Three things your sub-branch must do

In my previous post “How to have a strong sub-branch” I detailed the reasons why you should have a strong sub-branch and told you how to start the process. For those of you who want to get right into it and start making your sub-branch stronger; this guide is for you.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/jeremybrooks

You need people

• So organise a meeting!
• Aim for 1 meeting for every 4 teaching weeks for both the sub-branch and the sub-branch executive
• Keep sub-branch meetings short, sweet and upbeat. Individuals should not be waiting a month to seek you out about problems. What are your priorities in the school? What can people bring to the table?
• Real issues can (and should!) be discussed, but always with an eye on creating a solution.

You need money

• Have a look at http://www.fundraising.com.au/
• Sell only $1.20 chocolates, the$2.50 ones are very slow sellers
• Don’t bother with guilt free options (1 box at most) teachers want CHOCOLATE!
• You have to get a minimum of 15 boxes, if that’s too much, team up with other schools near you and divide them up.
• It will cost you $432, due in 30 days. You may need to put some of your own money in if you can’t sell ½ the boxes in 30 days. Recoup your money when you do sell enough chocolate.
• You will make $432 profit, how about you use it to buy your next lot of chocolate?
• At my school a staff of 50 will clear 15 boxes a term ($1728 p.a.)

You need air-time

• If you have a morning or weekly briefing, or school notices with a teacher section, don’t be afraid to tell your sub-branch what exciting things your sub-branch is doing.
• Beg, borrow or steal a notice board in the staff room
• Paint it red
• Use black electrical tape to divide it up into sections
• Using the printer and some funky fonts create some headings
  • What we do
  • Why join the union?
  • Who are my reps?
  • Meeting dates!
  • Current info
• Put some content under those headings. Use brochures that the union sends.
• Set time each week to change what’s on the board, even if it means just swapping out some posters. You want people to be interested!
• Encourage people to look at the board by running a weekly competition to answer a question. E.g. How much does a graduate teacher pay to join per month? Prizes could be a chocolate bar or some highlighters.

Now that you have your attack plan, it’s time to marshal the troops and get to work! Let us know how your sub-branch is going in the comments section below. We want to hear about your success!