No New Principles, Just New Tools: How Unions Modernize

Chris Walton spent forty years inside the union movement and built the ACTU's Union Innovation Hub — a movement-owned platform now shared by 30+ unions. His throughline: there's no new principle of organizing, but there are powerful new tools. In this episode, Chris and Riley Miller get practical about what those tools do — engagement scoring to spot at-risk members and hidden workplace leaders, member journeys that lifted average member tenure in Australia to eight years, and why buying technology as a movement beats going it alone. They compare Australia's open shop with Canada's Rand formula, and Chris shares the news that the Hub's Union Suite for iMIS is now available to North American unions through Bursting Silver. If you lead, work in, or build for a membership organization, this show was built for you. 📄 Show notes, transcript, and links: https://www.burstingsilver.com/podcast/ep13 ⏱ Chapters0:00 Cold open — "I don't pretend it's a magic solution"0:28 Welcome + introducing Chris Walton1:41 Forty years an organizer: from bank unions to the Innovation Hub3:53 Why the movement chose a collective approach to digital5:42 Triaging shared improvements + the "pass the hat around" model7:35 Australia vs. Canada/US: open shop, the Rand formula, free riders9:51 Engagement is the key — members off the sidelines12:57 Engagement scoring and finding at-risk members17:28 Member journeys without feeling like a subscription21:25 Using digital to organize for growth24:42 The one principle to take away — and "have a go"26:50 Union Suite for iMIS comes to Canada + the US 🔗 About Bursting SilverWe're a fully remote consultancy specializing in modern CRM, iMIS, and AI solutions for membership organizations across North America.Website ▸ https://www.burstingsilver.com/LinkedIn ▸ https://www.linkedin.com/company/bursting-silver 🌐 Follow the showInstagram ▸ https://www.instagram.com/burstingsilver/X / Twitter ▸ https://x.com/burstingsilverFacebook ▸ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579548728138TikTok ▸ https://www.tiktok.com/@burstingsilverYouTube ▸ https://www.youtube.com/@BurstingSilver #TheModernMembershipOrg #Associations #iMIS #MembershipManagement #Unions #UnionModernization #MemberEngagement #BurstingSilver