Union Recruitment Week 26-30 October
We are organising a variety of activities from pop-up stalls to welcome events in our Union Recruitment Week to encourage colleagues to join our union.
You can be part of Recruitment Week by joining our online Union Champions training on Monday 26th October 16.00-17.00. It will be recorded if you can’t make it live. The Champion who recruits the most new members will receive a prize at our Fall General Meeting on 26th November 2026.
Become a Union Champion
Most people join a union because someone they know and trust asks them. That someone could be you.
What is a Union Champion?
Union Champions are HUART members who encourage their colleagues to join our union. You don’t need any experience, and you don’t need to be an expert on unions. You just need to care about your colleagues and be willing to start a conversation.
Many colleagues, especially those who’ve come to Finland from abroad and those early in their careers, don’t know how unions work here or why membership matters. A conversation with you could be what gets them protected.
What can you do?
It’s really simple:
- Download the Union Champions Pack which includes helpful tips on how to encourage your colleagues to join.
- Get trained. Join a one-hour online session where we cover the basics and practise having the conversation.
- Talk to your colleagues. Have a chat over coffee, in the lab or in the corridor, about why you’re a member.
- Share the link. Point them to tieteentekijat.fi/en/huart/join. Joining takes just a few minutes.
Check out our video from our Board Member Juan Quispe to find out more about the Union Champions programme.
Union Champions Pack
Not sure what to say to your colleagues? The Union Champions Pack has you covered. It’s designed to give you everything you need to help us grow our union. It walks you through why growing our union matters, who we’re trying to reach and how to tell your own union story. It shows you how to start a conversation with a colleague and what to say when it gets harder. You’ll also find answers to the questions colleagues ask most, message templates you can copy and send, and who to contact if you need help.
Help us reach 1,700
We’re now 1,678 members and counting. Our target is 1,700 by the end of this year. Every colleague you bring in gets us closer, and makes our voice at the University stronger.
Questions? Contact our Member Outreach team via Michael Pugh, Advocacy and Communications Specialist, michael.pugh(at)helsinki.fi