In an election that could rock the labour movement, rank and file candidate Jerry Hicks writes for Workers Power   There’s an election in Unite, Britain’s largest union with 1.5 million members. Nothing unusual in that. But it’s been called three years early and on the shortest possible timetable. The official reason for the change […]

Jerry Hicks has got 136 nominations for his candidature in the Unite General Secretary election – an unprecedented number for a rank and file candidate. So there will be an election and 1.5 Unite members will have a choice. The success of the nominations campaign shows there is strong backing in Unite for a challenge […]

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 […]

Len McCluskey has called a snap election for the top job in Unite, even though he has over two years left to run in the post. This is outrageous and undemocratic, says Jeremy Dewar

Read the PDF version of our bulletin From Rebecca Allen and Jeremy Drinkall, candidates for the new steering committee to be elected on 17 November, on behalf of Workers Power Dear Brothers, Sisters and Comrades, We welcome the Unite the Resistance conference on 17 November as a chance to bring together the different struggles and […]

Rebecca Anderson picks apart the bizarre logic of Britain’s competing anti-cuts campaigns If we are to stop the cuts, beat privatisation and banish austerity we need to be united and organised. We need a mass movement that can call huge demonstrations, put pressure on the union leaders and bring solidarity to every struggle. As it stands, most of the […]

Protesters picketed the BFK (Bam-Ferrovial-Kiers) Leeds Arena construction site this morning, demanding the reinstatement of workers sacked for trade union activities. The company, subcontracted by Crossrail, has been fiercely resisting the efforts of union Unite to win collective bargaining rights for those working on the project. A health and safety rep was suspended last month […]

Unite Construction Rank and File – the “sparks” – held their conference in London last Saturday, almost one year to the day since their launch. Jeremy Dewar was there for the Grass Roots Left “Every time – we beat ‘em then walk away. Let’s get some blacklisted guys and shop stewards in and hit ‘em!” said Kevin, […]

Rebecca Anderson asks why the left has covered up the latest sellout by so-called ‘left’ trade union PCS On 26 June, members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) were due to strike over the cuts and privatisation. They face the threat of 8,500 job cuts, 5,300 of them to UK Border Agency (UKBA) […]

In part two of this commemorative article, Dave Stockton looks at how the miners built the first rank and file trade union movement in the UK.   In Part one of this article, we looked at the work of Tom Mann in bringing many of the ideas of transatlantic and continental revolutionary trade unionism (syndicalism) to […]

By Rebecca Anderson   The issue of overriding importance at this year’s conference of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union  will again be the battle to save our pensions. The government has now implemented the changes to our pensions – we will work longer, pay more and get less – but this does mean […]

In this timely commemorative article, Dave Stockton looks at the lessons from the great working class struggles before World War One. Part two will follow next month.   We have just marked the 100th anniversary of the miners’ strike of February-April 1912. This was the first national strike by a section of workers who in […]

On the fortieth anniversary of the Battle of Saltley Gate Norman Goodwin, then a shop steward at GKN Salisbury Transmissions plant in Witton, recounts his memories of the day when Birmingham engineering workers struck in solidarity with the miners against the Tory government. ON 10 FEBRUARY 1972 I started out for work. But I would do […]

We can’t let the courts or the bureaucrats stop our actions, argues Jeremy Dewar

The electricians have a only weeks left until their industry agreement is ripped up, how can the campaign escalate to beat the bosses back? The electricians’ dispute has shown what a well organised rank and file movement can pull off today. From an initial conference in August to weekly protests and now a ballot of […]

The building workers' strike holds lessons on the dangers of Broad Leftism for union activists today

This morning electricians in London took the fight against pay cuts and deskilling to the largest company behind the attack on their terms and conditions – Balfour Beatty. 300 sparks blockaded the entrance to the Balfour Beatty Blackfriars station site, stopping workers and management entering the site, showing their determination to resist attacks on their […]

Several minibusses full of construction workers  refused to cross the picket lines at the unfinished Carrington Paper Mill today. This was despite a management organised meeting the day before warning any workers who didn’t come into work that they would face the sack.

Electricians organised another militant protest in their battle over pay and conditions – it shows the kind of attitude we need to win, writes Mark Booth

  This morning, Wednesday 28 September, the second London demonstration of electricians and supporters with official backing from Unite the Union took place.  Billy McKean was there

The construction workers campaign against vicious attacks on their JIB (Joint Industry Board) terms and conditions is escalating. Today 200 construction workers held a protest outside Farringdon Crossrail site, then marched through the main entrance, forced their way through the gates and held a rally in the middle of the excavation, in full view of […]