Russian trade unions’ activity priorities and prospects for the authority rise among university workers

This article is devoted to the analysis of the university trade union activity in the modern context. The authors overview the existing approaches to the analysis of the trade union movement in Russia, give the sociological study data on the demand for various activities of the Samara University trade union, its coverage in the university media and on the trade union website, and also proposals for improving the trade union activities. It is concluded that following activities are the most demanded and favorably evaluated by the university personnel: recreation and health improvement measures for employees and their children, organization of mass participation events, provision of social benefits and financial assistance. At the same time, the respondents question one of the main tasks of the trade union the ability to improve wages and working conditions for the Samara University employees. Based on the results of the study, practical recommendations for the trade union committee were formed, including the most important recommendations: activity increase in wage security and the trade union information work.