Is Miliband following UNISON or Stanley Baldwin over Union funding?

UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis sent out an email yesterday to the union explaining that our funding of the Labour Party has been on the basis of individual members choosing whether to pay an affiliate fee or not (they can "opt in" or "opt out").  UNISON has also never paid the Party membership fees for new members.

He also questioned whether in the face of the Tory onslaught on working people in this country this is the right time for the Party and the unions to be having such a public row on funding?

When UNISON was formed in 1993 the predecessor unions NUPE and COHSE were affiliated to the Labour Party while NALGO was not. It was agreed that there would be two political funds in UNISON and members can choose to opt into a fund supporting the Labour Party (now called "Labour Link") or a General Political fund not linked to any Party (or they can opt out of any political fund).

This to me has always seemed a pretty sensible and pragmatic compromise for UNISON and I think due to our history - for us it works .

While other trade unions affiliate all or part of their membership to the Party.  I think it is important to remember that this decision to affiliate is taken via the internal democratic processes of that Union. So there is accountability. In the same way that my UNISON branch may vote to affiliate to organisations at our AGM that I did not support but I accept that this affiliation had been democratically decided upon and part of my subs is being used to fund it.  Of course members can simply choose to opt out of paying any political affiliation if they so choose.

The real immediate risk is that if the Party goes ahead and decides to introduce "opting in" only - is that a year or so before a General Election there may be a drastic reduction of union money when we will need every penny we can get to defeat the Tories. We should be doing nothing that gets in that way. UNISONActive reminds us that in 1927 Tory Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin introduced a similar measure which resulted in a 50% drop in affiliation fees for the Labour Party.

The real solution in my view is not about whether trade union members opt "in" or "out" it is about getting ordinary rank and file members actively involved in the Party. To do this there is a shared responsibility. The Party has got to make it attractive for people to attend local Ward and CLP meetings. This is not only just about making them less boring and more inclusive (please) but giving them more power and a greater say in the Party.

The Unions have also got to raise their game and realise that they cannot exercise influence in the Party by simply waving cheques. This just doesn't work - the only way to make the Party more accountable to the needs and wishes of ordinary working people is to encourage and support our members to join and become active.

The only alternative to the Labour Party in this country is the Tories. The Labour Movement family need to get their act together and remember first and foremost our enemy is the Tories and not the unions and not even Progress.  We must get as many members actively involved and raise as much money as possible in order to defeat them in 2015. Everything else comes a very poor second to this.

What will a future Labour Government do with the NHS?

Newham Compass and Fabians will be holding this important debate on Tuesday 10 September 2013 at 7.30pm at West Ham Supporters Club. I will be at TUC congress and will miss it - which is a shame.

Local Government Pension Scheme: Past & Future: Reform or Revolution?

Check out this PowerPoint presentation I made on the LGPS to the AMNT open meeting last month.

West Ham (CLP) Story

This is two great picture collages of all the successful West Ham Constituency Labour Party Candidates and some of their supporters that took place in the selection process last weekend. West Ham CLP selections took place in the Old Town Hall in Stratford while East Ham CLP took place in the Newham Town Hall.

You can check all the Newham results via the @newhamlabour twitter account.

Hat tip Photos Gordon Miller.

Rae Climbs A Mountain

Off message-ish but former London UNISON Labour Link comrade Rae Voller is trying to raise money for "Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY)". Rae is a nurse who now works in Merseyside. 

She will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in September in support of CRY and raising money via "Just Giving" for this event.

Mountain Warehouse in conjunction with "Just Giving" are running a competition to give an additional £5000 to a chosen charity based on the number of votes received by participants.

To vote for her cause simply go to http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/charity/entries/rae-climbs-a-mountain-e353.aspx and follow the simple instructions.

Share the links below and encourage others to vote. Also donate via Just Giving!

http://www.justgiving.com/Rae-Voller
www.raeclimbsamountain.org.uk
www.c-r-y.org.uk

PS I have suggested To Rae that she climbs up and down Snowdon in North Wales twice in one day as preparation. I am full of such good ideas for others to follow  :)

West Ham Labour Party Ward Re-selection result for 2014

Yesterday I was reselected by members of West Ham Labour Party Ward to be their candidate in the Newham local Council elections in 2014. This was after a hustings in the Old Town Hall in Stratford where all applicants had to give a presentation and then a Q&A with Ward members. Freda Bourne (to my right) and John Whitworth (my 2nd left) were also selected.

Picture of the three of us and some of the West Ham ward members (and EC member Neil Wilson!)

Happy 65th Birthday NHS! We will defend you!

On Wednesday evening during the West Ham CLP fund raising event local Newham MPs Lyn Brown, Stephen Timms and Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls helped us celebrate the 65th anniversary of the birth of the National Health Service (today 5 July).

Sitting are former UNISON presidents Dave Anderson (now MP) and Norma Stephenson (Labour Cllr and member of Labour Party NEC). While UNISON candidate for London MEP Sanchia Alaisa is 2nd from left.           

Action Mesothelioma Day Friday 5th July - HOPE

This lunchtime I was at the historic Old Town Hall in Stratford, E15 to help mark "Action Mesothelioma Day".

In the court yard people had gathered to mark the release of white doves as "tributes of love and embrace" to the relatives of all those who have died from asbestos related diseases.

I was asked by London Hazards as a local Newham Councillor to say a few words to the ceremony.  I said that I was a Labour Councillor but also an UNISON safety rep. I worked as a Housing officer in a large 1960s/1970s estate in nearby Tower Hamlets where until recently 90% of homes contained some form of asbestos.

This makes you think of the safety of the workers who first built this estate, those who have since maintained it and the residents who have lived in it.

This commemoration service was not only about obtaining justice and compensation for the many victims of asbestos and their families but also about how we must all argue for a different economic and political society that would not allow the health of future generations to be only second best to profit.

Next I helped out to release the doves - this was very beautiful and moving.

Tony O'Brien chaired the seminar that followed with first speaker Peter Williams pointing out that Newham and Barking had the worse death rates from Mesothelioma in Greater London. This was due to the traditional heavy industries located in East London but it was not only workers in these factories, building sites and docks who were exposed but their neighbours and even children in local schools.

There was a brave message of HOPE by Anne who is a mesothelioma sufferer, that with early diagnostic & good treatment you can have reasonable prognosis of a cure.  Anne wants everyone who knows they have been exposed to asbestos (which is probably all of us) to go for a CT scan as soon as they get any symptoms.

John McLean, GMB national safety officer reminded us that it was nonsense that no one knew asbestos was dangerous in the past. The first confirmed death from asbestos was nearly 100 years ago in Rochdale. The founder of the GMB was a local Labour MP (and before that West Ham Councillor) Will Thorne, who brought up the danger of asbestos in Parliament in the 1930s.

John also reported on the campaign for the removal all asbestos from public buildings & adequate "no fault" compensation for all victims. He told us about the promising research in the USA on treatment for mesothelioma.   This is early but great news for victims it also will help change attitudes to mesothelioma I think if the public understand it is not an automatic death sentence (if caught early and you receive good treatment).

Asbestos regulations are up for review this year but John thinks that the regulations are currently okay but need to take into account inadvertent exposure to the public.

UPDATE: LHC have published my account here with more photos of whole event by Joe Syz which I have copied the first one showing the release of the Doves.

Edward Nolan - Certificate of Merit for 40 Years Labour Party Membership

Picture of Edward (Ted) Nolan receiving his Certificate of Merit from the Labour Party at last nights West Ham CLP fund raising dinner.

The award was presented to Ted and his wife by Ed Balls MP and our local MP Lyn Brown. It was signed by Party leader Ed Miliband and General Secretary Iain McNicol.

Ted has been a member of the Party for over 40 years. A former HGV driver and Transport & General Workers Union activist.

He has lived in Newham all his life apart from 2 years he spent as a Rifleman while on national service during the Malayan Emergency. As well as a tireless organiser for the Labour Party Ted has also spent much of his life as a respected champion of tenant's rights.

A true Labour Movement Hero.

Metropolitan Housing Shooting

This is an article that I wrote today for our branch newsletter. "The exact details of what happened yesterday over the shooting of a Metropolitan HA housing officer and a bailiff during an eviction are unknown.

The use of guns against housing staff is thankfully incredibly rare but don’t forget the recent survey by "Inside Housing" that found yet another year on increase in assaults on staff. In the meanwhile an incident such as this concentrates minds.

Local stewards and safety representatives should be thinking of asking management when did they last review staff risk assessments and safety procedures? Have staff and the union been properly consulted on these documents? Are staff reps invited and enabled to attend safety committees? Do you have a register of residents who may be violent? Is this register up to-date and most importantly is it being used? Is there adequate resources made available for health and safety in your organisation?

The branch is planning to hold a training workshop for all our reps. Details will be sent out soon.
Remember a unionised workplace is a safer work place. The more of us in the union the safer all of us will be in work. If you are interested in being a UNISON safely rep contact the branch. Check out the excellent safety resources on the UNISON website here.