Futures Network
The Futures Network brings unionists together to collaborate and share knowledge on best practice in union organising, campaigning, and growth.
A Place for Union Insights and Innovation
The ATUI holds Futures Network meetings throughout the year, bringing unionists together to share knowledge on best practice in organising, campaigning, and growth and adopt better ways of supporting union members and workers.
All affiliates are encouraged to nominate officials or staff members with responsibility for new projects and innovation to attend these meetings on their union’s behalf.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Details on topics and presenters to come throughout the year.
PAST MEETINGS
Recordings and resources from previous Futures Network meetings can be found in the ATUI Library.
Effective Onboarding of New Members
11 April
The ACTU Insights Team provided a summary of insights collected through their New Member Join Research program, conducted with new union members across the movement. The research is focused on understanding members’ initial onboarding expectations and experiences, at the one-month and three-month mark of joining.
The Insights team was joined on a panel by affiliates giving short outlines of the onboarding journeys they are implementing and their experiences so far.
A New Look at Union Power
14 March
In 2023, Professor Anthony Forsyth launched his book on new forms of union activism: The Digital Picket Line. We heard from Anthony and Alison Rudman, union leader and researcher, about their work on case studies of union strategy with a particular focus on how unions build and exercise power.
Presenters:
Distinguished Professor Anthony Forsyth, Graduate School of Business & Law, RMIT University
Alison Rudman, NSW Secretary, CFMEU – Manufacturing Division and PhD Candidate, University of Sydney Department of Work and Organisational Studies
New Digital Tools
8 February
Over the course of 2023, new and innovative tools and technology were developed by affiliates and TLCs to support union campaigns. In this workshop, we looked at some of the tools built for Unions for Yes, which could have ongoing application in digital campaigning across the movement.
Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) created a ‘Voice Bot’ (and associated tools) to scale digital communications on the Voice campaign. Through AI and automations, VTHC had 191 conversations through their chatbot and 1,500 conversations on Messenger (approximately 80% automated).
Similarly, the Unions for Yes campaign landing page by the ACTU digital team utilised several tools and programs that could be deployed to campaign sites in the future, including a ‘Pledge Your Support’ tool and a ‘Social Media Photo Frame’ tool.
Presenters:
Edwina Byrne, Communications and Media Lead, VTHC
Blair Wigley, Digital Development Lead, ACTU