“I read Ian Allinson’s book ‘Workers Can Win’ the other day. I’d definitely recommend reading it if you’re thinking about organising your workplace. Also useful for those with more experience too.”
“The organising method Ian breaks down is similar to the Labor Notes approach, with extras from his experience in his workplace and in Unite, & with UK relevant info on legal rights etc. It’s a good approach to learn from and Ian lays it out well.”
“Ian also does a v good job bringing well-honed political arguments in alongside that. I found particularly useful the bits on conflict in the workplace, the potentials & pitfalls of casework, partnership unionism, unofficial strike action, and recognition & facilities time.”
“The detailed section on unofficial strike action is also particularly timely, given how this may become a really necessary tool for public sector workers what with the new anti-strike legislation the government is proposing. One thing I’d have liked more of actually is more case studies of how unofficial strike action has been done to learn from.”
“Should also add that I think some stuff in the sections on the new small unions like IWGB is not totally accurate/up to date. But that stuff doesn’t take away from the book. And relatedly, it’s worth saying that how to organise if you work in the gig economy isn’t really tackled in the book. Although there is lots of useful stuff that can be translated across. In that vein, there’s some things we’ve learnt at IWGB from, for instance, courier & foster carer organising that have been quite unique and rly useful for strengthening our organising across the union. Incorporating learnings from the gig econ cld add to the method Ian lays out.”
“Definitely give it a read!”