Whether you are a student worker or a solidary supporter: To win, we need you and many other TVStud ambassadors!
We know from the last round of collective bargaining in 2021 that good arguments alone will not be enough to push through a collective agreement. We need many activists and above all multipliers so that we can put enough pressure on the employers at the decisive moment. The first thing that each of us can contribute to success is to keep up to date and inform ourselves and our colleagues about the current progress of the talks. For this we need many workers or supporters in solidarity to inform and talk to others as TVStud ambassadors on the ground.
Am I entering into an obligation?
No. If you sign up as a TVStud ambassador, you will only be regularly informed about the current progress of the talks. In addition to receiving informational emails, we will invite you to a Zoom event after the talks with the employers’ association in order to bring you up to date. Participation is voluntary. However, the more people attend and afterwards inform colleagues and fellow students, the more likely we are to win in the end.
Do I have to be a union member?
Yes and no! On the one hand, we want to make it possible for as many people as possible to gain an insight into the progress of the talks and to gather an initial impression.
On the other hand, it is also clear that good arguments alone will not change anything. In the end, it depends on how many colleagues unite and become able to assert themselves. The history of the last 150 years has shown that only if workers unite permanently in trade unions do they have a chance of achieving good working conditions in the long term. In 2018, our fellow student workers in Berlin showed that this is also possible at universities – and now we are at a crossroads nationwide. So when, if not now, would be a better time to get started?
Only with strong unions can we get a collective agreement. Only with financial resources and full union strike funds can we finance our work and, at the crucial moment, if necessary, stop work for a longer period of time to exert pressure. Being a trade union member is also an act of solidarity with other workers, for example in the health sector or at Amazon, who are also dependent on strong trade unions that are able to act.
Become a member of ver.di here.
Become a GEW member here (in German only).
Does this mean a lot of work for me?
Every person can get involved in the next few months within the scope of his or her capabilities. What is clear is that we need many active people in as many places as possible to get involved in the work of the TVStud local action groups. Even though this is a central requirement for success, it is not always possible for everyone. The least that any person can do to contribute to the campaign’s success is to serve as a multiplier to make others aware of the talks and to take to the streets at the crucial moment. To do this, TVStud ambassadors receive regular information and can find out immediately after the talks how they went and participate in the deliberations on how to proceed. In addition, it is up to you whether you get involved on site – whether with flyer texts, social media work or the planning of actions – each according to his/her abilities, interests and capacities!