The wrong red line: why Unite needs a change on Trident
A Unite rep argues that Unite members should support Ian Allinson’s anti-Trident, pro-diversification candidacy for the post of General Secretary. On Monday (27 March) Unite members start to vote on who will be their next General Secretary – the centrist incumbent, Len McCluskey; the right-winger, Gerard Coyne; or the socialist, rank-and-file candidate, Ian Allinson. Over the next few […]
Breaking with the bureaucrats: how to reclaim Unite
Joe Hayns writes about the need to end the bureaucratic stasis at the top of Unite and support dynamic grassroots struggles led by rank-and-file members. On Monday (27 March) Unite members start to vote on who will be their next General Secretary – the centrist incumbent, Len McCluskey; the right-winger, Gerard Coyne; or the socialist, rank-and-file candidate, […]
Robber baron Ineos takes over Forties fields
Brian Parkin comments on the extension of chemical giant Ineos’ control over the Scottish energy economy and calls for radical, democratic and green working class resistance.
For a rank-and-file strategy: supporting #ian4unite in the Unite GS election
Unite activist and former executive member Sara Bennett explains the politics behind Ian Allinson’s challenge to the Unite leadership Long-time Unite workplace activist, Ian Allinson, has thrown his hat into the ring in Unite the Union’s General Secretary election. The election was called at short notice and is the second time that current General Secretary, Len […]
Review: Blacklisted
Brian Parkin reviews Blacklisted: the secret war between big business and union activists by Dave Smith and Phil Chamberlain When I was a young engineering draughtsman in the early 1970s I was involved in a shop stewards and union activist organisation in Leeds. The group comprised rank and file union members from factories across the city […]
revolutionary reflections | You can’t stop Wapping by marching past it: An Interview with Sherrl Yanowitz
Sherrl Yanowitz, who sadly died in June last year – Obituary Sherrl Yanowitz 1942-2016 – played an active role in the dispute at Wapping in 1986-87 when workers fought against Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to smash the print unions. As part of a research project, rs21 interviewed Sherrl a few months before she died about her […]
Unions: the poison of partnerships
Brian Parkin challenges the idea that there should be ‘partnership’ between workers and their bosses In her first flush of leadership madness, Theresa May promised that from now on, the Tories would be ‘the workers party'(!) And as evidence of this conversion to the cause of the proletariat, she proposed forthcoming guidelines to advise […]
Video report: Cinema workers strike for Living Wage
Colin Wilson reports from the picket line in Hackney, in east London. Workers at Hackney Picturehouse are on strike from Friday to Sunday after spending years trying to get their managers to address employees’ concerns. Their needs include the London Living Wage, union recognition and proper sick pay. They point out that Cineworld, which owns […]
Acting the part: emotional labour in the workplace
Jaswinder Blackwell-Pal explains how emotional labour at work is on the rise Konstantin Stanislavsky was a Russian actor and director who revolutionised theatre at the start of 20th century. Stanislavsky’s system of actor training, which drew on the actors own emotional memory to create a character, ushered in the psychological based form of acting that remains […]
Durham Teaching Assistants – an inspiring struggle
Durham Teaching Assistants in UNISON are fighting against plans to cut their pay by 23% – plan backed up with a threat from the Labour Council to dismiss all 2700 of them and make them apply for their own jobs on worse contracts. Megan Charlton, secretary of the Durham Teaching Assistants’ Activists Committee, explains what […]
revolutionary reflections | Rank and File Organising – Lessons from America Part 2
The International Socialist tradition has always believed in socialism from below – which means that socialism can only come about by the self-activity of the working class. In this interview Anindya Bhattacharyya and a Unite rep spoke to labour organiser Kim Moody about his experience of rank and file organising in the US since the 1960s, […]
Uber tribunal: Building unions and collective action among casualised workers
Nilu discusses why the ruling that Uber drivers are ‘workers’, rather than being ‘self-employed’ is a cause for celebration for all workers, especially others in the gig economy. Workers and trade unionists in sectors renowned for low pay and insecurity have been celebrating a recent landmark court ruling that has effectively changed the status […]
South African students resume their fight – and face repression
The last few months have seen protests erupt in universities across South Africa. Ashley Fataar, from the South African organisation Keep Left, reports. In September students at universities across South Africa began demonstrating for the complete removal of university fees for poor students. The protests erupted when the minister responsible for higher education announced that […]
Derailing neoliberalism
As Southern Rail workers once again go on strike, we republish this interview with Tom Haines-Doran, a researcher on rail privatisation at Manchester University.
revolutionary reflections | Rank and File Organising – Lessons from America 1
The International Socialist tradition has always believed in socialism from below – which means that socialism can only come about by the self-activity of the working class. In this interview Rob Owen spoke to labour organiser Jane McAlevey about her experience of rank and file organising in the US since the 1960s, and their views […]
Orgreave June 1984: police conspiracy and repression swept under the rug
After 32 years the miners at Orgreave are being denied an inquiry by Home Secretary Amber Rudd. Brian Parkin finds that his hatred of the Tories and their police and ‘justice’ system just improves with age. Home secretary Amber Rudd, following an initial consultation in September with members of the Orgreave Truth and Justice campaign, has decided that […]
Budapest 1956: The Central Workers’ Council
The Hungarian uprising against Stalinist domination began sixty years ago, on 23 October 1956. Here we reprint a description of those days written by Hungarian Marxist Balázs Nagy and translated by Olivia McMahon and Colin Barker for the eighth anniversary. Translators’ Introduction Eight years ago, on 23 October 1956, the Hungarian revolution, the most important event in international […]
“I Daniel Blake” – Dissecting the DWP
Adam DC reviews Ken Loach’s latest film. Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or award winning film “I Daniel Blake” exposes the reality of ‘Benefits Britain’. Written by his long time collaborator Paul Laverty, the film is a dignified and sharp polemic about the injustices that occur in our benefits system, and the solidarity and courage of the […]
The Ritzy Strike’s Back
Picturehouse, and their owners Cineworld, must’ve thought they’d dodged a bullet when their staff pay dispute was settled two years ago… but the workers were just reloading. On Saturday (24 September) workers at the Ritzy in Brixton returned to strike action, demanding the London Living Wage, company sick pay for all, company maternity, paternity and adoption […]
Reviving the rank and file
Why aren’t we following the example set by the junior doctors? Rachel Eborall looks at the arguments we need to make to revive the rank and file movement and put militant action back on the agenda The fact that the working class is paying for a crisis they did not cause is clear for all to see. According to […]
My life of freedom on a zero-hours contract – a reply to Deborah Orr
Guardian columnist Deborah Orr recently portrayed zero-hours contracts as giving a life of ‘freedom’ to ‘be your own boss’. Taking a welcome break from teaching her yoga classes and upholstering retro -hipster furniture, a zero-hour employee and member of Unite Hotel Workers Branch describes the reality of exploitation and insecurity. In response to a statement by Len […]
Deliveroo and the anatomy of the ‘gig’ economy
The victory of couriers in the recent Deliveroo strike tells us a lot about organising alongside new technology, both how it can be used to discipline workers, but also how they can resist that supervision. Charlie Jarsve reports: Yesterday the IWGB announced a victory. For six days Torrington Place had been filled with couriers and supporters from […]
The high stakes of the Deliveroo Strike
12 August saw Deliveroo couriers, on day two of their strike, protesting outside management’s offices. Joe Hayns asks what’s at stake. Thronging a street in central London – shouting together at a management that’s gone from smug to terrified in 72 hours – were around 150 Deliveroo couriers. During a sit-down discussion the most recent offer […]
North Sea oil and gas strikes and the industry crisis
As offshore workers on oil rigs operated the Wood Group continue their 48 hour strike, Brian Parkin puts the strike in the context of the wider crisis facing the oil industry.
Hundreds protest in solidarity with deported Byron Burgers workers
Yesterday around 500 people took part in a protest outside Byron Burgers in Holborn, Central London. Protests also took place in other cities around the country. This was after management at the restaurant chain colluded with the UK border authority to lure migrant workers into a trap, resulting the the deportation of the workers. At […]
These workers weren’t going anywhere: Hotel Workers statement on the Byron immigration raid
Hotel Workers Branch of Unite the union issued this statement following the detaining of a number of workers at the Byron burger chain by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). The workers were lured to a team meeting by management before being confronted by UKBA. They now face deportation. 70% of workers in London’s hospitality sector […]
Fawley refinery: Solidarity wins equal pay for migrant workers
Brian Parkin reports that Fawley workers show that solidarity can triumph over scapegoating other workers, rather than fighting the bosses. Yesterday (27 July) at 10.00 am, just four hours before workers at the giant Exxon/Mobil petroleum refinery at Fawley in Hampshire were due to commence their second 24 hour strike, management conceded to their demands. Even in […]
Troubled oil on troubled waters: First North Sea oil and gas strike in 30 years
400 workers are currently taking part in the first strike in 30 years on North Sea oil rigs. Brian Parkin reports Since the downward oil price shock of November 2014, oil and gas companies worldwide have been struggling to stay in business by any means possible. For some, this has meant abandoning marginal fields or selling-on […]
Davey Hopper obituary
Brian Parkin remembers Davey Hopper, president of the Durham Miners, who died suddenly of a heart attack on 16 July aged 73 at his home in East Boldon, the Durham pit village of his birth. Davey was a militant lodge delegate at Monkwearmouth colliery during the 1984-85 miners strike and rose to be an area […]
Unite conference backs Corbyn and mandatory reselection of MPs
Ian Allinson gives a second update on Unite Policy Conference which took major decisions on migration, industrial strategy, backing Jeremy Corbyn and mandatory re-selection of MPs, fracking and climate change.