MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Moral rules and trade union principles
Positive statements are made about developing lay members:-
My role there is quite different because again it is more about
coaching and supporting the members of the committee have go
out there and do the work because I can't interface with the
employer. So it's a coaching role with them, if you like.
(Interviewee H)
Also about enhancing the democratic process by the use of information
and communications technology:-
I can get a better debate on an online basis, with more
contributions, I get a more measured debate. I told them
yesterday, they didn't realise that they had had an extensive
debate about one particular conference course that we run and
should we accept, when the NEC has said you can only have 30
people on this conference course and we have 43 applicants,
how do we split those down to 30, was the debate. So it went
on for a long time and it went on electronically and you got every
possible view and slice of what these people should represent,
coming to conference; should it be one per section or should it
be based on activity before and what we view as potential
activity after. (Interviewee G)
And also about the value of the various representative channels to
ascertain members’ views:-
Essentially I am in a unique position in basically knowing, or
supposedly knowing, what the members are thinking, what the
union's internal democracy is thinking and how we're actually
going to execute it on the ground and then also directing the
office to do that. So if you imagine those communication
channels, they are three communication channels but they flow
back the other way as well. So, no, I don't have a conflict, I don't
see a particular conflict in that. I actually believe that I am able
to do my job a lot better. I am able to do my job because I have
those three areas of responsibility. So I can have, if you like, an
overview of what is happening elsewhere because my officers
tell me and I have to direct them on certain issues. Obviously I
need to know what the members are thinking because I'm going
to be advocating their stance to the employer. And then
obviously also managing the overall relationship between the
employer and trade union because obviously what we are
thinking and what they are thinking can be some way apart on
occasions. (Interviewee L)
For almost every manager in UNiFI, relationships with elected
members have changed since the merger that created the union. It is
not surprising that there are differing views of that experience. But the
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