Over the coming weeks of the campaign I’ll be posting a series of videos and podcasts covering what I believe are important topics for our union to deal with and in order to ensure we are future-fit.
19 Feb 22 – My second podcast ‘Putting the Union back into musicians’ as part of my Musicians’ Union General Secretary election campaign. In this one I discuss how having an Organising Team to coordinate our campaigns and negotiations will help us win the crucial battles ahead.
6 Feb 22 – Prompted by members who’ve asked me what I mean by the idea of the MU becoming an ‘organising union’ – I thought it would be easier to explain it in a podcast.
29 Dec 21 – Equality, diversity and inclusion, is a defining issue for all trade unions, including the MU, especially if we are to improve things not just for musicians but in wider society too.
In this video I talk about how we should be organised and structured as a union to empower our Black, Asian, Women, Disabled, LGBTQ+ and Young members for instance – if we are serious about ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion for ALL.
It will also require a shift in how we think about issues, and how we run our training and education programmes. The key thing is we HAVE to change if we are to meet the challenges ahead, and the model I propose will do just that.
For more information on this topic please see my blog page.
17 Dec 21 – A majority of MU members will find themselves teaching music or a musical instrument at some point in their career. Whilst independent schools maintain high levels of music tuition which is growing, the state sector has seen music provision decrease by 21% in the last 5 years. We have a problem with structural inequality in music provision meaning the most disadvantaged kids are losing out, reducing opportunity, and meaning music education is becoming the preserve of the wealthiest families. Our members are earning less in real terms than 10 years ago with worse job security. This has to end. We need to fix our state sector music education system, we need to set out a clear and bold vision. We need to “fix music education”.
My first one deals with my key commitments to you the members, how an organising approach will work, and how I’ll be accountable and approachable as General Secretary.
Get in Touch
If you’d like to know more about my campaign, my plans for the Union, want to get involved, or if you have some thoughts about what you think our Union should be doing you can reach me at:
Vote Stephen Brown for MU General Secretary 