Tube Strikes in London

[GiantMonkeyMan]

So it seems like negotiations with Boris and his ilk have fallen apart before they even had an opportunity to come to any sort of reasonable deal that doesn't end in huge numbers of staff finding themselves without a job. But one thing that I've been noticing is the terrible lack of preparation that the RMT and the TSSA have been undertaking in preparation for the strike.

It occurs to me, in light of the failures of Unite to support meaningful struggle at Grangemouth, that the rail unions are setting themselves up for failure. Boris has already called this his 'miners' strike' and that he wants to break them like Thatcher broke the NUM. The BBC has already put out a shit load of articles about scab labour (although they call it differently), guides to travel around London despite the disruption and calling the whole debate a 'row' thus delegitimising the entire dispute. The tube workers really need to ensure public support in this but they've had the whole media machine arrayed against them from early on without any reasonable response or debate initiated on their part. I really wish the tube workers all the best in their struggle but with the way the recent political attacks against trade unions have been going I'm not sure they'll see much success.

Anyone got any thoughts? I think I'm probably not the most experienced in disputes but would welcome any comments.

Here's a few articles about the strike:
Unions prepare themselves in November (http://union-news.co.uk/2013/11/rail-unions-gear-fight-boris-every-tube-job/)
Unions leaders take the discussion to Boris today as the strike goes on (http://union-news.co.uk/2014/02/breaking-rail-union-bosses-arrive-city-hall-seek-boris-tube-talks/)
The BBC's current coverage of the strike (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26031817)

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

When the miners were defeated, we just switched energy sources.

If the RMT/TSSA are defeated, then people will be getting stabbed/mugged at tube stations around London that are manned by no more than electronic ticket machines. It's an outrage.

[Queen Mab]

When the miners were defeated, we just switched energy sources.

Well...that and the mining communities were destroyed and never recovered.

I know what you mean though.

[Blake's Baby]

It's already being reported that the scab staff have nearly caused a crash: http://www.workersliberty.org/blogs/tubeworker/2014/02/04/strike-breaking-endangers-safety-already

OK, the source may be suspect and there's no detail as it's Twitter.

[xxxxxx666666]

Well...that and the mining communities were destroyed and never recovered.

I know what you mean though.

Forgive my ignorance but what are are you speaking of?:confused:

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Forgive my ignorance but what are are you speaking of?:confused:
In the UK, when the coal mining industries were deemed unprofitable and the pits closed first by Labour and then by the Tories it left a large number of pit villages without a primary source of employment. Previously, these towns and villages that sprang up around the pits primarily had the children joining their fathers in the mines after basic school, not a good life (and largely reproducing the patriarchal relationships of the bourgeois family) but a stable one nonetheless. Without the pits, mass unemployment and poverty followed and when the people of the villages no longer had any money things like local shops, local football teams, local pubs etc found themselves without any income and closed down as well but no-one had any money to leave and no skills or training apart from mining and so were essentially stuck on the dole.

There isn't a direct correlation between this situation in London and the mining communities of the past in that there wouldn't be the same gaping hole left across communities throughout the country. However, what Boris is alluding to is that the National Union of Mineworkers, in Thatcher's time, was one of the most militant of the trade unions and the pit closures effectively destroyed them as an organisation. Boris, by getting rid of huge numbers of Tube station staff, is effectively doing the same for the RMT (in London at least) who are, pretty much, the most militant trade union in the UK currently.

Effectively, organised labour in the UK needs a focal victory to inspire further struggles because with the lacklustre efforts so far of Unite in Grangemouth and the UCU in the lecturers strikes it's pretty obvious that there's little united resistance to the policies of austerity at the moment.

[Queen Mab]

Forgive my ignorance but what are are you speaking of?:confused:

My mum is from Abertillery in South Wales. After the miners' strike in '84 the last pit in the town closed and no work was left. When you go back there now, half the people are on benefits and everyone seems depressed. The place is dead.

The BBC did a decent article on this a while ago: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23028078

[bricolage]

The tube workers really need to ensure public support in this
I think this point is often over-exaggerated. Strikes aren't won on public support but on class strength.

On Friday, Monday and Friday again there are going to be revenue strikes (http://handsofflondontransport.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/freetube-holt-supports-unions-revenue-action/) which I think are great but I think this here (especially the last paragraph) explains why they're not considered as often as strikes:


We’re always looking for new ways to engage in effective industrial action. It may not seem like it, but the RMT doesn’t enjoy inconveniencing the public and if it was possible to pursue a dispute without doing so I for one would be very interested.

Unfortunately, there is established case law which deems it unlawful for members of staff to attend work and perform only part of their duties. So if station staff turned up for work and simply allowed passengers to travel for free they would, initially be unpaid for the whole day and subsequently face disciplinary action for breach of contract. I don’t regard this as effective. Also, it is the taking of collective action that strengthens the resolve of individuals in a dispute; standing on a picket line is a great way of building class confidence.

We also have to consider that the vast majority of passengers pay in advance for their tickets and the loss of revenue for one day would be minimal; LUL may even be quids in once you factor in not paying wages for the day. The economic pressure comes from elsewhere. The effectiveness of strike action on the tube is often gauged by the amount of money lost by the city. Many millions of pounds are wiped from the economy each time the tube shuts down for a day; it is the pressure applied on LUL by big business that often causes them to agree to settle. It’s a very important weapon in our arsenal.http://libcom.org/news/article.php/tube-strike-interview-080106

In any case here are my nine reasons why tube strikes are great:

1. They’re a clear demonstration of working class capacity to shut down a city.
2. They’re the perfect gateway to discuss labour militancy with co-workers.
3. Millions of people get an excuse to be late for work.
4. Certain people are forced to learn what a bus is.
5. More people walk through the city and by default learn something about the urban geography of the place they live in.
6. People who get taxis to work are inconvenienced by increased traffic.
7. The humdrum existence of commuter life is momentarily disrupted.
8. Cyclists become roving picket line support crews.
9. London needs regular tube strikes to purge it of shire-born “Londoners”.

[Delenda Carthago]

The class – oriented trade union movement of Greece is on the side of the RMT.



Dear comrades,
On behalf of the federations, the regional trade union centers and the trade unions rallied to PAME – GREECE, we express our support and solidarity with the workers who will participate in the strike on the London Underground.
The class – oriented trade union movement of Greece is on the side of the RMT.
On behalf of the Executive Secretariat of PAME, we wish every success to the strike on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6 February.


Our struggle is common.







The Executive Secretariat




http://pamehellas.gr/index.php/en/press-releases/3326-the-class-%E2%80%93-oriented-trade-union-movement-of-greece-is-on-the-side-of-the-rmt