Voice for the Worker

[BAJR Host]

The listening to the song for BAJR thread .. and taken into consideration.. with the talk of Prospect

We, the workers, the sole trader, the digger, the field arch... do we really have a voice?

Is this the time to unite and create an organistion, representative of us.. one the employers can talk with, one that has a voice, a powerful voice. With a yearly elected committee that talk on our behalf... ? That is truely dedicated to archaeology, and one that understands our needs... of all times - this perhaps is the time.

think about it? :face-thinks:

"Gie's a Job.."
Prof. 'Dolly' Parton

[oldgirl]

So who are you thinking (exactly) should be represented? I've worked both in and out of the field for years. Last time I was regularly working in the field I was told I couldn't join the Diggers Forum because I was 'a boss'. Never mind that I was probably doing as much actual fieldwork as most of the people in it. I think that you exclude people who have moved up through the ranks at your peril, after all it's easier to convince them if they come and talk and listen with you than if you shout at them and they are probably both the ones most likely to listen and also the ones that actually might have some power to do something about it! (Out of interest, IPMS/Prospect also weren't sure if I should be able to be a member once I was part owner of a company. Sigh.)

On Prospect; I was a member when it was IPMS. I was also a branch committee member for a while. On the whole I think they were worth the money, not least because of the 'side' benefits like access to a counselling and support service. However, I was working somewhere that recognised a union. If you argue it right, you can probably 'persuade' an employer that union represenation is useful, as the skills that the union brings to the organisation can be very helpful.

In the meantime though, are you actually talking about setting up a new trade union? Or a 'staff representation' type organisation?

[gorilla]

Been thinking about this for some time...

At the moment, all we have is a range of very disparate and very detached voices. We are all trying to get OUR (whatever we are in archaeology) views across (murmuring, ranting, whingeing... whatever) into a void of our own creation. Every time we shout, all we hear is our own voices or, worse, the echo's of someone elses past whinges and gripes. This has been going on for years. We consume, digest, re-model and then re-gurgitate our own misery (ad nauseum). Some would call it progress.

We have a "professional organisation" that is representative of it's members (fair enough), but it doesn't represent archaeologists as a whole. Hardly anyone can afford to join it, not everyone wants to join it and, lastly, it actually doesn't want everyone to join it (sorry, being very cynical and, probably, very misguided).

Some of us are members of a union, but even there we only need its services when we (personally) get into difficult times. Then there are those who aren't members of a union simply because they can't afford the subscription fees... probably because they just don't get paid enough. Stupid eh?

Yeah, we DO need an organisation that is representative of ALL of us. Maybe it will take (as old Indiana Jones found out) a "leap of faith".

[chiz]

I have to echo oldgirl's comments.
I understand the increasing frustration, but is setting up another organisation the solution? With another set of subs to pay? As a member of the IFA, the Diggers Forum, and Prospect (as well as various societies etc), I don't really want to have to join anything else. I'd rather these organisations did their job and represented me from their respective corners:
-Prospect as my union over pay and conditions on small scale and industry wide, to argue the case for improving working life,with the logistical and size backup to argue these effectively and as part of a wider labour (small l) movement pressuring across the board, as well as helping out when the sh*t goes down.
-IFA to try and sort the profession out and uphold standards, and the Digger's Forum within that to represent those that don't have a real voice within the IFA.
I don't expect the IFA to be my union, and I don't expect my union to set standards for watching briefs. I'd be wary of starting up another group without putting a lot of thought into it. Maybe an evolution of the DF into something more inclusive? But the bottom tier needs representing? Or another IFA group for say 'commercial archaeologists'?
I realise many don't like the IFA, I'm not their biggest fan, but I'd like to do something about it and get this profession back on track. Part of that may be realising that whilst having effective lobbying groups like BAJR (however representative) pitching in from the outside is essential, that we need to balance this by constructive engagement inside the representative groups that exist.

What kind of groups do you feel are unrepresented, what form would any new group take, and what could they do above what is being done now? Unfortunately I often worry that its never going to get any better without the whole industry being ripped apart and put back together. And that won't be fun.

[kevin wooldridge]

In agreement with Gorilla's sentiments.

I think also in this difficult times an archaeologist who is out of work is effectively disenfranchised. Of course they can remain an 'unemployed' member of Prospect, but vacuously floating in a membership class that contradicts the root and branch structure of the Trade Union; they can remain a member of the IFA, but essentially impotent because of their unemployment.

I also sense, from comments on BAJR fora over the past few days, that so many folk are worried about their own jobs, they have little more than platitudes to offer those who have recently lost jobs or are unable to gain employment.

Correspondents to the BAJR Facebook site have also identified other lost 'groups' and individuals i.e sole traders, freelancers, specialists, students etc who appear not to have a real voice in our industry. To which I would add the large number of archaeologists who rely on short term and fixed term contracts for the majority of their employment.

My personal view is that the archaeology industry ignores the disenfranchised at its own peril and I therefore support any attempts to construct inclusive networks where those voices get to be heard. I don't think it can be a trade union (for legal reasons), but I don't see why BAJR and BAJRites can't promote a politically neutral pressure group. It already has a head start. I bet for example more archaeologists have heard of BAJR than have heard of the Diggers Forum.

[kevin wooldridge]

Oh and BAJR is a great name. Read the label, expect some grief!!

[Dirty Dave Lincoln]

From the gist of some comments on different topics it would seem more people trust BAJR than they do Unions or the IFA to help.
The main problem with the last two is- what help can they give in a recession??
What we need is a modern day Jarrow march- I can see it now, thousands of unemployed archaeologists with Hosty at the head of the collumn leading us to 10 Downing Street.:face-approve:
I can see the news headlines "Irate Archaeologists BAJR the PM"

[chiz]

quote:Originally posted by Dirty Dave Lincoln

From the gist of some comments on different topics it would seem more people trust BAJR than they do Unions or the IFA to help.

out of whom? BAJR is great, and the way it has helped pay to some extent is fantastic, but to play devil's advocate it is generally the unrepresentative opinions of only thirty or so people!

[Dirty Dave Lincoln]

Oh,I agree- BAJR is great, but as for "only thirty or so people"...I take it you don't think we could get the numbers for a proper march?

[kevin wooldridge]

Bob.

BAJR unrepresentative? I believe that BAJR has over 1000 members on the BAJR site and 300+ on the Facebook group which next to the IFA makes it the second largest 'section' in UK professional archaeology.

You maybe right that 1000+ BAJR members would be incapable between themselves of changing a light bulb, but I think it still ranks in the representative stakes.