What is everyday life like in the branches of the Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers (FO)? What are the challenges faced by trade union representatives in their efforts to safeguard members' interests in the work place? What are the needs of shop stewards at different levels of the work place when it comes to assistance and follow-up, and to what extent does the central union organisation provide sufficient support and service for its union branches and its members? Is the organisational structure of FO attuned to the needs of the elected representatives at the branch level? These are all issues considered in this report, which also provides an input to the present debate on FO's organizational structure. The study is based on qualitative interviews among local level trade union representatives in the Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers. The interviews are conducted among union representatives from three different collective agreement areas, and four of the 19 regional branches of FO are covered in order to capture regional differences.
