T&G chooses Woodley as boss - And here comes the swing weve

[Kez]

Well comrades, so many of you sed that Labour party wont go left, and the unions wont go left...well....fuck you...heres proof, and if we act now we can work on this even more and make the most outta it...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2952788.stm

enjoy

i got the best bits here:

[b]Mr Woodley's success comes after a series of well-known faces from the union movement have been replaced by a new generation of left-wing leaders.

And in January left-winger Derek Simpson took over the AEEU branch of Amicus - a position he won from Tony Blair's favourite trade union leader Sir Ken Jackson.
FUCK YOU JACKKKO!! sorry, SIR JAKKKO!!

"It's about trade unions starting to act like trade unions as opposed to acting like they are businesses.

"I don't think its too much for working people to want a living wage and not a poverty minimum wage. I don't think it's too much to have dignity in retirement... or have pensions that they can rely on instead of pensions that take them into further poverty."

Mr Woodley's beaten rival Mr Dromey has been described as a New Labour-style moderniser [b]

fuck blair!
reclaim the Labour Party!!

comrade kamo

[Son of Scargill]

Well Kamo,I'm not quite as optimistic as you,even if I did vote for him.The labour(sorry,"NEW" labour)party haven't taken a blind bit of notice of the unions in their recent past.Do you think they will now.Well,maybe,but I doubt it.
Still,cracks are appearing amongst the Blairites,and if he keeps his word then things may start to shift back to the workforce rather than the bosses.
However,in my time I've heard the talk,with little substance,time and time again.I'll believe it when I see it.
The introduction of a 24 hour helpline for work related issues will be a bonus for the workforce though.The present legal advice system they have is far too slow.

[Kez]

Hey SoS, long time no c, hows things?

i think that the election of woodly just shows the feeling in the unions though dont u think? ie they want change, and unons still have power in the labour party, now we must influence the inside of labour party in order to boot the motherfucker outta here

[Ian]

Congratulations mate, our unions are still filled with bureaucratic tools, maybe you lot could send your best blokes to help out a poor little convict colony?

Congrats England, still a lot of work to do though

[Son of Scargill]

Yeah Kamo,people want change in the unions,but it isn't all plain sailing.Remember the trouble Serwotka and the PCS had.The executive left-overs from the Thatcher/Major years aren't rolling over just yet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Colum...,965321,00.html (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,965321,00.html)

Paul Foot
Wednesday May 28, 2003
The Guardian

This time last year I wrote here about the amazing contortions of the supporters of Barry Reamsbottom, then retiring general secretary of the country's largest civil service union, the PCS. In an election to succeed Mr Reamsbottom, Mark Serwotka, an almost unknown candidate and a rank-and-file civil servant in Sheffield, ran as a socialist and won a thumping and remarkable victory against the favoured candidate of the right, Hugh Lanning. To his credit, Mr Lanning immediately accepted the result of the election and agreed to continue working under the newly elected general secretary. Mr Reamsbottom, however, refused to accept the result and coolly continued in office. He even persuaded his servile executive to declare the election result invalid.

[Kez]

yes but

[b]This was too much even for the high court. Late last summer, a judge confirmed the result of the election, and Mr Reamsbottom was declared to have no further legal standing in the union. An appeal against the court decision was swiftly dropped. Ever since, Mark Serwotka and the elected president of the union, Janice Godrich, also a socialist, have battled against the ferocious opposition of a rightwing majority on the union executive. Their efforts to make the union more democratic, continually opposed by the executive, are coming to a climax.

[Son of Scargill]

OK!OK! I give in Kamo,it's great news!!!

Actually,it is good news.I should be joining you in celebration but,as you know,we've spent years building strong support for the T&G at our place,only to see the momentum broken by dubious legal challenges(kicked out eventually)and delays from area reps.It does take the shine off of such events,trust me.About 2/5ths of our members have already left the company,and as they go they are being replaced by 20 hr. contracts and agency workers who cannot afford the union subs.It isn't expensive,but when you're paid fuck all every penny counts.At least Mr.Woodley wants to press for full employment rights for temporary and agency workers.If we get this,then I'll truly rejoice.

I apologise for being so defeatist!

Unite&Fight!

[Kez]

no need to be sorry, i dont have first hand knowledge of the unions as you do comrade!

We shall see how far Woodley goes, when he fires the first shot our first job is to be side by side with him!