The Green Party Trade Union Group will host a speaker from Free Our Unions at its monthly members meeting, taking place on Friday 20 August at 6pm. The meeting is open to all members of the Green Party. Register for the meeting here.
Category Archives: Trade Unions
Unite against anti-union laws
Free Our Unions is supporting this statement, launched by activists in the Unite union. If you’re a member of Unite, please sign as an individual and propose support for the statement in your branch.
Video: Disabled people for free trade unions
The speeches from our May public meeting are now online. The meeting was co-organised with RMT Disabled Members’ Advisory Committee and Neurodivergent Labour, and featured contributions from: Mario Kyriacou, Tower Hamlets UnisonElane Heffernan, Disabled Members’ Rep, UCU NECJanine Booth, Secretary, RMT Disabled Members’ Advisory CommitteeDavid King, Chair, RMT Disabled Members’ Advisory Committee
GMB Congress takes strong stand against anti-union laws
The 2021 congress of the GMB, Britain’s third largest trade union, took place on 6-8 June. The congress passed the following resolution on the issue of anti-union legislation. Congress notes: • The Tories’ 2019 election manifesto included further attacks on the right to strike,i.e. the requirement for ‘Minimum Service Agreements’ in any railway strike, inContinue reading “GMB Congress takes strong stand against anti-union laws”
‘Solidarity at Work: The Case for Free Trade Unions’: a pamphlet from Thames Central CWU branch, 1997
Free Our Unions is proud to recirculate this pamphlet, written by Communication Workers Union (CWU) activists Maria Exall and Paul Moore, and published by the Thames Central branch of the CWU in 1997. The arguments within it still have resonance today, and give historical context for ongoing debates about how the labour movement should approachContinue reading “‘Solidarity at Work: The Case for Free Trade Unions’: a pamphlet from Thames Central CWU branch, 1997”
“Workers have never been gifted anything. We’ve protested and won.”
This is a speech given by Fire Brigades Union National Officer and Free Our Unions activist Riccardo la Torre at the 2021 May Day protest in Southend in Essex. A transcript of the speech is below the video. I’m Riccardo la Torre from the Fire Brigades Union, bringing May Day solidarity to all of you. It’s fantastic,Continue reading ““Workers have never been gifted anything. We’ve protested and won.””
Free Our Unions public meeting, Tuesday 2 March, 6:30pm
CONFRONTING ANTI-UNION LAWS Tuesday 2 March, 6:30pm-8pm Log in via Zoom here. How have recent and ongoing workers’ struggles confronted restrictive anti-strike and anti-union legislation, and what effect would it have on those struggles if those restrictions were removed? We’ll hear from speakers involved in disputes and campaigns about how they’ve dealt with these issues,Continue reading “Free Our Unions public meeting, Tuesday 2 March, 6:30pm”
Overturn Shrewsbury convictions – and scrap today’s anti-strike laws!
The Free Our Unions campaign sends its full support to the trade unionists currently pursuing a Court of Appeal case to overturn their 1972 convictions for their role in a construction workers’ strike over pay and health and safety issues. The appellants are the 14 surviving members of the “Shrewsbury 24”. One of the long-runningContinue reading “Overturn Shrewsbury convictions – and scrap today’s anti-strike laws!”
Enact TUC policy!
For the past two years, TUC Congress has passed radical policy on the anti-union laws. The 2019 policy stated: “Congress believes workers need strong rights to join, recruit to and be represented by an independent union; strike/take industrial action by a process, at a time and for demands of their own choosing, including in solidarityContinue reading “Enact TUC policy!”
UK union observers attend US trade union convention as it passes historic general strike resolution
By Daniel Randall, Assistant Chair, RMT Bakerloo branch Reposted from the RMT London Calling website Three activists from the RMT Bakerloo branch attended, via Zoom, the Saturday 21 November convention of the Vermont State Labour Council (AFL-CIO) as observers. The convention was attended by nearly 100 delegates and guests, from local union branches and campaign groups, asContinue reading “UK union observers attend US trade union convention as it passes historic general strike resolution”
Free Our Unions 