I have just been at a well attended meeting of UNISON activists in Birmingham, discussing the various attacks upon socialist activists and the pressing need for a better and stronger Union to defend our members.
I will blog a full report later, but am enthused and encouraged that activists are mobilising now.
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4 comments:
How many attended, roughly?
I am concerned at this being a "splinter" movement....
Sounds great.
Too many in the "leadership" have coasted by on a cosy footing, and the bubble has burst. UNISON will die without new members; we need to start looking at our subs levels, as in the current econonic climate, all member - not just those on the lowest pay scales - start to question "well, UNISON, what do I get for my money?".
And the answer CANNOT be "a swanky new head office and a set of disciplinaries against anyone who questions the unions policies and agenda". I think - with 100 there - this should be the start of a good fighting front. Pity I'm too much of a wimp or coward to stand up myself, for fear of a reprisal myself. I conclude that I am wrong and I now have to join in and make a stand myself.
Cheers!!
Wouldn't a better and a stronger union be achieved by activists staying at home and building stronger density in their workplace and convincing non members of the worth of belonging to a union rather than a sterile debate amongst a minority of existing union activists? Possibly even convincing new members that this isn't about what we get for our money - but what do we contribute in addition to our subs and how do we all work together to make our union stronger.
It must be comforting to go off to a distant location and convince each other that a stronger union would be possible if somehow our leaders were more left, more socialist, more revolutionary etc; ie if the deficiencies were someone else's and not our's. Less comforting and much harder is the task to talk to those who have chosen not to be part of a union and to persuade them to act as a genuine collective rather than a factional interest group. We lost our fight on pay this year because we were weak locally and couldn't deliver - and we'll continue to lose such fights until we address effective workplace organisation
Jon
I will take you at your word that Kirklees have the best union density of our branches.
But the vast majority of of hard left branches, particularly those in London (but not only London) have crap density. So I'm not sure your presumed assertion that having a left leaning branch means you will get more members.
And I'm sure there are less militant branches with good density too.
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