Oxfordshire UNISON health branch has over 3,000 members who work in Oxfordshire's NHS and associated health services. This gives members a collective voice in consultations and negotiations with employers, and enables members to organise to improve their pay and conditions, and for a safer working environment. The power in a union rests in the members collective action. The branch is organised by branch members elected to be officers and stewards. All members are entitled to stand for positons in the union, both local, regional and national.
Over 6 million people in the UK are members of a trade union, with 1.3 million of them being members of UNISON. UNISON has produced a useful leaflet on what a trade union can do.