Solidarity 134, 26th June 2008

Anti-fascism needs more politics

Unite against Fascism (UAF), the SWP-run anti-fascist coalition backed by several unions, called their first national demonstration in a long time on Saturday 21 June in central London. But the demonstration, organised at only just over a month's notice, was very small, with less than 3,000 people. This low figure demonstrates that it is not possible to magically create a mass campaign against fascism when there has been little or no prior meaningful activity, apart from very limited and sporadic leafleting around election time. It is simply not possible to cold start a mass movement even...

Israel-Palestine: Unions step away from boycott policy

In June both the RMT and Unison conferences passed motions in solidarity with Palestinian and Israeli unions and supporting dialogue rather than boycotts. A motion at RMT conference denouncing the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, calling for solidarity efforts and a two-state resolution to the conflict passed by a more than four-to-one margin. While Bob Crow gave a speech in favour of a boycott of Israel, our comrades argued for positive solidarity efforts instead of such divisive tactics. Meanwhile, the motion Unison conference passed called for the union to work with Israeli trade...

London Underground cleaners: Striking against poverty and exploitation

On Thursday 26 June, over 700 London Underground cleaners organised by the RMT union, who voted 98% in favour of strike action, will take on multinational cleaning companies ISS, ICS, Initial and GBM in a 24 hour strike. This will be followed by a 48 hour strike from 1 to 3 July. With no cleaners at key depots and stations, the health and safety risks of running a railway without cleaners could paralyse the Tube. Cleaners have been paid the bare legal minimum wage for too long. And now, with food, fuel and rent costs rising, cleaners are struggling to survive. They are demanding a minimum wage...

Self-determination for Iraq!

Imagine a foreign politico-military encampment in the capital city, covering an area roughly equivalent to the whole space between Parliament Square, Charing Cross, and Buckingham Palace, or the offices round Whitehall plus St James’s Park. Its area is similar to that of the Vatican City, in Rome; but unlike the Vatican, it is surrounded by high walls five metres thick. It contains its own power generators, water wells, drinking-water treatment plant, sewage plant, fire station, irrigation system, fuel depot, food and supply warehouses, vehicle-repair garage, and workshops. That is the new US...

A watershed moment in union politics

At the recent Communication Workers’ Union conference, there was a motion calling for the CWU to campaign to reverse the decision of the 2007 Bournemouth Labour Party conference to ban all political motions to future conferences from unions or local Labour Parties - in effect, to abolish the conference as a conference. It failed to reach the floor. Another motion, calling for a re-balance of the union’s political fund money towards wider political campaigning rather than just funding the Labour Party, and for the union to give financial support only to Labour MPs who support CWU policy, also...

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