Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / usdawactivist@gmail.com / Facebook: Usdaw Activist the Activist Issue 53 September 2014 Bulletin of Socialist Party members in Inside: p2 - IKEA lockout / Quick News P3/4 - Retail Workers & BDS campaigns p5 - Review: A Land Fit for Heroes Earlier this year the Activist commented on the outrage after a whole swathe of ADM propositions were ruled out of order by the EC without branches being given the op- posrtunity to make minor amendments as per USDAWs rulebook.
This caused outrage amongst activists as several proposi- tions were thrown out on the most minute of considera- tions, particularly as this years ADM was the only year in three when branches could submit propositions to change the unions rulebook (The EC can do so at every ADM).
Despite not forcing the ECs decision back on this matter for the 2104 ADM, a recom- mendation was passed at the July EC meeting to implement a procedure which would al- low for the provisions of clause one of the Standing Order for Delegate Meetings.
This is a victory for union de- mocracy. Any delegate who has attended ADM will be ap- palled at the way that the un- ions leadership attempt to sweep aside propositions that they politically disagree with rather than debate the issues out openly.
Worse is way that proposi- tions which have been de- mocratically passed by ADM often get left with only action being to write to the govern- ment about the issue rather than campaign.
The Activist would like to pay tribute to those members who have complained about the way their propositions were treated and to the few EC members who have backed them in challenging this.
However, the fight for the un- ion to adopt a fighting stance on issues affecting members continues. Activists will now have to prepare propositions for the 2015 ADM in mid- September and early October. The Activist looks forward to seeing propositions arguing for a campaigning stance on the many issues that affect our members.
But if we wish to see such propositions fully imple- mented, we must campaign to ensure the election of fighting EC members in the upcoming elections too.
ADM and the unions democratic structures must be defended and ex- tended by activists if we want to see USDAW adopt a fighting stance Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / usdawactivist@gmail.com / Facebook: Usdaw Activist IKEA workers at Richmond Ikea store in Vancouver, Canada have been locked out for almost 14 months in a dispute over wage and benefits. The company wants to implement a two-tier wage system (a system workers struck success- fully to get rid of in 2006) as well as force family workers to work 24 hours instead of 20 before claiming workplace benefits. This is despite the company setting a worldwide profits record in 2013. The threat of having to work extra hours is especially galling as only 110 of the 350 strong workforce actually have guaranteed hours. In the two weeks running up to the strike only 13 out of 32 cashiers had shifts! Initially the workers, members of the Teamsters union, planned a 72 -hour strike against this, but have been locked out since May 13 th
2013. Although 36 workers have crossed the picket line (after IKEA offered extra payments to do so an act that the BC Labour Rela- tions Board has found illegal), around 300 remain out, manning 24-hour pickets. The strike has shut the childrens play area, res- taurant and reduced the stores opening hours. To escalate the ac- tion, a call has gone out to boycott IKEA stores. The Richmond store is one of only 12 across the country, with only one other store union- ised. In contrast, IKEA in the US has just announced a rise in its minimum wage of 17%, from $9.17 an hour to $10.76 starting January 1 st
2015, which will benefit around 50% of its workforce across 38 stores. In a statement the com- panys acting President says that they wont raise prices, cut staff or stop hiring, they will absorb the pay rise from the companys prof- its. IKEAs only factory in the US, in Virginia, voted to unionise in the International Association of Ma- chinists and Aerospace Workers 3 years ago, followed a year later by its Maryland distribution centre. The difference in the fate of IKEA in the two countries is striking, but comes down one crucial factor the huge movement that has de- veloped fighting for $15 an hour across the US, from striking fast food and retail workers to the elec- tion of Kshama Sawant in Seattle and the pushing through of the city wide wage rise there. As well as building and taking industrial ac- tion in defence of our interests, we have to build links in soli- darity with other move- ments and ultimately, our own political representa- tives to give voice to our interests and demands. Visit the locked out workers facebook page https:// www.facebook.com/pages/ IKEA- Lockout/519299924818132 Quick News: The Partys Over for Mid- counties Co-operative
Early in July Midcounties co- operative announced they were withdrawing from paying sub- scriptions in October to the Co- operative Party, whose 32 MPs sit in parliament as part of the Labour Party.
In a statement to the press they said that the move was prompted by a survey which showed 25% of people were less likely to shop there if they knew about the Co-ops dona- tions, as opposed to 3% who were more likely.
However, the Activist wonders whether its got more to do with them propping up a party who are doing the Tories dirty work in councils up and down the country and promise to carry on with austerity if they win the general election.
Further US Fast Food Strikes
On Thursday 4th September another wave of the huge movement of Fast Food Strikes for decent working conditions, regular hours and a $15 an hour minimum wage.
This time the movement spread to over 150 cities across the US, and comes on the back of the celebrated victory of the $15 an hour minimum wage in Seattle, a fight led by recently elected Socialist Alternative councillor Kshama Sawant. IKEA Lockout: A Tale of Two Labour Movements Locked out IKEA workers picket line Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / usdawactivist@gmail.com / Facebook: Usdaw Activist The horrendous loss of life which has taken place in Gaza over the past few months has shocked many around the world. Around 2,000 have died and almost half a million people are internally dis- placed within the tiny Gaza strip itself.
Such carnage sparked numerous demonstrations in Britain, rightly demanding that Israel stops it on- slaught on the people of Gaza.
Yet despite the current ceasefire, the suffering in Gaza continues. Israel has maintained a land, air and sea blockade of Gaza since the election of a Hamas govern- ment in 2007.
The blockade has reduced exports from Gaza to 3% of their level be- fore it was erected. Instead Gazans have had to resort to us- ing tunnels across the border to transport the small amount of goods in.
Israel alleges that these tunnels have also been used to smuggle weapons, including rockets which are launched over the border at Israeli villages. Whilst socialists would support the right of the Palestinians to defend themselves from the Israeli mili- tary, including with arms, we would question how effective the rocket attacks are, given almost all of them are stopped by the US- financed Iron Dome system and those that do hit civilian targets only serve to drive ordinary Is- raelis into the hands of its right- wing government.
Gaza is of course only one part of the Palestinians occupied territo- ries. In the West Bank well over hundred settlements have been built stealing Palestinian lands, as well as other encroachments on both Gaza and the West Banks borders, with one of the most re- cent land grabs being the erection of the so-called peace fence.
Boycotts & South Africa
This is where Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) campaigns come in for a whole layer of activ- ists. Such campaigns can help raise awareness of the tragic situation in Palestine, whilst di- rectly helping to undermine the Israeli occupation. Parallels are sometimes drawn between boycotts of South Africa in 1980s and BDS campaigns in relation to Israel today. Such com- parisons often ignore the fact that it was the mass movement of the working class on the ground in South Africa which ended the apartheid regime. Boycotts played a role as auxiliary to that struggle.
Moreover, the South African work- ing class which brought about the collapse of Apartheid was over- whelmingly made up of black workers. The situation in Israel- Palestine is somewhat more com- plex given the existence of a large Israeli working class too.
What force can bring liberation?
Ultimately it is the capitalist classes of imperialism, who benefit from this division of workers in the region, for them Israel is their re- gional policeman. Additionally the Israeli ruling class use the conflict both to super-exploit Palestinian workers in factories in the over 100 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where special restrictions on workers rights apply, as well as using fear of attack as a national- ist whip against Israeli workers. Living standards in Israel have declined much as they have done across the West over the past few decades which sparked a tent city protest inspired by the revolution- ary movements across the Arab world in 2012.
Socialists fully defend the national aspirations of the Palestinian masses, including the right to re- turn, but we also defend the right of national self-determination for the Israeli masses too. Only on the basis of a Socialist Israel alongside a Socialist Palestine as part of a Socialist confederation of the Middle East, taking into public Retail Workers & BDS Campaigns Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / usdawactivist@gmail.com / Facebook: Usdaw Activist ownership the key sectors of the economy and using those to pro- vide a decent standard of living for all, can the problems of the region be resolved.
The Role of BDS
For socialists, BDS can play an important adjunct to this struggle. But this is on the condition it is used to aid the struggles of all workers in the region. This in par- ticular means targeting companies and institutions which benefit di- rectly from the occupation of Pal- estinian lands.
This can mean companies such as Soda Stream or the Ariel Univer- sity - both of which are based in illegal Israeli settlements on Pales- tinian lands. It also means compa- nies exporting arms or other equipment to be used in the occu- pied territories. (A fuller elabora- tion of how socialists approach BDS campaigns is in the June 2013 issue of Socialism Today m a g a z i n e - h t t p : / / www.soci al i smtoday. org/169/ israel.html)
For retail workers, the most press- ing issue is stocking of goods from the illegal settlements in the Occu- pied Territories. These include ol- ives, dates, wines, diary products and whole number of other items which are stocked in supermar- kets. At present the Co-op is the only UK supermarket to fully re- fuse to have dealings with settle- ment based companies and goods, although Tesco announced in July it would stop stocking dates pack- aged in the West Bank.
Unfortunately, a small minority of BDS protests recently have re- sulted in intimidation of retail staffpotentially cutting across their sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. An approach which places blame on workers (and even customers) for the poli- cies of the supermarket giants to boost their profits is counter- productive.
BDS campaigns should work with staff in the UK companies they are targeting to conduct campaigns. Empowering workers through their unions democratic structure to join the campaign would also al- low space for the important de- mand of democratic workers & consumers control of a publicly owned food & retail industry.
That demand linked to the nation- alisation of production under workers control and the socialist transformation of society is the only way to guarantee the ethical production of the food and goods we use everyday, not just in rela- tion to national oppression, but also in relation to the environment and other issues.
Usdaw & BDS campaigns
The last time that Usdaw debated the situation in relation to the Is- rael/Palestine conflict was at the 2012 ADM where a proposition to affiliate to allow branches to affili- ate to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign was lost. In that debate the EC changed its stance mid- debate from opposing to support with very heavy qualifications.
Usdaws leaderships position on these issues has been poor, with them donating money to Labour Friends of Israel, a right-wing lobby group which defends the repressive actions of the Israeli ruling class. Moreover, at the 2011 ADM debate over an emergency proposition on the Middle East, John Hannett argued that western intervention into Libya was not imperialist. Whilst socialists were not upset to see the end of the repressive Gaddafi dictatorship, the intentions of the US, UK, France and others were imperialist in wishing to regain the influence over the region which had been weakened by the mass revolts in Egypt & Tunisia. It precisely ...further(ed) American and British strategic and economic interests.
To contribute to an end of the conflict, Usdaw should offer practi- cal assistance to the organisation of Palestinian & Israel workers. It should also support BDS cam- paigns to force supermarkets and retail companies stocking products produced in the Occupied Territo- ries. One of the large protests over the recent Israeli onslaught on Gaza A Land Fit For Heroes: War and the Working Class 1914-18 Exhibition at the Peoples History Museum Manchester funded by TUC & USDAW Free entrance Runs until March 2015
A Land Fit For Heroes is a small exhibit in the Peoples History Mu- seum in Salford, funded by the TUC and Usdaw to show the ex- periences of workers in the First World War. Disappointingly the ex- hibit neglects the some of the con- text of the war, where prior to it the Second International had pledged to organise mass strikes to stop war coming about, which is perhaps to be expected given Us- daw leaderships opposition to any such militant action. Nevertheless, the exhibit still provides a glimpse into the way the war affected the lives of many workers and their families.
The exhibit shows the horrors of the xenophobia whipped up during the war a large poster advertis- ing the Anti-German Union featur- ing a picture of John Bull grappling with a many headed snake. A pho- tograph shows a mob outside a shop with the words We Are Rus- sians inscribed on the windows.
The signage makes great play of the fact that many trade union leaders supported the war . There are some letters from John Ward a liberal MP and trade union leader displayed who went to join the whites under Admiral Kolchak against the Bolsheviks in Russia.
Conversely, there is only a limited section of the exhibit about those opposed to the war, a banner is displayed from the No More War Movement, founded by ILP mem- ber and Labour leader editor Fen- ner Brockway. Neither is there any mention of the Shop Stewards Movement that developed during the war, the only reference to in- dustrial action taking place is a 1918 photo of striking print work- ers who were evicted from their homes. No reference is even made to members of Usdaws predeces- sor union, AUCE, whose members in Coalburn in Scotland were on strike for the whole of 1914. Nor any mention of the 11 week strike of Plymouth Co-op workers led by Ellen Wilkinson.
The impact of the war on women workers is not overlooked in the same fashion. A letter hints at the profiteering going on by employers who only paid women youth rates for their work. Most of the com- mentary is devoted to the role of the suffragettes during the war, with photos of Emmeline Pankhurst leading marches demanding war work for women.
In the same vein as much of the rest of the exhibit, it attempts hints to this as being the main driver of improvements in the position of women in society. However, the exhibit points out that The Resto- ration of Pre-War Practices Act gave returning men priority of em- ployment over women. By 1921 the number of women employed was less than 1911. Propaganda posters encouraging women to re- enter domestic service are dis- played, as well as a poster implor- ing the ruling class Dont keep more servants than you really need
Prominence is also given to those Labour MPs who joined the war- time coalition government, such as Labour Party leader Arthur Hender- son. Indeed the exhibit explicitly states This helped persuade a pre- viously sceptical population that Labour could be trusted as a party of government.
It is often well known that many Labour MPs who had been in op- position to the war lost their seats in the 1918 coupon or khaki elec- tions. What is often not mentioned (including by the exhibit) was that a number of Labour seats had been in two-seat constituencies, all of which were abolished alongside the extension of the voting fran- chise to men over 21 and women over 30, as well as elections being held on a single day for the first time ever.
Overall, many of the pieces dis- played at the museum will be of interest to many workers, but the narrowness of the context they are put in will make it difficult to draw conclusions about the real lessons for today. Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / usdawactivist@gmail.com / Facebook: Usdaw Activist Review: A Land Fit for Heroes? One of the few anti-war exhibits