London UNISON New Capitalists

I have just sent out an invite for a meeting to London UNISON members who are pension trustees or member nominated representative on LGPS panels. This is for the London UNISON Capital Stewardship Forum. The meeting will take place on Tuesday 1 July 2008, 2-4pm, at room 2B (second floor) of the University of London Union (ULU).

Agenda items so far are:

UNISON NDC conference – report back on motion, UNIZONE and Capital Stewardship fringe Meeting (Bournemouth Monday 16 June 5.30pm)
TUC Pension Trustee Conference London 27 June 2008
Other conference reports and future events
Campaigns update
Joint working
Governance of Pension Schemes
Update on UNISON National Capital Stewardship Programme/website (UNISON national officer Colin Meech)
Future Training seminar for London region on Capital stewardship
International Union Trustee Meeting London 8-10th July.

This meeting may seem just a little boring but what we will be most likely discussing at this meeting is issues such as protecting pension investments in an uncertain market, lobbying government ministers over governance and benefit disputes, investments in PFI schemes and trade union rights, health and safety for overseas workers who make Olympic sports wear, investments in Burma etc.

Never a really dull moment. ....Honest.

On a Winning Roll...the last AGM

The 2008 Labour Movement AGM season for me pretty much came to rest yesterday with the London UNISON Regional Committee AGM, held at the Friends Meeting place, Euston Road, London, WC1. This was my 8th of the year?

Over the last few years, centre left London UNISON activists have worked together to elect a representative lay regional leadership and ensure that the important committees that organise and oversee the union, act in the interests of ordinary UNISON members rather than politically motivated extremists.

During a relatively short period of time (at times a sharp battle), we firstly took the lay regional convener and deputy positions, then all of the lay regional council officers and we now hold a majority of seats in the main regional committees.

There are still problems and no doubt to our embarrassment later this year there will be (in my view) boring and repetitive “grandstanding” on the National Conference platform by predominately unrepresentative, angry, loud middle class types, arguing for the union to bring about revolution... NOW.

Yesterday, we won all the important votes and elections by a large majority. The first time in a long, long time.

London UNISON has changed.

(By co-incidence groundhog day, that evening I had to go all the way back from work to the Friends Meeting House again for my UNISON branch executive meeting!)

Reclaiming the Union

A comrade has sent me the latest edition ("March 2008" - not yet on line) of “Workers” the monthly magazine of the “Communist Party of Britain Marxist-Leninist” (which bizarrely some red baiters seem to think has taken over UNISON???). Their article on page 3 is pretty interesting with a "Marxist" interpretation of recent events in London UNISON?

“UNISON

Reclaiming the union

THE POLITICAL sea change in London Unison continues. For the third year running, the members painfully reclaiming their Regional Council from the hands of one or two remaining entryists in the Labour Party and their ultra-left allies, have triumphed again in key convenor and regional committee elections.

The members returning the union to its members – a refreshing sign of maturity and clarity in the trade unions either bereft of direction or mesmerised with meaningless sloganising."

On this point - who am I to disagree?