This is a teaser preview of one of our <a href="https://www.patreon.com/collection/675995" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fireside Chat episodes</a>, made exclusively for <a href="https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">our supporters on Patreon</a>. You can listen to the full 104-minute episode without ads and support our work at https://www.patreon.com/posts/e105-fireside-in-127749416 <br /><br /><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/e105-fireside-in-127749416" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>In this episode, we spoke to one of our hosts, John, about his experiences organising at work in the public sector, first as an agency worker, then a permanent employee, and as a member and representative of Unison, the UK’s largest public sector union. <br /><br />In the full episode, we go into detail about some small local disputes and victories, and how these connected with the dynamics of large, national disputes – in particular, the public sector pensions dispute of 2011. We also talk about the relationship between union officialdom and struggles on the shopfloor.<br /><br />While these experiences are specific to John, we do think many of the dynamics are pretty common, with similarities with many workplaces – especially office-based ones.<br /><br /><i>Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at <a href="https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">patreon.com/workingclasshistory</a></i><br /><i></i><br /><b>Acknowledgements</b><br /><ul><li>Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Fernando López Ojeda and Old Norm.</li><li>Edited by Jesse French</li><li>Our theme tune is Montaigne’s version of the classic labour movement anthem, ‘Bread and Roses’, performed by Montaigne and Nick Harriott, and mixed by Wave Racer. <a href="https://montaigne.bandcamp.com/track/bread-and-roses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Download the song here</a>, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: <a href="https://montaignemusic.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/actualmontaigne" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH1Yyx96VGFQVStKxQXRwEg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a>.</li></ul>