postal and T&FS constituencies. This work will now be supported through the launch of a high profile and co-ordinated national campaign throughout February 2022 with the objective of producing a significant immediate increase in membership, while also embedding an ongoing culture of recruitment and organising across all branches and structures within the CWU. The campaign will harness the overall strengths of the CWU and be supported by a full suite of branding and resources and Head Office funding to support major recruitment events and activity industrially, in regions and branches. All CWU reps will be asked to make this campaign a priority.”
The motion targeted the month of February 2022 for the main activities of the campaign. Additionally, a full campaign plan with timelines, actions and the necessary preparatory work to lead us into February 2022 was shared with the NEC and Regional Secretaries. This prompted Regional Briefings which have taken place for our Branches and Field Officials over the last 2 weeks and we were due to announce that a National Briefing would be held week commencing 17thJanuary 2022.
However, the purpose of this LTB is to advise Branches that given the developments around the new Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus and the strong possibility of further restrictions being announced by the Government after Christmas, the Emergency Committee of the NEC has now agreed an alternative timeline for the campaign. This
means the National Briefing will be held on the 10th February 2022 and the campaign activities will now take place throughout the month of March 2022.
The National Briefing is a priority commitment for all Branches, Senior Field Officials and Industrial Representatives from both constituencies. This is the first time we have organised a one-union coordinated campaign on recruitment and organising and it’s crucial that all our representatives come together to ensure it is successful. Furthermore, all our representatives need to hear the overall context to this campaign and discuss the significant challenges that face the CWU and our wider movement.
Our preference will be to hold a face to face National Briefing, although given Covid developments we will also plan for this to take place virtually. A final decision will be made in early January 2022 and Branches will be advised accordingly.
Finally, we have attached to this LTB the original campaign plan that was shared with the NEC and our Regions, which was key to the Briefings that have recently taken place within the Regions. Although timelines have now changed, the activities and actions of the original plan remain valid. Therefore, it’s important that Branches and representatives continue to come together on the planning work that still needs to take place.
Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary at jdunn@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward – General Secretary
Ray Ellis – Head of Recruitment and Organising
Tony Kearns – Senior Deputy General Secretary
National GROW the Union Campaign
Go, Recruit, Organise, Win!
Introduction
This paper sets out the approach we will be taking to implement the National Grow the Union Campaign in February 2022. Crucially, the paper focuses on the work that must now be undertaken in advance of February 2022 to ensure that everybody is working together and that the campaign is successful.
Nobody is underestimating the size of this task and it is one which will only be successful if we all agree to fully participate, to invest the time and resources needed to pull it off with a bang in February 2022, and then to use this campaign as a platform from which to sustain these efforts all year round moving forward.
Key Objectives
- A notable increase in membership, across all sectors and in all branches and workplaces, throughout February 2022.
- Successful reversal of the current ongoing trend of net losses outpacing net gains.
- Every Branch to have either completed, started to complete, or agreed when they will complete their ‘13 Measures’ workbook with the awareness that Branch ‘health checks’ will now happen biennially moving forward. These initial workbooks must be completed with direct support from Regional Secretaries and this work should start in February.
Structure
A National Group has been formed to ensure the campaign is co-ordinated across the whole union with consistent actions, timelines, messaging, branding and materials.
This group will consist of the following: General Secretary, Dave Ward; Head of Organising, Ray Ellis; Head of Communications, Chris Webb; Industrial Organisers from the Postal and T&FS Constituencies, Lynn Browne and Lesley-Anne Ure; a representative from the Central Organising Team, Lauren Townsend; a representative from the Communications Department, Amie Retallick; Project Lead for Redesign, Lucy Eyre-Tanner; a representative liaison for the Regional Secretaries, Kevin Beazer and two NEC representatives (one from each constituency, to be nominated by the committee itself).
In addition, each Region will be expected to form a group consisting of a representative from every single Branch in the lead up to February. This group should be communicated with regularly, to ensure every Branch feels supported to play an active role in this union-wide campaign. Communication platform choice will be down to each individual Region but it is suggested that these groups may benefit from at least a couple of face-to-face meetings, either virtually or in person, supported by continuous dialogue via email or via a WhatsApp group created for this purpose.
Emphasis on activity, rather than just words, will be encouraged. Big, bold ideas that go above and beyond normal Branch recruitment or organising activity will be welcomed, and additional funds will be available to bid for should they be needed.
Timeline
w/c 29th November: Meeting with all Regional Secretaries. Done by DW.
w/c 6th December: All Regions to hold virtual meetings with their branches to ensure all are aware of the upcoming campaign and to draw up initial draft plans for Grow the Union Month.
w/c 13th December: National Operational Group to meet virtually. All Regions to run through suggested plans. CWU HQ to liaise with each Region on any additional support required.
w/c 10th January: National Operational Group to meet at CWU HQ. Regions will be required to bring forward fully developed plans to this meeting, including suggested date for activity so visits from senior union officials can be arranged. CWU HQ will lay out the full national communications plan at this meeting.
w/c 17th January: National Briefing of all CWU Branches – key objectives of the campaign and an outline of participation expectations will be shared. The briefing will be outcome focused, and whilst the reality of the union’s current membership situation will be put across clearly, the emphasis will be on creating a positive and productive buzz across the union ahead of February. An LTB confirming a date for the National Briefing will be issued before Christmas.
w/c 24th January: Virtual meetings of both National and Regional working groups to finalise arrangements and activities. Branch packs (including 13 Measures of Branch Success workbooks, GROW branded resources and updated organising and recruitment guides) to be sent out with advice on how best to utilise the contents, and our new online ‘one-stop-shop’ of updated and on-brand resources to be tested ahead of the campaign.
w/c 31st January: GROW the Union Campaign launched on 1st Februarywith a live online engagement session focused on the importance of GROWing our union and the premiere of a new CWU recruitment video. Activity happening across Regions. Visits to Regional GROW activity from senior union officials. Positive and lively social media content to be shared from across the union.
w/c 7th February: Activity happening across Regions. Visits to Regional GROW activity from senior union officials. Positive and lively social media content to be shared from across the union.
w/c 14th February: Live engagement sessions with Branches and members focused on the importance of GROWing our union and celebrating gains as they happen, clips of union-positive interviews with members from across the union shared. Activity happening across Regions. Visits to Regional GROW activity from senior union officials. Positive and lively social media content to be shared from across the union.
w/c 21st February: Activity happening across Regions. Visits to Regional GROW activity from senior union officials. Positive and lively social media content to be shared from across the union.
w/c 28th February: Last live online engagement session held to close the month. Wins celebrated, shout-outs to Branches and Regions for their individual achievements and efforts, the sharing of footage taken throughout the month, and a speech from the General Secretary about continuing this crucial work to GROW our union consistently moving forward.
w/c 29th August: An update will be provided to all Regions and Branches to discuss success of recruitment and organising efforts in the 6 months since the GROW campaign was launched. A data analysis report of the completed 13 Measures workbooks will also be shared, as will up-to-date membership figures, to ensure ongoing transparency across the union.
Actions
- Every CWU Branch and Region will be asked to produce a plan of action for the month of February. Regional Secretaries will have responsibility to ensure Branches engage, and the National Operational Group will provide support where required.
- Each Region will be expected to hold a minimum of two stand-out events or activities in their area, alongside actively pursuing membership growth in every single workplace and Branch, where possible.
- All CWU reps will be asked to make this initiative a priority – the entire union must be visible during this campaign. For example, Field Officials and Senior Industrial Reps should sit on Regional or Branch working groups where appropriate and possible, and campaign information should be shared weekly with all members via email, workplace noticeboards and other available means.
- All CWU members will be asked to become GROW ambassadors and to actively promote union membership to non-unionised colleagues. Resources will be produced to acknowledge those who support us.
- CWU Headquarters will produce a suite of updated resources and branding, made easily accessible via the union website and with packs sent out to all Branches who produce plans for the GROW Campaign.
- The Communications Department will produce a launch video and high-quality social media content to promote activity and GROW the Union Campaign progress.
- Nationally, the union will tour every Region during GROW the Union month. The GS, SDGS, DGS P and DGS T&FS will support events across the UK.
- Three live events will be held with the membership in February. One to set things off with a bang on 1st February, an update on what’s been happening across the UK in the middle of the month, and a round-up event to celebrate our collective achievements at the end.
- A smaller working group from the Central Organising Team will focus on supporting UTAW recruitment during February, expanding our efforts to grow membership in the Tech sector.
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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