Skip to main content
Time for unions to up their game
Plummeting membership and declining activism are largely self-inflicted for Britain’s lethargic trade unions, writes ROGER McKENZIE, arguing for a drastic change of tack
Thousands march to Trafalgar Square in central London, to celebrate workers' achievements at a May Day rally

ALBERT EINSTEIN is credited with saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

This seems an eminently sensible point of view to me. You have to wonder why then if someone widely regarded as one of the foremost minds of any generation says such a thing that the trade union movement and the left — if indeed those things are the same — just bundles along doing the same old thing, expecting different results from the ones we keep getting.

I have been around the trade union and labour movement a while now.

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
11 - black workers
Features / 16 April 2025
16 April 2025
From the TUC Race Relations Committee to national union treasurers, a new generation of formidable black women leaders are breaking barriers and transforming the movement through uncompromising politics, writes ROGER McKENZIE
17-10-1989 of (L-R) Former World Heavyweight Champions Joe F
Obituary / 24 March 2025
24 March 2025
ROGER McKENZIE writes about late boxing legend Foreman’s legacy, from his part in Rumble in the Jungle to becoming world heavyweight champion at 45
AFRICAN HERO: A Walter Rodney poster in Georgetown, Guyana
Features / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
The Guyanese scholar’s groundbreaking work revealed how Europe deliberately underdeveloped Africa while using its resources and people to fuel Western capitalism, writes ROGER MCKENZIE
Plenary session during the Bandung Conference
Features / 9 January 2025
9 January 2025
China’s huge growth and trade success have driven the expansion of the Brics alliance — now is a good time for the global South to rediscover 1955’s historic Bandung conference, and learn its lessons, writes ROGER McKENZIE
Similar stories
Manchester City fans hold a banner in protest of ticket rese
Men’s football / 18 April 2025
18 April 2025

A new front in the fight for football’s soul is emerging — one rooted in trade union values and collective power

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) take part in a
TUC 2024 / 9 September 2024
9 September 2024
NEU president PHIL CLARKE, writing in a personal capacity, explains why a different way of organising school support staff is needed
AI
Features / 21 May 2024
21 May 2024
Last year an estimated 120,000 retail workers lost their jobs and nearly 10,000 shops closed — Usdaw regional secretary MIKE WALKER calls for action to protect workers in the rapidly changing retail sector
Cundy Cuba
Features / 11 May 2024
11 May 2024
RMT young members' committee chair SARAH CUNDY speaks to Ben Chacko about the challenges facing young transport workers, public campaigning and training a new generation of union reps