UNISON London Labour Link Regional Forum 2024 - Vote Sadiq Khan & Labour in May

 

Brilliant picture of delegates to our 2024 regional forum, who are supporting the Labour Party "New Deal for Working People" campaign promise.

This was a hybrid meeting held in the National UNISON centre. 

Speakers included the UNISON London Regional Secretary, Jo Galloway; Current Assembly members Len Duvall & Sem Moema; Eddie from Labour Unions on New Deal; Mark Ferguson, our Labour Link national secretary. 

We also had contributions from new London Assembly Candidates, Marcela Benedetti & James Beckles. 

The forthcoming GLA and UNISON Member, Sadiq Khan, Mayoral elections in May, was our number one topic. 

We must not be complacent about apparent poll leads. The Tories have bent the rules to favour their appalling uber right wing candidate. They have doubled election expenses for candidates, banned proportional voting and imposed voter ID requirements on the million London voters who have none. 

Expect loads of Tory fibs and dog whistle politics in the next 42 days.

Vote James Beckles for Greater London Seat on National Labour Link (APF) Committee

(Ballot papers are now out for all UNISON members in Greater London who are part of the Labour Link).

This is the message that my branch which nominated James has sent out

"Dear Branch Members

Ballot papers for this very important election should be sent to your home addresses from Wednesday 9 August 2017.

All branch members who pay the UNISON Labour Link levy (also known as the APF) can vote for the Greater London seat. Please take part in the internal democracy of your union.

Your branch Labour Link nominated the following candidate for the Greater London candidate:- JAMES BECKLES.

Statement (and see attached photo)

We support James because he wants to ensure all our members including our black and women members become politically active, vote Labour and we win the next general election as well as supporting UNISON policies in the Party. 

He wants to work with members, UNISON colleagues and the Labour Party to ensure our members’ voices in the Greater London region and across our union are heard at every level of the party. 

James is a young, hardworking and dedicated socialist & trade unionist, and if elected by you the members, he will be accountable to you and serve your best interests".

Newham Great 10k Run 2017

Before (top middle) and after (bottom middle) picture of me taking part in the Newham Great Run (wearing finishing tee shirt and medal)  I will admit to have forgotten that I had entered and due to the General election and UNISON conference, I had not trained specifically for the this run until last week.  Yet I was only 32 seconds slower than last year, when I did train (and training for a triathlon!)

My legs are very sore due to the lack of training and I suspect that I will suffer tomorrow morning.

This was a great run. It was hot but there was a lovely breeze, which I think saved the day. I did not see any runners collapsed on the side of the road which I think is a first for any of the Newham runs I have entered in the last few years.

Some working class history on route is that we ran past what I think is the site of the Chobham Farm container depot, where in 1972 an "unlawful" trade union picket took place which resulted in the imprisonment of 5 London dock workers including Vic Turner, who later on became the Mayor of Newham Council.

This imprisonment resulted in a largely successful General Strike, which led to the Pentonville 5 dockers being released. I have been pushing for a plaque to remember this.

Newham Councillor, James Beckles, also competed as did Hackney Mayor, Philip Glanville.
Update: and Cllr Mas Patel

Chuka Umunna Streatham PPC at UNISON Labour Link Mobilising Black Members Event

Picture collage from event on Monday evening with Streatham Labour PPC, Chuka Umunna, guest speaker to a mobilisation event in our national HQ of black members sponsored by UNISON Greater London Labour Link. I was there as Chair of that committee.

The aim was to encourage members to volunteer to campaign for Labour in the General Election. The event was run by my ace London Regional Council Officer colleague, Liz Baptiste. Other speakers included our Assistant General Secretary, Liz Snapes, Acting London Regional secretary Stephanie Thomas, London Labour Link committee member James Beckles and National officer for Race Equality, Margaret Geer. 

Chuka gave an excellent speech on why we all must support the Labour Party which was warmly received. He is bright, articulate and has the gift of powerful persuasion. 

It was a bit of a speech fest with Stephanie, Liz, Liz, James and Margaret making the case for Labour and for becoming active in the campaign and making it clear that there was an alternative choice in British politics. 

The best (and only way) to progress equality for all is if we all vote to elect a Labour Government on June 8. 

Nearly all of the UNISON members and their guests present filled out a form to volunteer for Labour in the General election. Result!

"Newham Co-op continued"

An excellent account of the meeting last week by James Beckles. There is another more pointed post here by another Newham Co-op member. You can click to a link to my post on the rerun AGM 2016.

"On Wednesday 8th March Newham Cooperative Party welcomed Claire McCarthy our General Secretary.

It’s not everyday members of the Cooperative Party or any party for that matter with the sight of a General Secretary checking membership details at the door. But that’s the beauty of the Co-op movement and the state of play of Newham.

After members had been signed in everyone took their seats. There was some tension in the air as you would expect from the last heated meeting. But chaired by a London region representative the meeting kicked off. There were some noticeable absences including the Chair of Newham branch, Lester Hudson, who we were told was attending an awards ceremony. Nonetheless the meeting began.

The positions not filled at the last meeting were up for contention. These included Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Officer, Assistant Secretary and the New position of Events/Social Secretary. All candidates had to submit prior to the meeting a 100 word statement for the position they were standing for and it was good to read supporting statements and what candidates would do if elected.

There was a point of order or clarification raised whether candidates who were nominated would be on the ballot. The representative from London region was clear that all Newham Co-op members were afforded the opportunity to stand for a position as long as they submitted a statement.

Onto the vote for Secretary, Gill Hay vs. Neil Wilson. A tense ballot and count and Gill was victorious. The Treasurer was next, as there was only one candidate, Averil Donohue who is current Treasurer, they were duly elected.

Membership Officer again had only one candidate, Alan Griffiths, he was duly elected. Assistant Secretary, currently John Gray, was elected as the sole candidate.

Then came the exciting part. The positions no-one submitted statements for. These included the new post of Events/Social Secretary and the Auditors (x2).

The candidates for Events/Social Secretary were Sugathan and Neil Wilson. Both spoke on the spot and gave good reasons why they should be elected. The ballots were distributed and counted. The winner we Neil Wilson.

Finally the heralded positions of Auditors. This I where I dear reader come in. I was nominated by four fellow cooperators and I was duly elected. Thank you!

The second Auditor elected was Conor McCauley and much desired.

Finally the highlight of the evening was the speech by Claire McCarthy. In consistent Newham fashion those who were there solely to vote left and those I assume who were generally interested in hearing from our General Secretary stayed.

Claire gave a clear and impassioned speech about co-op values, ethical politics, supporting Labour councillors who wanted to stand as Labour/Co-op councillors (which I think would be advantageous and I may consider it) and continuing to build a cooperative and mutual based society in Newham and beyond.

Overall the evening was well ordered and considering the positions up for grabs it was good natured. Perhaps having Co-op HQ present officiating made certain potential offenders behave on the night. But we do need more meetings like these where it’s about speakers, debates about policy and positions, development of co-op values at a local level that is inclusive and supportive of Newham’s communities.

Again I sign off by saying I look forward to the next Newham Co-operative Party meeting and hope I will be able to attend."

(hat tip to James for one of the pictures in collage and to Tower Hamlets Co-op for stealing their logo and amending it)

Labour Local Government Association Conference 2016

Picture taken today at the end of the conference with the 3 J's - James, Jeremy and John. Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn (and a UNISON member) fellow Newham Councillor (and UNISON member), James Beckles.  I had never been to this conference before (nor Nottingham where it was held) and was impressed with both.  I will post a fuller report soon.

Great Newham Run 2015

Off message-ish but last Sunday (19 July) I took part in the first Great Newham Run 10k in the Queen Elizabeth Park. I have also taken part in the Great North Run in Newcastle and the Great South Run in Portsmouth.

For I think the fifth year in a row, I took part in a running (or rather in my case - a jogging very slowly) event in Newham. The weather was warm but there was a very welcome cooling breeze. It seemed well organised apart from huge queues for the portable toilets at the start.

I was in the Green wave which started off just after 10am near the ArcelorMittal Orbit. Running legend and founder of the Great North Run, Brendan Foster, set us off. The route was around the Olympic park and went past all the iconic Olympic 2012 sports stadiums that are still standing - the main stadium, the Aquatics centre and the Velodrome. The park is also a mass of canals and beautiful green spaces.

During the final 300m you are in the Olympic Stadium itself and running along the track to the finish line which is great thrill.

Fellow Newham Councillors James Beckles and Terry Paul also took part (Terry had the previous day also particated in the Great Newham Swim with Cllr Julianne Marriot in Victoria Docks).

The run itself was a great experience. The big downside was that I didn't see very many Newham residents taking part. We were identified on our number bib. Despite being host to the Olympics in 2212, Newham also has the most "inactive" adults in the country. Is this because we have very little organised youth work provision in the Borough?

There was also a distant lack of black runners taking part. Newham and the boroughs that surround the Park are amongst the most ethically diverse in the country.  While I love Queen Elizabeth Park, I often think it has become a middle class playground and local Newham residents for whatever reason are excluded. Something to work upon I think.

UNISON Labour Link 2015: Motion on "Union busting by UK public service providers"

This was the speech for London motion 18 on Union busting which was delivered by our delegate James Beckles.

Hopefully, anti-union rogue employers in our sector such as Catalyst Housing and Creative Support will take note.
Motion was passed unanimously

"Forum, everyone here knows that up and the country there are a huge number of private companies, large charities and Housing associations delivering publicly funded services who refuse to recognise human rights of their staff and who threaten and attack union activists trying to protect their members.

We know that in many parts of the traditional public sector, trade unions, in local government, health and utilities are also under attack

This motion argues that no employer should have access to any public funds or procurement if they do not have a recognition agreement with a TUC affiliated trade union.

Forum, the United Nations has a charter of fundamental human rights. This charter recognises 10 fundamental human rights and one of those 10 rights is that of free assembly for trade unions and collective bargaining.

In the history of our union movement, activists have given their lives and their liberty in the fight to have trade unions recognised.

Forum, Unions in this country and all over the world are under attack. In the UK our numbers have gone down significantly but in recent years numbers have stabilised and we may see soon a return to growth.

It is no coincidence that the massive decline in pay in recent years has been linked to the decline of collective bargaining. Workers desperately need the unions to protect and strengthen their terms and conditions by collective bargaining.

The best way to get recognition and collective bargaining is by workers taking action, by members forcing anti-trade union employers to negotiate and bargain with unions. Yet when you are in a fight with employers for justice at work you want every help you can get.

Forum, is it not perverse that in this county vast amounts of public money is handed over to organisations which are clearly hostile to unions? Why is this money going to organisations who don't believe in fundamental human rights?

If public money was going to those who employed child labour or used corruption there would be an outcry. Yet we have allowed the government and employers to pick and choose which human rights they want to respect. Forum, A human right is a human right.

No organisation which refuses to recognise a trade union should be allowed to bid for any form of public money or support. No grants, No contracts, No loans, no Partnerships, No deals - not even housing benefit.

Forum, What have they got to hide? Remember, that there is an extreme right wing ideology against trade unions. Like under Mussolini and fascism they want to get rid of trade unions and replace them with powerless and compliant staff associations.

While we would expect some hostile private sector employer to be anti union, we have organisations in this country masquerading as socially responsible charities. They not only refuse to recognise trade unions but carry out trade union busting to threaten and frighten union activists and members.

Forum, we must use our influence and power in Labour Link to force all employers to recognise the human rights of their workers. We can work with Labour councils and devolved government to force the issue of trade union recognition in public procurement. While a Labour government appears now to be a long way away we must start now arguing and campaigning for this policy to be adopted by our Party.

We must also still press for an independent enquiry into the governance arrangements of those who provide public services. Even some Tories recognise that some 3rd sector organisations have turned themselves into a mates club whose senior management team feasts upon the public purse.

Forum, please support this motion and help send a message that trade unionism is your fundamental human right and we will not tolerate attacks on our human rights from anyone. Forum, I move".

Greater London UNISON Labour Link Delegate Elections 2015

I was pleased last week to hear that I had been elected unopposed to this year's UNISON Labour Link National Forum with Jonathan Slater and James Beckles.

There is still an election for female delegates to National Forum and Labour Party Conference.

I would recommend (in a strictly personal capacity) that Greater London Branch Labour Link's consider  supporting :-

National Labour Link Forum FEMALE SEATS Green Ballot Paper (5 Votes)

ALASIA, Sanchia
BENTLEY, Lynn
GREEN, Yvonne
HANSON, Gloria
SILVER, KIM

Labour Party Conference 2015 GENERAL SEAT Red Ballot Paper (1 vote)

GREEN, Yvonne

Ballot papers have been sent out to all London Branches and have to be returned by 12 Noon this Friday 27 March 2015. 

Picture above is of Yvonne Green (featured in the Independent Newspaper) who has also this year been elected (by a massive majority) to be the London UNISON Convenor.

Below is their joint election statement

"We are all seeking election to represent the views of APF payers in the London Region at the National Labour Link Forum.

We support the link we have with the Labour Party. Labour in National Government has delivered real improvements for our members. We do not know what will be the result of the General Election but for the sake of our members, our NHS and our union, we need to do whatever we can to defeat this ConDem Tory Government in May

Labour needs to appeal to their core Labour vote and champion trade union issues to help them win. We want to move our members concerns up the Party political agenda, using our influence to promote Labour movement values such as:-

• Reinvestment in public services
• Increase public sector pay and keep defending our pensions
• Access to fair and affordable housing for public sector employees and their families
• A fairer taxation system
• Government policies that promote growth and jobs.

You want delegates who will be listened to and not be afraid to argue for change within the Labour Party but who also realise that the only alternative to Labour is another dose of Clegg and Cameron.

It is vital that we ensure that Labour Link becomes more visible within the union. We need to encourage APF members to join local Labour Constituency Parties and be elected to positions of responsibility in order to further the progressive agenda.

Next year London will also be electing a London Mayor and new Assembly and we need to play our part in this election. But we now must unite around the Party and work to bring down this ConDem Government on May 7"

Why its never that boring being "on the knocker" for Labour.

Picture from last weekend's Plaistow North ward "Super Sunday" Labour door knock with our West Ham MP Lyn Brown, which which went really well. UNISON members James Beckles (2nd from left) and Forhad Hussain (2nd from right) are both candidates. The 3rd Labour Candidate, Joy Laguda is also a UNISON member.  Joy had to attend a funeral and was unable to attend. All 3 candidates work or have worked for the NHS. 

Tonight I am just back from being out in West Ham Ward. It was a warm and sunny evening.  It too went really well but just a little too perfect. There was a fantastic "Labour promise" response rate. Household after household said they would vote for us. We had mums bringing out their cute young children out to meet the candidates.

I had a detailed and interesting explanation of democratic Polish politics since the Solidarity strikes and the fall of the Communist State.

Excited first time voters who were delighted we had come to see them and who couldn't wait for 22 May and the opportunity to vote Labour. 

A woman very angry with this Tory led government who she blames for being made redundant and being now only able to find insecure part time work.

An unsubstantiated (but very specific) allegation of political and contractor corruption across the other side of the River Lea.

I also had one man in his 30's who admitted that he has never voted, agree that it was about time he participated and promised to do so this time (for Labour).

I knew it was too good to last. Towards the end of the session the law of averages re-established itself.

I came across a very unpleasant racist who scorned Labour because of all "these dirty foreigners". There was a short and sharp exchange with resulted with the front door being slammed shut very loudly in my face and me marking the address on our list as "Against".

Apart from that - it was a good evening.