Tubeworker has long advocated that the unions need to make themselves more relevant in the workplace, and one way of doing this is to run more democratic decision-making at work. So we are delighted to report that RMT elected its local reps for Leytonstone drivers in a ballot held on site at the depot, and the election was a great success.
A ballot box was open from the start of traffic until the last turn booked on, and the voting went off without a hitch, and 73 of the 99 RMT drivers at Leytonstone voted - including some who came in on their rest days or annual leave to do so.
When was the last time that three-quarters of the members at your workplace went to a branch meeting to take part in a reps' election?! Probably never. This shows that workplace elections get a much bigger turnout, therefore increasing rank-and-file involvement in the union and giving a more representative result.
There were four candidates for the two reps' posts and two candidates for the health & safety rep post. The successful candidates now carry a very strong mandate, massively increasing their credibility and making it impossible for management to decry them as "unrepresentative".
The success of the Leytonstone workplace election should encourage workers in other locations to demand the right to elect their reps at work too.