I have been in Unison (& its forerunner NALGO) since joining the South Yorkshire Police in 1985. In common with most of those employed in operational roles I see the need for union backing. As such I have been active as a Unison rep and Branch Treasurer.
Here at SYP many of our reps are in the front line areas of work. Control Rooms,Traffic Wardens,Detention Officers.PCSOs. Warrant officers My feeling is that there is no point in sitting back and asking "what is the union doing" you need to get involved.
PCSOs should have there own reps but this will only happen if those in the role stand for election. I can tell you that I have already had to represent a PCSO at a disciplinary hearing. The charges were such that he could have been dismissed but representaion ensure a fair hearing which resulted in a final written warning on each of the twio charges.
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I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.