“UNISON, the big public service union that doesn’t have many strikes but knows how to win them”

Some recent posts on Labour movement issues that I have found interesting. The headline is from the “Despot David Cameron a stranger to the dignity of Labour” article found here by Daily Mirror reporter Paul Routeledge.

“David Cameron has never had a proper job in his life, and it shows. The son of a City stockbroker, he glided effortlessly through Eton, Oxford and Conservative Central Office to become a spin doctor for a TV company”.... I reckon Cameron has in his sights Unison, the big public service union that doesn’t have many strikes but knows how to win them – like the binmen’s dispute in Leeds – and gives strong support to Labour...

Hat-tip thingy to UNISONactive for this story and for their coverage of another UNISON smart victory over the international services company Sodexo who tried to cheat hospital workers in Devon out of back pay and other contractual benefits.

I like also the post here on Socialist DisUnity (whose RSS feed is my very guilty secret – please don’t tell anyone) by Labour Party MP, Colin Burgon, who I met this year at the UNISON international conference. I have copied the information on “Cuts are not the Answer” for future use and would suggest that grown up progressives of all shapes and sizes do so as well.

Labour affiliates “Unions Together” sent me yesterday an email pointing out that “There's nothing that would make David Cameron happier than destroying your rights at work.

Just a few days ago, Cameron praised Margaret Thatcher's anti-union laws and said he would be "very happy" to go even further to stop unions protecting their members' rights. For once, I believe he's telling the truth.

If the Tories want to get elected so they can roll back our
 hard-won rights, we need to let our friends and colleagues know just what the Tories stand for. Co-sign our letter to David Cameron, 
demanding he tell us why he thinks we don't deserve the same rights at work as everyone else in Europe.

http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/lettertoCameron

While Col Roi helpfully reports that the Torygraph had an interesting article today on “If Cameron was a supermarket he would be a Somerfield”. The author thinks Cameron should be more like “Waitrose” - that well known workers co-operative? Hmmm... can't wait for this stuff to be in Tory manifesto.

Cameron tells porkies about ‘elf n safety

I was listening today to the completely moronic Daily Hate editorial rubbish that Tory leader David Cameron was putting out today. This was about how we try to protect workers, consumers and young children in this country from unnecessary death and disability.

See the TUC response and Luke exposing further Tory hypocrisy. Finally check out the Daily Mirror video of Cameron breaking basic road safety rules. Obviously he thinks that our pragmatic, common sense laws and regulations should not apply to Old Etonions - only all of us who are not millionaires.

Champagne Charlie

The curse of grayee (4th paragraph)

Hat-tip thingy Daily Mirror

Film Rate your Blog

Hat trick to Canadian Labour blogger Wernerpatels for the link to a Mingle2 Website which claims to assess the “film rating of your blog”. You just type in the URL of your blog, face book or web site and they will “rate it”. They came out with a “parental guidance” rating for this blog.

Apparently, since the word “gun” comes up once and “murder” twice, in my previous posts. Which I assume refers to these on gun and knife crime. Not sure that this earns a PG rating? The Sun and the Daily Mirror is supposed to have a reading age of 9 or less (I think)? God knows what they and the Daily Hate would get under this assessment!

UPDATE: in fact I have just used it to rate the Daily Hate and it came back as "Restricted"! Wish that everyone who bought it had to still get the permission of their parents. Especially pensioners. Do wonders for its circulation.