STRONGER UNIONS

In the United States this is the original “fair trade” purchasing, as labour organised campaigns to get people to buy union made goods (similar to the UK company Ethical Threads. Also pleasing to note that Barrack Obama used trade union only made goods for his election campaign).
In the late 1970s, the International Ladies Garment [...]

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Congress House has been nominated for the ‘Stirling of Stirlings’ architecture prize – a prestigious one-off award being run by RIBA, the Royal Institute of British Architects.  We’re shortlisted in the section covering 1934-1958. We’re up against the Royal Festival Hall, so we need all the votes we can get. You can vote for Congress [...]

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TUC – Manchester downturn briefing for union officers and organisers
Activists, organisers and officers are in the front line of union efforts to represent members in these challenging times of recession, redundancy and restructuring.
This TUC briefing aims to give practical help on a range of issues.
(tags: recession , unions, downturn)

PM ackowledges vital role of union safety [...]

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Viral fraternalism: Why trades unions have the most to gain from social media tools | Memeserver
(tags: social networking, unions)

Blacklisting in publishing
Not shocking or surprising news, but shows you how widespread this problem might be and why Government needs to act!
(tags: union busting, blacklisting, unions)

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We’re hearing plenty at the moment about how we are in a new age of austerity.  As with many things, the impact of this on groups and individuals depends on who you are, where you are from and what you do.
Driving along in the car on Sunday I was listening to Radio 5 Live’s coverage [...]

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Last week I posted on the challenges faced by UK teacher unions in reviving and rebuilding activity and activism in the face of profound changes to how schools in the UK are managed and organised.
Last Saturday’s Guardian featured an interview with the Conservative Party Education spokesperson Michael Gove in which he announced that the Tory’s next manifesto would be [...]

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Earlier this week I blogged about car delivery firm Autologic’s efforts to de-recognise UNITE.
I’m glad to say that UNITE members at Autologic have proven there is still life in the old chestnut that the ‘workers united will never be defeated’ – Autologic have now backed down! You can read more here.
PS Why has only the [...]

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One of the best things about working at the TUC is that you get invited along to speak at union conferences which is a great way to get some sense of the priorities of respective unions.
Traditionally it is the teaching unions – ATL, NUT and NASUWT – that get the union conference season underway and [...]

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Last night brought the sad news of the death of Jack Jones at the age of 96. 
Jack lived an incredible and inspiring life: fighting fascism in Spain; leading the T & G at the height of its membership and influence; and a staunch voice for pensioners through his work with the NPC.

Many people who knew [...]

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Trade unions in the 1960’s and 1970’s made close links with art and culture. Artists and trade unions linked on common causes, fighting for human rights, anti-war, promoting democracy, developing workers education etc. Recovering from the fraught years of the 1980’s and 1990’s and unions recovering political attack and membership loss, cultural activity took a [...]

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