What is meant by a rank-and-file organisation?

The rank-and-file in a union or a work place truly hold the power in a struggle if they decide to flex their muscles and act independently of the union leadership they can be a very powerful force within the work place. Over the years various rank-and-file organisations have been set up and have had their day but today in 2013 there is a need for them once again. I am less than convinced with the left wing attempts at rank-and-file organisations with much emphasis being put on being taken over and run as anti cuts groups which in themselves are fine and do a job but workers are still left with little to no organisation to join or to lean towards if they are in struggle in a workplace or a community. If they do not wish to blindly follow their union leaders line if they wish to control and own their own struggles there is no organisation there they can turn to right now. The NSSN the National Shops Stewards Union could have been this but is now another anti cuts group which is up to them of course but does not negate the need for a truly rank-and-file owned and controlled movement if not organisation operating from below. The NSSN which has turned itself through the leadership of the socialist party has turned itself into a propagandist group organising regularly lobby’s of the TUC to call for this or that recently it has been to call on the TUC to call a 24 hour general strike. This as I’ve explained before is a failed strategy which’s quite frankly going no where anytime soon. Why appeal to the TUC in the first place who are a load of highly paid bureaucrats and secondly if this so called 24 hour general strike actually happened which I admit is highly unlikely in the coming period although if it happened I would welcome it of course what would it actually achieve? The socialist party actually admit that a 24 hour general strike will not stop austerity although reading much of their recent literature on the lobby’s and the like you’d be forgiven for thinking one day all out will see off this government and the cuts in one fail swoop. No no no comrades where do they get all this from? A genuine real rank-and-file organisation would start from the premise that we are at a very low period of class struggle pretending anything else like some left groups do that we are just on the verge of mass class struggle and anger is to dress thins up as fiction I’m afraid we are not in a pre revolutionary period and are as far off that than ever in my view. Of course things can change but recognising where we are not where we want to be has got to be a start and that for me is a very low point and must be built on. Building workers confidence in taking action and actually winning is key. Pointing to the likes of the sparks and the Hovis workers who have won against 0 hour contracts recently is key to winning the argument for acting and action from below.  Decision-making by mass meeting  Recallable delegates, not representatives, where necessary  Local control of strike funds  Rank-and-file controlled strike committees  Direct action On which basis, people can learn the power in their own hands and to act on their own initiative. Mass meetings on a democratic basis are just a start any workplace any area of struggle must be held accountable from those below. Handing power and representation to those above loose’s you that power. Do beware of those looking to act and represent you. DO they really have your best interests at heart? Ultimately, if the aim is to have ordinary people taking action for themselves, then the ideas are the most important part of the equation. We can promote a culture of resistance, but by the nature of the beast we cannot produce a formula or a rigid programme. If people are to take control of their own struggles, they must decide how for themselves. The role of militants within the workplace is simply to be part of that, and to argue and demonstrate that it can be done.

what long term effect will the TUC demo on 26th March have on unions

I've been thinking a few days now about the impact of this demo in London will have in the long term. How will history remember it and what will be the fall out from this march. Whilst liberal types argue over whether UK uncut was right or wrong and as it is getting entangled with the Labour party i thought i'd look at how this could affect unions and union membership.

As we all know we are heading into a very uncertain time full of cuts and tightening our belts as the media like to put it. But as this starts to affect peoples jobs and working conditions will the workers look again at unions as organisations to take cover in and gain protection and support from. I do hope so. As someone who is a union member in Unite i feel that there are good benifits to being in a union. Few do agree though it seems with only 7 million in the trades unions now this is a dieing role. Even the labour party now is moving away from unions and asking for more opinions from its outside supporters and lib dems rather than the unions and waht they ahve to say.

It has been clear for years now that the labour party has no interest in ordinary working people. Constantly waging battle with the unions over various issues in the last government over privatisation which most unions if not all were strongly opposed to. Yes that's right a labour government intent on privatising industries such as the Royal Mail and parts of the NHS all be it through the back door. No wonder union membership has fallen anti trade union laws have been coming from capitalist governments from years from teh times of Maggie Tatcher right through her and John Majors timea nd carried on and followed through by Tony blair a Neo conservative. So do unions need to change the way they act do they need to modernise ?

I dont think so i think the anti trade union laws have restricted them so much they are powerless to do much at all. With this tory lead government threatening to brng in even more anti trade union and strike laws where will this leave the unions. Completely battered i would imagine. Not unless people rejoin them and try to reinvigerise them from within. Unions can move left from pressure from below. Rank-and-file member bases can forcea unin to move left. Take PCS for example that was quite a right wing union up untill the last decade or so it has now lurched to the left and is regarded is a very good union defending its members jobs and rights. It is also one of the key unions in this battle against the cuts as it represents public services workers it will be at the front of the cuts and the attacks coming from the tories.

I as well as many other socialists do believe in the role of trades unions they are key to the whole labour movement and giving workers a voice. I would suggest however that as labour have ignored their voices for years that as and when as i am sure it will happen a new workers party is formed with a socialist base to it having socialist principles and having workers interests at its heart maybe the unions who have been bankrolling the labour party for yers and getting very little back on their returns will break away from the Labour Party and join this new workers party in a democratic fashion. taking power back to the workers and workers interests . Taking waht is good about labour and the party we will take too leaving behind its capitalist power hungry careerist ideas.

Linked into this will be the fact that any MP's or trade union leaders will only recieve a average skilled workers wage. Nothing more, as this will keep them firmly within the working class and not stepping above this class which they represent. MP's in parliament today take as many expenses as they can and the expenses scandel highlighted the greed and power in the westminster village and how a new workers party would be so so much different and more rooted to its original principles.

ALl this should link back in to a more vibrant fairer and equal trade union movement too. With no part of the orgnisation being top down run with everybody having a democratic voice and say this is the sort of socialism i believe in and what we in the socialist party beleive in too. It is our aim and view for the future of the labour movement.

I think the TUC demo will do a lot to help the image of trade unions that they can be a voice for people and workers to side with and feel apart of a organisation which represents your interests.

It will be interesting to see if trade union membership increases as i beleive it should do after this weekends march with lots of people visibly seeing a union moving forward with confidence in its class it represents .

The positivity to come out of the TUC march 26th demo and what to do next

SO throughout today i have been hearing piece after piece on the news about how this so called violence ruined the TUC march and hi-jacked it and all the rest of it. As i said i think the only people to hijack the march wre labour and Ed miliband trying to turn it into a slow cuts march and a general vote for the labour party message helped hugely by the TUC. But as a socialist i found the demo huge and a very positive thing. Throughout this week people who were on the march will go home to their home areas and tell their fellow friends, workmates and family of waht relaly went on there. Hopefully people will be ablet o breakthrough the biased coverage the mainstream news sources are putting out.

I wanted tto say how big this demo was and it felt so exhilariting to me and i hope it did to many others too. The BBC and TUC initally estimated half a million on the march on the day but later have downscaled it i am not sure why this is. I imagine to downplay the reaction and to stop any unrest in the movement. The TUC's leadership will think they have done their work and have let off steam from working peoplea nd can go back to the day to day stuff of running a big Union.

Wrong. From now on the mood across the country has changed, We may not notice it yet but it has changed the mood of the working class has changed. With the trades unions mobilising hundreds of thousands of workers to the streets of London for one day shows what can be achieved . So i wanted to reiterate the positive message this demo sent outa nd still does to me. The violence will soon be forgotton about in a months time and this demo which i still think was up nearer the 3 quarters of a million mark than half a million will live long in the memory of the working class. But this cannot be the end we need to carry on building resistance to the cuts and building pressure on the TUC and the unions to ballot for co-ordinated strike action. On the day our party gave out leaflets in support of a one day public sector genearl strike this was warmly welcomed and hopefully comrades in the various unions can ramp up pressure for this to become reality. I really think this can happen as anger about the cuts deepens as we head into the summer.

People have told me a general strike is illegal. I've talked to various people and have found out it is not. If done correctly with each union finding a issue and i'm sure they wont be short of a few ballots its members for strike action on the same day this can become a reality i'm sure of it. Mass workers resistance must be our way forward taking teh movement with us. In the socialist party we dont believe in individual based action this does not serve the greater struggle as a whole we firmly believe in the role of trade unions and the action they can take. As several union speakers said on the day we have all marched in our hundreds of thousands today just imagine if we all took strike action together on one day what we can achieve. We can stop these cuts i know we can we just need to build the support in and outside trade unions and in our communities ensuring we take everyone with us.

I think there would also be the unity there from private sector workers to also take strike action in solidarity with public sector workers. At the end of the day we are all workers and all have to sell our labour the tories may like to try and divide us and try and set us against eachother but aat the end of the day we are all one big mass working class ready to fight back against these unfair policies the tories are introducing.

So i really do think we should remember the positive parts of the demo and try to force the narrative that the violence is not representitive of the whole movement and the anti cuts movement and we are still moving forward not standing still.

Lets keep organising and building and fighting back against the cuts for ordinary working peoples sake, those who did not cause this financial crisis.

A few union news stories

SO in the news today there has been a couple of interesting union news stories which often dont get the recognition and the news time as perhaps they should. I myself like to keep on top of union matters and feel they dont have a big enough voice in the mainstream media. The mainstream media often the capitalist's own media refuse to publish union news stories in a positive light if they do publish stories on them its usually some good old union bashing. Well i'm a trades union member and will speak up for them and give them a voice if they need to. I wont defend them to the hilt of course but i will when i feel they have been misrepresented and anti union laws have been enforced.

So below are two news stories which have made the BBC today

Unions welcome court strike ruling
The RMT had called a strike on the Docklands Light Railway
Court halts train drivers strike
Two rail unions have welcomed a court ruling that prevents minor mistakes in balloting being used to halt strikes.

Aslef and the RMT challenged injunctions blocking strikes over small faults in procedure, such as polling those not entitled to vote.

The Court of Appeal clarified the law, saying unions cannot be expected to always have up-to-date membership records.

Trade union leaders called the ruling a "major step for industrial freedom".

Two strikes that were planned separately - by the RMT on London's Docklands Light Railway and by Aslef on London Midland - were halted in the courts because of what were seen as technicalities.

In the Aslef dispute, an overwhelming "yes" vote was set aside, because the employer objected to two ballot papers that had been sent to two members who were not entitled to take part.

The court said in future that the information should be "as accurate as was reasonably practicable" and that allowances should be made for "small accidental failures" in administration.

'Massive victory'

Richard Arthur, from the law firm Thompsons, who acted in the case, said the findings were a major victory for the union movement.

"There's been a series of cases over the last 18 months to two years where employers have found it easier to get injunctions and the way the legislation has been interpreted by the courts has been ever more restrictive," he said.

"This case redresses that balance and interprets the legislation in the way its supposed to be interpreted."

Keith Norman, Aslef's general secretary, said it had been almost impossible to take legal strike action in the UK.

"If the employer could find the tiniest discrepancy, the courts would find in the employer's favour," he said.

Bob Crow, leader of the RMT, called the result a "massive victory" and said it paved the way for millions of members to take action over cuts to jobs and services in the coming months.


--------------
The second story from the BBC news today on union matters well done the BBC for getting two in today is on post ofice workers pay and conditions.

Post Office staff vote to strike over pay
The Post Office says the Crown offices are losing £55m a year
Staff who work in Crown post offices have voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay and possible branch closures.

Communication Workers Union members at the 373 branches voted by nine to one for a strike, on a 66% turnout.

Talks are scheduled with the Royal Mail but strikes could start by the end of March if they were unsatisfactory, the CWU warned.

The Post Office said it was "disappointed" by the result, adding that deliveries would be unaffected.

The union said it was worried by the lack of pay rise this year and the future of the Crown offices.

'Job security'

Crown post offices form the network of main branches in the UK's High Streets and employ about 4,000 counter staff.

CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: "This ballot is about more than pay - it is the job security of our members and the future of the Crown office network which is also at stake.

"The government and the company appear to be hiding the fact that they are planning a programme of further Post Office closures," he added.

Last month, the Post Office rejected the CWU's claim for a staff pay rise, saying the Crown branches were losing money, amounting to £55m in the past year.

A spokesman for the Post Office, said: "Post Office is disappointed that staff in our 373 directly managed [Crown] branches have voted in favour of strike action. Some 97% of Post Offices are run by subpostmasters and they will be unaffected by any industrial action.

"Postal deliveries across the UK are also unaffected by this ballot result."


Just a few stories thre to get your teeth into. I'll trya nd highlight more union news stories in the coming weeks and months as giving unions a better voice on this blog may not be much but its something that the mainstream media fail to do.