The Community and Youth Workers Union (CYWU) was a British trade union created in 1938 by ten female voluntary sector workers. It is now a section of the Transport and General Workers' Union. Today its members are mainly made up of youth workers, workers in youth theatre, community education, outdoor education, play workers and personal advisers/mentors.
It produces a regular magazine for members, Rapport.
It had not authorised any national strike action prior to 2004, although the CYWU is the majority union of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) for youth and community workers.
The CYWU voted to join the TGWU at its 2005 Conference. The merger was confirmed on 13 September 2006, following a vote amongst the unions membership (with 82% in favour on a 26% turnout) and approved by the Trades Union Certification Officer on January 8, 2007.
The General Secretary of CYWU is Doug Nicholls, who is also is secretary of Trade Unionists Against the EU Constitution (UK).
In 2009 the first full history of the union was published Building Rapport: a brief history of the Community and Youth Workers' Union, by Doug NIcholls. This is available from the CYWU section office of Unite the union.
Famous quotes containing the words community, youth and/or union:
“As blacks, we need not be afraid that encouraging moral development, a conscience and guilt will prevent social action. Black children without the ability to feel a normal amount of guilt will victimize their parents, relatives and community first. They are unlikely to be involved in social action to improve the black community. Their self-centered personalities will cause them to look out for themselves without concern for others, black or white.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)
“The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Maybe we were the blind mechanics of disaster, but you don’t pin the guilt on the scientists that easily. You might as well pin it on M motherhood.... Every man who ever worked on this thing told you what would happen. The scientists signed petition after petition, but nobody listened. There was a choice. It was build the bombs and use them, or risk that the United States and the Soviet Union and the rest of us would find some way to go on living.”
—John Paxton (1911–1985)