Eve Livingston - Make Bosses Pay: Why We Need Unions

An eloquent and accessible blend of history, theory, and practical advice, Make Bosses Pay is essential reading for the new working class. I want to hand this book to every young person starting out in work, and to a surprisingly large number of union leaders as well.

Sarah Jaffe, author of Work Wont Love You Back

The pandemic has proved once again that unions are indispensable. Eves book is a brilliant primer for people wanting to find out more about the movement and why they should join. But she is also clear throughout that unions could be doing more and better, particularly for the young workers who need them so badly in todays unfair economy.

Frances OGrady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC)

A brave manifesto for trade unions at a pivotal moment in our history, expressed through voices from the frontlines of that fight. Eves bold vision sends a powerful message to any worker who feels disempowered and alone: that you are not alone, that you are a leader and that your time to lead is now.

Henry Chango Lopez, General Secretary, Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB)

Series Editor: Neda Tehrani

Platforming underrepresented voices; intervening in important political issues; revealing powerful histories and giving voice to our experiences; Outspoken by Pluto is a book series unlike any other. Unravelling debates on feminism and class, work and borders, unions and climate justice, this series has the answers to the questions youre asking. These are books that dissent.

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Lost in Work
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Amelia Horgan

Feminism, Interrupted
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Eve Livingston

First published 2021 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA

www.plutobooks.com

Copyright Eve Livingston 2021

The right of Eve Livingston to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 0 7453 4162 0 Paperback
ISBN 978 1 78680 840 0 PDF
ISBN 978 1 78680 841 7 EPUB

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.

Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England

Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America

Firstly, thank you to my editor Neda Tehrani for all her wisdom, encouragement and patience, and for making this book into something much better than I ever could have managed on my own. And thanks to everyone at Pluto for their support in bringing this book to life.

Thank you to all who shared their experiences, expertise and analysis with me. Your insights helped me immeasurably in shaping this book and articulating its vision. Thank you to Dawn Butler, Clare Coatman, Jaime Cross, Anny Cullum, Jo Grady, Josephine Grahl, Simon Hannah, Nicole Moore, Emma Saunders, Melanie Simms, Bryan Simpson, Fran Scaife, Tam Wilson, John Wood, Jamie Woodcock, Becky Wright, Amy and Esme, and to everyone else I spoke to whose words arent directly quoted but whose contributions are still evident throughout.

There were so many people who helped me whether they knew it or not, by reading through proposals, sections and chapters, answering my questions, introducing me to others, or simply being brilliantly supportive and patient friends, colleagues and family. Thank you to Alex Collinson, Lucy Douglas, Gillian Furmage, E Jamieson, Eleanor Livingston, James Mackenzie, Calum Macleod, Miri Macleod, Carla McCormack, Emiliano Mellino, Zeyn Mohammed, Elliot Ross, Kane Shaw, Laura Waddell, Hannah Walters and Hannah Westwater and to any others I have undoubtedly missed out but who I promise Im just as grateful to.

There are three people who deserve more thanks than I can give them on this page. Thank you to Nicole Busby, who instilled in me all the values Ive poured onto these pages, and who shaped this book immensely with both her insights and her support. To Dash Peruvamba, who has always been my number one champion and the best friend I could ask for, and who read every chapter with unerring patience and enthusiasm. And to Sean Kippin, for everything.

I first joined a trade union when I was 22 years old. Id graduated a year previously, spent the interim period cutting my teeth in the union movement as vice-president of my students union, and was ready to enter the world of work. Lifelong union membership was part and parcel of the deal for me, as obvious and unremarkable a feature of working life as rush hour commutes, tepid canteen coffee and hours-long meetings that could definitely just be emails. The union representatives at my workplace, a large public sector organisation with a relatively strong and active union, took a different view. At an induction session on my first day, after a five-minute presentation about the union, one rep spent double that time wooing my fellow inductees both largely disinterested white men older than me before remarking that I probably wouldnt be interested in union membership. Of the three, I was the one with union experience, shared principles and an eagerness to join. But apparently, I didnt look the type.

I signed up regardless, and ultimately got along with my fellow members and reps even after one tried to make it up to me by delivering to my office an unmarked brown envelope containing a pot of shoe polish branded with a union logo five years out of date and apparently left over from a recruitment drive in the 1980s. But my baptism into the trade union movement is still illustrative of many of its enduring problems and the stereotypes that continue to deter young workers from joining today: unions are for shouty old white men. Theyre stuck in the past and dont have any power left. Its an old-fashioned model that doesnt fit the way we work now. And to some extent, there is truth in all of the above. Workers from marginalised groups have fought hard for their place at the table and can still be found having to fight throughout the movement. Decades of Conservative legislation have weakened unions and removed much of their power. The world of work has changed beyond all recognition since the heyday of the movement in post-war Britain. And yet, trade unionism remains one of the strongest weapons we have in a country where inequality is accelerating, and work isnt working. Young people in todays United Kingdom are the first generation to be poorer than the one before,1 and a pension, let alone a home of our own, seems like a pipedream. Were at the sharp end of changes to the workplace, more likely than any other demographic to be stuck on zero-hour contracts or inside the precarious gig economy,2 and some of the most vulnerable to discrimination and bullying at work.3 As I write this introduction, the country is still grappling with the consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic, but the disproportionate impact on young peoples jobs and income is already clear, with more than one in three 18- to 24-year-olds earning less than before the outbreak, and a higher percentage of job losses than any other age group.4 If todays cruel, unequal country and its ruthless workplaces have taught us anything, its that the powerful wont save us. But collectivism still might.