Unions can mobilise to influence the issues the next election is fought over and its outcome

The union vote matters, more so than has been previously realised. 60% of union members in America said they voted for Obama. In the last general election in the UK, only 46% said they voted Labour. Where this was important in the US election where 12% of working people are union members, it is even more important in the UK where union density is more than double that, around 28%.

With a year to go before Gordon Brown must call a general election, these figures alone make a very strong case that of all the lessons the Obama campaign can teach the Labour Party, the most important might be to strengthen their work with the unions.

So what do unions, and the Labour Party in the UK have to learn from the Democrats and US unions?

I’ve worked with trade union officers from the UK and US, as well as Young Fabian colleagues, to put together a paper which I hope goes some way to answering that question.

To be published online here on Thursday 30th, the paper will follow the Wednesday night Young Fabians event: “Will there be a British Barack Obama?” and be part of our celebrations of Obama’s 100th day in office.

It will ask some tough questions of both the Labour Party and the unions, and encourage some of the changes that need to be made so we can work together as effectively as the Democrats and US unions did last year.

So before then, whether you’re a trade union or Labour Party activist, what do you think we can do to work better together in your local area?