BEN CHACKO: Last year TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady warned that union density among young workers is just 8 per cent while 40 per cent of trade union members are 50 or over. Why aren’t young people joining unions?

LAUREN TOWNSEND: There are several reasons that young people are not joining unions — primarily it’s because many young people today just don’t know what a trade union is. There is no trade union education in schools, and thanks to Thatcher's efforts in the ’80s we have many young people entering the world of work today whose parents weren't in a trade union. In a generation’s time these young people likely won't even have had a grandparent in a trade union, and if union membership amongst the under-30s keeps declining at the rate it currently is, unions will simply cease to exist in a few short generations time. We cannot afford to let that happen.

BC: When you and your colleagues at TGI came under attack with the raid on your tips you weren't a member of a union. But you've said having heard about the McStrikers inspired you to start organising.

LT: As a young worker from a non-unionised background the McStrike was incredibly inspiring to my colleagues and I. Not only were they taking on one of the biggest employers in the world, but they were doing so from a completely grassroots level, self-organising at first and then supported by the BFAWU, a real David and Goliath moment. The hospitality industry in the UK has never been a unionised one, low-pay and insecure contracts are the norm, bullying and harassment a frequent occurrence and collective bargaining agreements are unheard of. Organising ourselves and standing up to the bosses just didn't seem like something that could be done, but the McDonalds strikers changed that narrative, and if they could do it, then why couldn't we?

BC: The TUC has declared 2019 the year of young workers. Among its projects to increase union appeal to the young is the WorkSmart app. Is better use of technology key to getting young people into trade unions?

LT: The TUC may have declared 2019 the year of the young worker and that’s fantastic but I’m not 100 per cent convinced that initiatives like the WorkSmart app are the way to go. We should definitely be utilising existing social media platforms, ones that already have a high rate of young users like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram, but creating new apps can just be a waste of time, money and resources if they’re not going to take off.

I think that as a movement we should be investing in training and education, we should be going into schools, sixth forms and colleges around the country running trade union education sessions. We should be making sure we have stalls set up at career fairs and during freshers’ week at universities. We should be sending hit-teams along to all the festivals and sporting events in the summer that have a high density of young people.

Unions should be hiring more young talent to push and run these initiatives, too often I have been at a “young members” event that is being run by people double or triple the age it is trying to target. With age comes wisdom, and lots of the advice these more experienced trade unionists will be able to offer is invaluable, but at the same time “like attracts like” and if we want (and need!) to be getting younger people in the door and involved then they need to see that there is a place for them to flourish and have their own voices heard. A union is nothing without its membership, and so the union should reflect its current membership, but also the membership it is trying to attract.

BC: Many young workers are trapped on insecure jobs, uncertain hours and low pay. They cannot afford the housing or family lives many of their parents expected at their age. Are young people resigned to having it worse than previous generations?

LT: There is definitely a sense of apathy amongst some young people, but equally there is anger and frustration amongst others.

For every young person who resigns themselves to the thought process of “this is just the way it is,” there are several others ranting over a beer with colleagues after working a double shift making the minimum wage just knowing that they are worth more and deserve more. The issue for them has been, until very recently, understanding how they can go about improving their working conditions and having their voices heard. Hopefully the campaigns at McDonald’s, TGI Fridays, Wetherspoons, Deliveroo, Ritzy Cinema, the Ministry of Justice and so on will have gone some way in showing that these things can be fought and won and that unionising your workplace doesn't have to be this terrifying, unreachable goal, but that it can be wonderfully empowering for those involved and inspiring for others who are struggling under similar precarious working conditions.

BC: What would you say to workers who are afraid joining a union will get them into trouble?

LT: My number one rule for if you decide to take on your employer is to keep your nose clean at work. Double check your orders are correct, turn up early for your shifts, grit your teeth and smile at the rude customers, ensure your uniform is immaculate. Do not give your bosses any excuse to fire you, because if you do, they will.

I was suspended for three weeks at the height of our campaign and TGI Fridays tried their hardest to get rid of me, but they couldn’t. I am good at my job as a waitress, I keep my head down, I work hard and I have good rapport with both my guests and my colleagues. The only things the company could try and get me on were my public speeches regarding the dispute, accusing me of “bringing the company into disrepute” and “insubordination.” Two accusations that soon disappeared when we filed a counter-grievance for what was clearly trade union discrimination and harassment of an employee who had done nothing but exercise her legal right to join a union and organise her colleagues for industrial action.

I have seen colleagues and fellow activists fired, unfortunately they may have been late to one too many shifts or had a heated argument with a member of the management team. It does happen, and it can be scary, but every single one of them would tell you time and time again that it was worth it. None of them struggled to find another job and were back earning quickly, the union supported where it could with both moral and financial support, some have gone on to get jobs within the trade union and wider labour movement, something that never would have happened had they not had the experience of being an activist in a grassroots campaign. The friendships you build during these campaigns are second to none, you will meet thousands of new comrades along the way and it feels incredible to stand your ground and fight for what you know is right.

BC: We’ve seen a huge influx of young people into the Labour Party since Jeremy Corbyn became leader, engaging a generation in politics whom many politicians had written off. What is Labour’s appeal? Is there anything in its approach unions could learn from?

LT: Labour’s appeal under Corbyn’s leadership is simple. He is a real person. He has integrity and empathy and speaks our language. His voting history is impeccable, he is principled and he is genuinely warm. When you meet him and chat to him he takes a real interest in you, your campaign, your ideas and your opinions.

Compared to the swathes of career politicians we have gotten used to seeing and hearing from, Jeremy, and the socialist shadow cabinet he has built around him, are a breath of fresh air. Laura Pidcock, Dan Carden, Rebecca Long Bailey, Dawn Butler, Marsha de Cordova... the list could go on. It’s no accident that Labour Party membership has nearly tripled under Corbyn’s leadership, you can't fake what he has, and people see straight through “fake.” The 2017 manifesto spoke to a lot of people, and while I have seen some criticise it as too “radical,” I actually don’t think it is radical enough and would like to see the next manifesto go further. Renationalising the railways and our water, the Green New Deal, a £10 an hour minimum wage, collective sectoral bargaining, trade union education in schools, investing in our NHS and other public services, the list goes on and on. These are transformative and achievable policies that we all want to see. This is why I, and so many others like me, will stand by Corbyn and the other strong socialist MPs in the Labour Party, all whilst working hard to bring a new generation of MPs up through the ranks, displacing the naysayers and strengthening our movement from within.

BC: Do you think anti-union legislation had had a big impact on recruitment? Could the Institute of Employment Rights’s manifesto for labour law prompt a trade union renaissance?

LT: Anti-union legislation makes us feel impotent as workers trying to take industrial action against our employers. The paper balloting process is archaic and should be transferred to an online balloting system. Some of the younger team members in my store genuinely didn’t know where to find a postbox, as they had never before had to post a letter!

Giving the company two weeks’ notice of the exact date and time you are going to strike means you lose any element of surprise. The whole point of withdrawing your labour is that it should show your worth as a workforce, that doesn’t happen when the company are pre-warned and therefore able to bring in labour to cover you from other locations. The 50 per cent turnout threshold also lost us a few strike attempts, even if all those who returned their ballots wanted to go out on strike if you were just one person under 50 per cent then none of you could strike. This led to many frustrations in store. The IER’s proposals set out exactly how we can change all this and we need a Labour government to do it.