Met yesterday with Manuel Cortes, the new Assistant General secretary at TSSA to discuss the union's possible involvement in a TUC pilot project, aimed at reactivating lapsed union members using direct-calling.

Yesterday was my last day in the office for some six weeks or so, as next week I will be starting the Harvard Trade Union Programme in Boston. The programme itself covers everything from organising and recruitment through to union structures and governance, so hopefully should give me lots of thinking space, and new ideas to bring back to my day job.