DELEGATES at the National Union of Teachers (NUT) conference will be enjoying the moment as they reflect on the historic decision by members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and NUT to amalgamate and form a new union of over 400,000 educators. If there is a sense of euphoria, it is both understandable and justified.

But as the dust settles on the ballot result, a new and decisive phase in the formation of the National Education Union (NEU) opens up.

There now follows an extended period of transition as the details of the new union are decided, and the two existing unions move closer towards a single organisation.

It is important to recognise at this point that for all the sense of triumph about the ballot result, there is still a danger of squandering the opportunity that activists of both unions have created. Now is the time for clear thinking, wise leadership and open discussion.

That is why a new publication, published jointly by Education for Tomorrow and the Morning Star, is to be welcomed.

Unity. Solidarity. Liberation: A New Path for Education Unions makes a very timely contribution to important debates that must now take place as the transition phase in the formation of the NEU commences in earnest.

The publication starts by locating the development of the new union within a much wider historical, political and international context. Such analysis is always important.

Many young teachers starting their careers today were not even born when the 1988 Education Reform Act passed into law, but there can be no understanding education politics today without understanding the significance of that legislation, and the way it has driven our education system since.

Sadly, any analysis of how policy in the past has shaped teachers’ working lives today has been largely expunged from the teacher education programmes new teachers now experience. That, of course, is not an accident.

The “how did we get here” analysis provided in the publication therefore is most welcome.

The real strength of the publication, however, lies in the later sections when the focus shifts to the formation of the NEU, and the issues that need to be addressed as the union is formed and shaped.

We are reminded that the real prize is a new union that is “better and not just bigger.” In essence this is a union which draws many more teachers and educators into union engagement and participation, which, in turn, helps build the organisation’s activist base.

If the tide is to be turned on the post-88 Act settlement, such a mobilisation of educators is essential.

To what extent this happens will depend critically on the structures, strategies, and above all, the culture of the new union.

In the publication the case is made for structures which correspond to the new industrial relations environment within schools and which recognise the role of, for example, multiacademy trusts in determining the key features of teachers’ and educators’ working conditions.

This offers the prospect of aligning the union’s democratic structures with its campaigning priorities and may make it easier to draw more members into both union activity and participation in democratic decision-making.

The publication makes a strong case for a form of “issue-based organising” as the approach which underpins this strategy. However, if these possibilities are to be realised, then it is essential that the formation of the new union requires a more fundamental transformation of union cultures.

The creation of the NEU represents a unique opportunity to reach out to thousands of union members, who have not previously seen a union as central to their working lives, and strengthen the connection between the individual and collective.

The formation of the NEU is, in itself, an opportunity to energise and mobilise educators — many of whom are desperate for a voice that will give them a meaningful say in the decisions that shape their working lives.

However, if the next 18 months are characterised by an inward looking “capture and control” approach by activists as they battle for the heart and soul of the new organisation that opportunity will not be realised. As the publication states: “Defaulting to traditional ways of doing things risks changing little.”

If, on the other hand, the approach is outward facing and focused on “create and build,” then new possibilities will emerge.

In short, the process of forming the new union must model the open, democratic, participatory and inclusive culture the NEU needs to exemplify once it is established. This must be about creating both a genuinely new organisation and developing new forms of union participation, engagement and activism.

In their new publication, the Morning Star and Education for Tomorrow have made an important contribution to the debates that must be had in the coming months as NEU takes shape.

The next step must be to open up that debate and draw into discussion many more teachers and educators.

Activists of the two unions have created this historic opportunity, the challenge now is to make the moment count.

• Howard Stevenson is director of research and professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Nottingham.
• Unity. Solidarity. Liberation: A New Path for Education Unions is launched at the NUT conference.