While there’s an election across the Atlantic that might be grabbing all the headlines, there’s a Big Vote going on in UNISON too.
As a member-led union, democracy is always at the centre of what UNISON does. If you’ve been a member for more than a few months you’ll already have had a chance to vote for all sorts of positions in the union, the national executive committee, service group executive, branch officers and more.
They all play vital roles in running our union and representing you.
But the single most important person in the union is the general secretary. It’s their job to represent you and 1.3 million other UNISON members on the national stage: in meetings with government, major employers and in the media.
Because they represent everyone in the union, it’s essential that as many members as possible have their say on who leads UNISON.
So please, look out for the ballot pack, read the candidates’ election statements and vote. If you haven’t seen your vote you can ring the ballot helpline from 10 November to 20 November on 0800 0 857 857.
But do more than that. Speak to your colleagues, encourage them to vote. You’re obviously welcome to campaign for your preferred candidate, but the most important thing is that as many people take part and vote as possible.
You can place posters around your workplace to encourage members to vote, share posts on social media to boost and remind everyone (including yourself!) that ballots have to be returned in their freepost envelopes by 5pm on November 27.
You only get this chance every five years, so use it.