Why should we sign up to trade unions?

Many thanks for Stephen Overell’s thought-provoking article ‘Twilight of the brotherhood’ (Personnel Today, 23 August).

Like him, I’m also a card-carrying union member who doesn’t really know why. I will be retiring in the next few years, but how on earth (and why) should I try to persuade my sons to join the union ‘movement’?

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It would be interesting to hear a union official try to answer the ‘why join?’ question.

Tim Wells
Senior analyst
Nationwide Building Society