tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30704611.post7907047013885284985..comments2023-05-28T10:59:57.169+01:00Comments on Jon's labour movement blog: Workers of the World Unite?Jon Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10779486527359048519noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30704611.post-68992755902251897392006-08-18T10:54:00.000+01:002006-08-18T10:54:00.000+01:00Notwithstanding the fact that lots of branches and...Notwithstanding the fact that lots of branches and regions do get involved in international solidarity work, the statement "trade union international work is generally controlled very much from the top of the union" does have some truth. I am involved in the Colombia Solidarity Campaign which has been supporting a Colombian food and drinks workers union, SINALTRAINAL, in a fight against the Coca-Cola company. The International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) quite simply stabbed SINALTRAINAL in the back with some terrible statements about the case. We spoke to the T&G rep on the IUF and he was quite frank in admitting that he knew very little about the details of the case and that he had to rely on the IUF full-time staff ("the professional labour diplomats"?) for information on this. My own union, UNISON, voted to support SINALTRAINAL's campaign at its conference but it was against a top-table recommendation which in turn was mainly informed by the views of the IUF. However, such grass-roots turnovers of the Exec position on international matters are rare. This is hardly surprising as our knowledge of international issues is bound to be limited because we don't have the day to day contact.MatthewStilesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30704611.post-92124397797761753882006-08-14T09:56:00.000+01:002006-08-14T09:56:00.000+01:00"the...SEIU approach may be the future" ..."the...SEIU approach may be the future" - so much for your starting point about accountability to the rank & file?<br><br>I suggest that you visit http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/73-merger%20in%20SEIU%20888.htm and read up on the SEIU's command culture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com