Black members group
Get involved with our growing network of active Black members in branches and regions across the union
Help promote equality and tackle discrimination in the workplace
Black members in UNISON work to improve equality in the workplace and challenge racism and discrimination.
Black members have many of the same concerns as other members regarding access to employment, pay, promotion and training. However, racist discrimination can deepen the impact of problems faced in the workplace.
Our Black members groups challenge racial discrimination. We support workers in formal procedures but also develop effective responses to deeply rooted patterns of discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
Black members groups also campaign for racial equality and inclusion in the workplace, in our union and in society.
They recruit new members and encourage them to get involved beyond the Black members group, in branch activity or in the wider union. Issues discussed in Black members groups can be submitted to the national Black members conference and other parts of the union’s democratic structure for debate.
UNISON is committed to increasing the representation and participation of Black people in the union, so their experience is fully reflected in UNISON’s policy and practice.
Join a group
Discover how to connect with other Black members and participate in your member group at branch, regional and national level
Language and terminology
In UNISON, Black is used to indicate people with a shared history. Black with a capital ‘B’ is used in its broad political and inclusive sense to describe people in Britain who have suffered colonialism and enslavement in the past and continue to experience racism and diminished opportunities in today’s society.
The terms ‘minority ethnic’ and ‘ethnic minority’ are in widespread official use today. However, these terms have clear disadvantages in terms of the connotations of marginal or less important and in many neighbourhoods, towns and cities in Britain it is statistically inaccurate or misleading to describe Black groups as a minority.
Historically in the UK, the term Black has been used routinely in anti-racist campaigns starting in the 70s. 25 years ago when four Black MPs Bernie Grant, Paul Boateng, Diane Abbott and Keith Vaz were elected at the height of 1980s Black activism, African, Arab, Asian and Caribbean communities had come to realise the importance of unity in our common struggle against racism and under-representation and campaigned under the political term ‘Black’.
Language changes and evolves but terminology is always important in terms of intention and direction. Using Black is about creating unity in our fight against deep-rooted racism that sees Black people disadvantaged in housing, education, employment and the criminal justice and health systems.
Resources
- Model anti-racism policy (2023)
- Anti-Racism Charter (2023)
- Defining Black (2017)
- Challenging racism in the workplace report (2016)
- Ethnicity pay gap
- UNISON race discrimination inquiry report
- Ten good reasons to use race discrimination protocol
If you are a UNISON activist, log into the activist hub to access more resources to help Black members