Union organising

The replies to my article in Solidarity from Jodi Dean (318), Martin Thomas (319) and James Doran (320) centre around questions of the impact of the internet, and particularly Facebook, on political organisation and activism. I agree with Jodi and Martin that the internet does not replace older forms of organising, both in terms of on-the-ground union and political organising, and in terms of organisational forms such as the union and party. Network forms of organisation that emerge from social media lack long-term commitment and organisational structure, structured democracy and...

Workers of the world, awaken! Break your chains. demand your rights. All the wealth you make is taken By exploiting parasites. Shall you kneel in deep submission From your cradles to your graves? ls the height of your ambition To be good and willing slaves? CHORUS: Arise, ye prisoners of starvation! Fight for your own emancipation; Arise, ye slaves of every nation. In One Union grand. Our little ones for bread are crying, And millions are from hunger dying; The end the means is justifying, 'Tis the final stand. If the workers take a notion, They can stop all speeding trains; Every ship upon...

Workers of the world, awaken! Break your chains. demand your rights. All the wealth you make is taken By exploiting parasites. Shall you kneel in deep submission From your cradles to your graves? ls the height of your ambition To be good and willing slaves? CHORUS: Arise, ye prisoners of starvation! Fight for your own emancipation; Arise, ye slaves of every nation. In One Union grand. Our little ones for bread are crying, And millions are from hunger dying; The end the means is justifying, 'Tis the final stand. If the workers take a notion, They can stop all speeding trains; Every ship upon...

On 29 March 2014, Workers’ Liberty, the University of London branch of the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain (IWGB), Ruskin College UCU, PCS Independent Left, and Lambeth Activists will host the “New Unionism 2014” conference at the University of London Union. The conference aims to look at historical and contemporary struggles to transform the labour movement to make it capable of fighting for working-class power. Sessions will include a talk on “the fate of the organising model” by US labour movement activist Kim Moody. Kim was a founder of the rank-and-file journal Labor Notes...

Around fifty cleaning workers, their families, and their supporters marched through Kingston, south-west London, on International Working Women’s Day (8 March), with red flags flying. We marched from the train station to Kingston University, for an event organised by the London Cleaners and Facilities branch of the Independent Workers’ of Great Britain union (IWGB, the same union whose University of London branch has been has been waging the “3 Cosas” campaign). A contingent from the University of London IWGB branch, including Workers’ Liberty members, joined us later in the day. Kingston...

The “New Unionism” of the 1880s saw hundreds of thousands of unskilled and semi-skilled workers, many of them migrants, and prominently including groups of women workers like the Bryant & May match workers, launch mass organising drives that shook up the old labour movement. Their struggles challenged the orthodoxy of the existing unions and confronted conservative attitudes about whether such workers could, in fact, organise. The struggles of that period, and the “Great Unrest” which followed early in the 20th century, paved the way for the modern labour movement. On 29 March 2014, working...

Outsourced cleaners at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in central London struck on 4 and 5 March to win the same holiday entitlement, contractual sick pay, and pension scheme as directly-employed staff. The cleaners, who work for the outsourced company ISS, have been involved in the long-running Justice 4 Cleaners campaign at SOAS. The strong ballot of 100% in favour of strike action on a 62% turnout is a testament to the strength of the campaign and the local SOAS Unison branch. The union was approached by ISS and the company said it wished to meet the union on 3 March if...

Cleaning workers at the prestigious Royal Opera House in London have launched a new dispute to win back pay, guaranteed hours, and union recognition. A strike that threatened to disrupt the BAFTA ceremony held at the Royal Opera House on 16 February was called off after cleaning bosses Mitie caved and agreed to pay the London Living Wage. But now workers have begun a new battle to win back pay and union recognition. Their union, the Industrial Workers' union of Great Britain (IWGB), says it will serve notice of a strike ballot, which it is confident will return a yes vote after its previous...

In a terrible setback for the US union movement, car workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee have voted against being represented by a union. The New York Times reported (14 February 2014): "In a defeat for organized labor in the South, employees at the Volkswagen plant here voted 712 to 626 against joining the United Automobile Workers. "The loss is an especially stinging blow for U.A.W. because Volkswagen did not even oppose the unionization drive. The union’s defeat - in what was one of the most closely watched unionization votes in decades - is expected to slow, perhaps stymie, the...

Trade union campaigners gathered on London's Oxford Street for a tour of fast food restaurants and coffee shops as part of the new "Fast Food Rights" campaign, highlighting low pay and zero-hours contracts in the fast food industry. Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) President Ian Hodson addresses activists outside McDonald's on Oxford Street Backed by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), the campaign held flash protests outside Burger King, McDonald's, and Costa Coffee as union organisers went into the stores to speak to staff. The campaign takes inspiration from the...