Nominate John Gray for UNISON Community General seat on NEC

Dear Branch Secretary

I am writing to ask your branch to consider nominating me for the Community general seat on the National Executive Council.

I am a lifelong trade unionist and have been a member of UNISON for 17 years. 

I am Branch Secretary of the UNISON Housing Associations Branch and also Health & Safety and Labour Link Officer.

For the first time Community members will be represented on the National Executive Council. I want to represent Community members in all branches across the organisation, those in other service group branches, in geographical branches and those that are in the dedicated Community branches.

I want to ensure that all members are aware of what UNISON is doing for them and encourage them to become active themselves. I also want to support branches that have Community membership by ensuring that we have adequate and fair resources to enable us to support our members in these volatile and uncertain times. 

I have attached a copy of my election address (double click to bring up details) and I would be grateful if you could discuss this with your branch committee. If you would like to talk about this statement please ring or email me.

Yours faithfully

John Gray

ps - Most large Local Government and Health branches will also be eligible to nominate.  Nominations need to be made at a quorate meeting of your branch or branch committee during the nomination period. The nomination period will open on 11 January 2011 and close at 5pm on Friday 18 February 2011. Copies of the nomination forms will be available on UNISON's website here.  My UNISON number is 3083288

UNISON NEC By-elections 2010

I hope folk don’t mind, if I use this post to recommend to eligible UNISON members who have recently received ballot papers to consider voting for the candidates listed below. 

I completely and utterly deny the simply outrageous suggestion  that I am simply recommending the opposite of whoever the forces of the evil one, Red Mouse Kim, are supporting.

So now that this is clear - please encourage members to vote for (and pass on to your networks) the forces of light and reason. 

Mind you I do wish that UNISON candidates who are members of tiny and bizarre micro Trotsky sects would admit to their membership in their union election addresses. But there you go - I suppose you can guess why. 

If you have received a ballot paper please consider voting for:-

Local Government: Vote Paul Gilroy

Young Members: Vote Graham Smith

Northern Region: Vote  Ian Fleming

Higher Education: Vote Wendy Craig

Police & Justice: Vote Annette Mansell Green

Ultra-Left Chumpeon

The latest guest post from icepicker100 - which contains some helpful advice for the two contenders, who are each vying to be the “Ultra left” candidate, to take on Dave Prentis in this year’s election for UNISON’s General Secretary.

Headphones or speakers on!

check out and this

Dear Branch Secretary...nomination request for Community SGE

Dear Branch Secretary

I am writing to ask your branch to consider nominating me for the General Seat on the new Community Service Group Executive.

I am a lifelong trade unionist and have been a member of UNISON for nearly 17 years. I am a member of the UNISON Housing Associations Branch where I am a steward, Health & Safety Officer and Labour Link Officer.

My first paid job was as a welfare rights advisor in an inner city community centre. I am now employed as a Housing Officer for a large Housing Association after being TUPE’d from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Members working in the community and voluntary sector know all too well about job insecurity and instability. More often than not jobs are reliant on public funding and are only renewed if and when funding has been secured. Most members in our sector have had to deal with numerous reorganisations and being TUPE’d time and time again due to cuts in funding.

Across the sector there are a wide range of employers from the very small employing just 1 or 2 staff to the very large. Some of the smaller employers are inexperienced and whilst they want to do the right thing for social justice – this doesn’t always apply to how they treat and manage their staff. We need to support our members that feel isolated at work and ensure that they know that UNISON can support them and how they can access this support.

I believe we must build better organisation for our members and stewards. We need to build stewards’ networks so that they can support each other and share knowledge, ideas and experiences. I would like to see more training introduced on issues that are of particular concern to UNISON members in the Community Service Group – like funding cuts, re-structuring, and dealing with poor management.

I hope your branch will consider nominating me to represent your members in this sector. I am committed to listening to their views, making their voices heard and ensuring they get better support and the resources they deserve.

If you would like to discuss this statement please give me a ring or contact me on john.m.grayATntlworldDOTcom.

Yours faithfully

John Gray

Community is the brand new “Service Group” in UNISON for those of us who work in the community and voluntary sector. It will be the third biggest “Service Group” in UNISON with already over 60,000 members.

Vote Peter Daley – Putting London Members First

• (Peter is standing as a Candidate for London in a UNISON Service Group Executive by-election. 90,000 members in London who work in Local Government and the voluntary sector will be receiving ballot papers over the next few days.
  
  Please vote for Peter and encourage your fellow UNISON members to do so)
  
  I have worked for Wandsworth Council most of my working life. I have been active in NALGO and UNISON throughout. I have been a steward, Branch Officer, Regional delegate, National delegate. In addition I continue to play a full role at Branch and Regional level and within the Regional Black Members and Disabled Members self-organised groups.
  
  Wandsworth was the first outsourcing privatising council in London. I have a great deal of experience dealing with market driven politicians and managers. I believe in public services being retained in the public sector. I also support UNISON in negotiating, organising and bargaining with private companies so we can protect, organise and represent our members where services are outsourced.
  
  I believe in:
  100% trade union membership
  Supporting the organising, training and recruitment initiatives to defend the union in this period of recession
  Putting members first so that your worries, concerns and your interests – over employment, equality, fairness, protection, wages, pensions – are placed first.
  Never take members for granted.
  Providing effective advice, support and protection for our members.
  Distancing ourselves from the MPs gravy train
  
  I am against those who want to use us as political footballs for any political party or organisation.
  
  London is facing awesome and frightening change: be in Boris Johnson’s ego-mania, or privatisation and outsourcing on an unimaginable and unprecedented scale.
  
  The old ways don’t work. Now is the time for change, for new leadership, for the assertion of your interests as the only real priority. Now is the time for unity of all our members. Now is the time to develop a real voice in London for supporting our national union.
  
  Please support me in the forthcoming service group election – Vote Peter Daley.
  
  Thank you.

Update: Check out this facebook group

Vote Peter Daley 4 London - UNISON LG Elections

Peter is standing for London in the UNISON Local Government Executive (SGE) election. He is an excellent candidate and I (personal capacity) would urge every eligible member in London to support him. Please encourage your colleagues to vote for him as well (but note that UNISON funds cannot be used to support any candidate). Double click picture to bring up details and download flyer.

Questions to be asked of United Left

Guest multi-media post from Comrade Mercader who has come up with another video asking some questions of the UL (Ultra Left) faction who are standing in the UNISON NEC elections.

UNISON London Labour Link elections 2009

Another week, another Labour movement election. This post is a bit late and the ballot papers for this year’s UNISON London Labour Link National Forum and Party conference have to be returned by close of play next Friday 27 March .

UNISON is constitutionally part of the Labour Party. Unlike other trade unions UNISON has two separate political funds.

One for the Labour Party which is called the Labour Link fund (it use to be known as the APF or Applied Political Fund) and the other is the "general" political fund (GPF). UNISON members can choose which fund they pay into or they can pay into none.

I’m standing for election to the National Forum.

All London UNISON Labour link branch officers have the vote in this election (and branch secretaries where there is a current Labour Link officer vacancy).Below is the joint election address and centre left slate which I support. I would urge people to support the slate and no-one else. (BTW - This post is of course in my personal capacity

VOTE JOHN GRAY, JOHN GOUGH, IAN HORRIGAN
&
MARGARET BACK, LYNN BENTLY, GLORIA HANSON, MONICA POWELL AND KIM SILVER

FOR THE NATIONAL LABOUR LINK FORUM

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 has delivered improvements for our members, but, particularly in the current recession, Labour needs to do more. We will champion trade union issues and move our members concerns up the political agenda, using our influence to promote;
· Continuing investment in public services
· A fair deal on public sector pay
· Defending public sector pensions
· Access to housing for public sector employees

As active UNISON and Labour Party members we strongly believe in supporting the Party, but also in campaigning for or against change where it impacts on our members.

The elections in the coming year will see Labour face its toughest challenge yet. It is vital that we ensure that Labour link becomes more visible within the union so our members can be reminded of the importance of a Labour Government which creates an environment in which our union can grow and fosters a climate where our members can prosper.

VOTE LOUISE COULING FOR LABOUR PARTY CONFRENCE

If anyone wishes to speak to me about this slate then please give me a ring. The ballot papers have to be returned by 5pm Friday 27 March 2009.

1st. NATIONAL LABOUR LINK FORUM: FEMALE SEATS (5 VOTES - PINK PAPER)
1. BACK, MARGARET
2. BENTLEY, LYNN
4. HANSON, GLORIA
5. POWELL, MONICA
6. SILVER, KIM

2nd. NATIONAL LABOUR LINK FORUM: MALES SEATS (3 VOTES - BLUE PAPER)
2. GRAY, JOHN
3. GOUGH, JOHN
4. IAN HORRIGAN

3rd. LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE: GENERAL SEAT (1 VOTE - PURPLE PAPER)
4. COULING, LOUISE

Eric Roberts: UNISON Members First and Foremost

(Guest post by Conroy Lawrence, who works in Lewisham hospital and whose health branch nominated Eric. Conroy is the Chair of London Regional UNISON Health committee and the London Deputy Convenor. In his personal capacity Conroy is writing in support of Eric who is standing for a Health vacancy in the UNISON National Executive Council - our NEC).

“I fully support Eric to be a national health representative on the UNISON NEC. Eric is a very experienced secretary of his Ambulance Service Branch. He puts UNISON members First and Foremost.

As a health worker myself I know how essential the Ambulance Service is to what all of us do - Eric has a lot of real practical real life experience as a health worker and union representative. He is well known and respected up and down the country. He knows how to fight our corner without calling for constant strikes or demonstrations. He will not let us down.

If you are a UNISON health member you should get a ballot paper next week – please don’t just put it in the drawer and forget about it, fill it out, vote for Eric and post it as soon as you can. Pass the word around to your colleagues. The ballot papers are out next week.

I do not know a better person to recommend to UNISON health members than Eric Roberts”.

(click on the election statements to read or download them - pass them to colleagues but do not use union resources to do so)