Tim Nailsea reviews Why You Should Be A Trade Unionist by Len McCluskey

The divide in Unite's dominant faction deepens.

The environmental argument against a third runway at Heathrow is clear. Emissions from aviation already rose by thirty-two percent between 2013 and 2018. Currently they account for two percent of global carbon emissions and this amount is projected to triple by 2050 if no action is taken

The recent election of a Conservative government, with one of the most openly racist Prime Ministers and Cabinet in living memory, the victory of an openly xenophobic and anti-immigrant Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum, and the rise of racist and xenophobic movements in Britain and throughout the world, have all raised questions as to how the working class movement should respond to what appears to be growing support within the working class for restrictions on immigration

The ‘deal’ agreed between the leader’s office and the trade unions is another stitch-up organised behind the backs of members, who should reject this unworkable policy

By Andy Yorke THE rejection of proposals to democratise the selection of MPs and the nomination of candidates for the Leadership at Labour’s Liverpool conference threw a spotlight on the role of the unions in deciding party policy. Many first time delegates were shocked, and many more were infuriated, when, despite overwhelming support from the […]

Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson made a last minute bid to swing the vote against Len McCluskey in Unite the union’s ongoing election of its general secretary.

UNITE GENERAL Secretary Len McCluskey has triggered an early election campaign for the position he currently holds. The three candidates, McCluskey, Gerard Coyne and Ian Allinson, have until 17 February to gain an undemocratically high 50 branch nominations to get on the ballot paper. Members then have from 27 March to 19 April to vote. […]

LEN MCCLUSKEY, head of Britain’s biggest union Unite which is also the Labour Party’s biggest donor, has resigned from his post and is standing for re-election. He last did this in 2013, three years into his first five-year term, to avoid embarrassing then Labour leader Ed Miliband with a major union election at the same […]

By KD Tait 21 May 2015 The biggest, most far reaching question posed by the Tories’ election victory is what will now happen to the Labour Party. Even before all the results were in, the pundits, and its own right wing leaders, were blaming Labour’s defeat on its continued links to the trades unions. Yet, […]

By Marcus Halaby It is an often-repeated truism that giving in to bullies only encourages them. Workers at the Grangemouth plant near Falkirk in Scotland are learning this the hard way. After a shameful climb-down by Unite the Union general secretary Len McCluskey, hailed as having been necessary to “save jobs”, employers INEOS are now […]

  By Marcus Halaby A new rank and file grouping in Britain’s largest and most important trade union, Unite, will be founded by a conference to be held in February or March next year. This was decided by a constructive meeting of Unite members in the SWP and the Grassroots Left, with observers from Workers […]

  Editorial – Workers Power No.375 / November 2013 By Jeremy Dewar In any period of time – be it the term of a government or a trade union general secretary’s career – a moment comes when, amidst the welter of events, a home truth emerges. At the end of October, Unite leader Len McCluskey […]

By Jeremy Dewar UNITE, THE biggest union in Britain, which is under the leadership of Len McCluskey, one of the most outspoken left general secretaries, has accepted the most humiliating terms of surrender from Ineos, owners of the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemicals plant. On Friday 25 October the workforce cheered the announcement of a deal […]

  Here we set out what we think grassroots militants and socialists in Unite should be uniting around to fight for a union which is democratic from below, willing to oppose all austerity measures, and capable of taking on the Con-Dem coalition. An action programme for Unite Democracy Decisions made at branch meetings and sectoral/national […]

RANK AND FILE candidate Jerry Hicks has now secured 84 validated branch nominations – with several days still to go to the deadline for nominations. Barring a veritable bureaucratic coup d’état Jerry will run against Len McCluskey for general secretary of Unite. Jeremy Dewar looks at the reasoning behind the Socialist Party’s backing for the […]

This is the transcript of an interview conducted by Workers Power with Jerry Hicks. Credit where credit’s due, McCluskey’s speech, his Ralph Miliband lecture, was good – though he lifted most of it out of a speech I made back in 2009 – and he said I was exaggerating then – so he’s three years […]

Well! In Unite’s leadership election, left-wing candidate Len McCluskey won with over 100,000 votes. Over 50,000 members voted for second-placed Jerry Hicks, who campaigned on a rank and file ticket. As readers will know, I supported Hicks. Just days after his election, McCluskey told the Coalition of Resistance (CoR) conference that we need “people power” […]