Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century
 
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21st Century

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workplace organising

Sussex Academy Trust faces strike from angry workforce – UBAT strike report

Lou Hayton reports from one of the picket lines where Sussex NEU members are fighting back against the University of Brighton Academies Trust

Jane McAlevey 1964-2024

Ian Allinson pays tribute to and assesses the work of Jane McAlevey, the US-based organiser and author who popularised many organising concepts and techniques, and who inspired and trained thousands of activists

Green class struggle: workers and the just transition

Climate politics is not the playground of distant elites, but a field where collective action is decisive.

UNISON conference backs Palestine, organising, strikes and trans rights

rs21 members in UNISON report that the recent National Delegate Conference saw continued progress and highlighted areas for campaigning and reform.

Stand with Gaza: Palestine solidarity reports round-up

rs21 members round up some Palestine solidarity events that happened over the last week.

Report from the Global Climate Jobs conference

Critical discussions on the role workers’ organising must play in the transition to a zero carbon economy.

Troublemakers logo

‘Troublemakers at Work’: Why trade unions need a militant rank-and-file

‘Troublemakers’ brought trade unionists and activists together to discuss the importance of a militant rank-and-file.

a large crowd of people at May Day rally, with different union banners

What is the potential for rank-and-file organisation today?

There is renewed interest in rank-and-file organisation, but confusion about what this means and what is possible.

The Saramago dispute, Glasgow 2023

The Saramago dispute: hospitality organising in Glasgow

An interview with the workers who organised.

Reflections on International Workers’ Memorial Day

To mark IWMD, the rs21 Art Group made a zine with Cut-Through Collective, which we distributed in Glasgow and London across the May Day weekend.

Intersectional organising wall-to-wall at Rutgers University

Tempest member Dana Cloud spoke to Rutgers professor and union leader Deepa Kumar about how the unions united faculty and graduate students across academic ranks in a strike that brought the administration to the bargaining table and won major gains. This strike is a signal moment in the USA’s higher education labour movement. This interview first […]

‘Workers can win’ and socialist strategy

‘Workers can win’ – important new book

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Climate Camp Scotland unites climate, migrant and workers’ struggles

Climate Camp Scotland saw hundreds of climate and community activists gather to discuss the practice and theory of fighting for climate justice.

Deliveroo bike rider in Manchester

How a GMB ‘partnership’ deal undermines the union at Deliveroo

We talk to union activists on the ground and those studying the gig economy about the deal.

Rally at end of TUC march, plus book cover

‘If you want to organise at work, buy this book’

Organising at work can rebuild working-class power. In his forthcoming book, long-time activist Ian Allinson explains how it’s done.

Photo from UCU strike four fights rally in Manchester, banner in front reads 'End casualisation', behind that is a Manchester Metrolopitan UCU branch banner. Photo by Ian Allinson.

Lowering expectations: misrepresentations of McAlevey

Trade unionists have been inspired by McAlevey’s work. But now sections of the union bureaucracy are co-opting her insights.

Arise: Power, Strategy and Union Resurgence by Jane Holgate is available from Pluto Press from 20 August 2021.

How can unions rebuild power?

Ian Allinson reviews Jane Holgate’s new book, Arise! Power, Strategy and Union Resurgence, an exploration of why unions have failed to revitalise themselves.

Image of Sharon Graham with text 'let's get back to the workplace'

Sharon Graham wins stunning Unite victory

Graham recognises the need to focus on rebuilding workplace power to reverse union decline.

March with banners reading 'end fire & rehire' and 'Unite Queen's Road branch'

Ongoing Manchester bus strike defeats fire and rehire

The longest bus strike in British history is poised to win after a campaign involving an indefinite strike, community solidarity and a leverage strategy.

Who should be Unite’s next General Secretary?

Campaigning for Unite’s general secretary election is underway. None of the candidates is ideal, but rs21 argues for critical support for Sharon Graham.

The High Court in London

Justice over profit – organising in the legal sector

The law is often seen as a privileged arena, but the industry has staggering wage inequality. Two founding members of Legal Sector Workers United explain their strategy.

Queen's Road bus garage with pickets and flags

Indefinite bus strike in Manchester against #FireAndRehire

Around 400 Unite members at a bus garage in north Manchester have been on indefinite strike since 28 February against fire and rehire. Ian Allinson explains what is going on and the strike’s wider significance.

An image of two construction workers on a scaffold. Keywords: Covid coronavirus shut the sites unsafe work safety

The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists revisited

Construction workers have been among the hardest-hit by Covid-19, with profit-hungry bosses keeping sites open throughout the pandemic.

A photo of a train moving fast beside a mainly empty London Underground platform. Keywords: Section 44 workplace safety unions

Combatting unsafe workplaces: an interview with Janet Newsham

Every workplace is a Covid frontline, as employers try to force workers into unsafe situations. We interviewed Janet Newsham of the Hazards Campaign, which is fighting back.

Books in a school library. Keywords: school closures closed NEU National Education Union strike

Next steps in the fight for safe schools

The government’s retreat on school closures won’t last forever. Education workers need to go on the offensive.

Image of a school with coronavirus images superimposed

NEU: preparing for the fight of our lives

Supporting teachers to refuse unsafe work is the NEU’s immediate and overwhelming priority, but we also need to learn the lessons from last June and ballot for strike action.

Bookshop interior. Keywords: bookshops trade union organising activism living wage

Retail tales of festive frenzy

For many bookshop workers, Christmas is a season of stress and exploitation – but it could also be the perfect time to put pressure on management.

Anti-austerity protesters in Lisbon in March 2011. Keywords: unemployed workers organising unemployment

Unemployment and class power: the example of Portugal

Worker organising in Britain will have to change to take account of rising mass unemployment. We can learn from how workers in Southern Europe faced the wave of austerity after the last economic crisis.

The exception as the rule: Toronto’s social reproduction organising

In Toronto, community organisers are battling Covid in the shadow of colonial racial capitalism.

Tactics of resistance: occupations and sit-ins

In part one of a series looking at differing tactics for winning battles in the workplace, Bob Carter explains workplace occupations and how to make them successful.