#industrial action

[kropotkindersurprise]

July 25, 2023 - Striking stuntman Mike Massa walks in the SAG-AFTRA picket line while on fire. [video]

#sag aftra #strike #actor's strike #writer's strike #industrial action #workers #workers struggle #picket line #gif #2023 #stuntman #unions #screen actors guild #usa

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

BuT tHe PuBlIc DoNt SuPpOrT tHe StRiKeS

#uk politics #strikes #industrial action #public opinion #nurses #rmt #teachers #postal workers #bigger majorities here than the Tories ever got

[generalelectionmusings]

#rishi sunak #strikes #uk #politics #tory #conservative party #ukpol #industrial action

[damnesdelamer]

On the picket line the other day, I saw a former lecturer of mine, and we got talking. Part of the whole dispute we in UCU are involved in is around the fact that Higher Education as a sector has over £40 billion in reserves nationwide, and many universities have chosen to dump that into vanity projects like shiny new buildings (many of which are both exorbitantly expensive and also not fit-for-purpose), rather than invest in staff during the biggest cost of living crisis in living memory.

My former lecturer, a staunch liberal, intimated that £40 billion seems like a lot, so who knows if that money even exists. So I told him, here’s what I do know: three years ago, my managers, who were responsible for allocating a £5 million bid of government funding, ignored the advice of me and another expert on practical teaching equipment, and chose instead to spend more on products from existing contracts. This could be seen as corruption, but technically I think it’s just laziness. But it also amounts to a mutual agreement among university management and external contractors and suppliers to continue to profit off government funds, rather than invest in staff.

Over the last ten years, workers across Higher Education are being paid 25% less in real terms, due to stagnating wages, due to inflation, due to increased cost of living. This is to say nothing of the fallout from covid, or the arguably substantial decline in education standards new students receive (in spite of all the money dumped into new buildings and equipment).

Meanwhile, my institution’s student intake has nearly doubled in the past five years, which both means greater workload and, in theory, greater revenue. But who sees that money? Not me, nor even the lecturers who make twice as much as me, but you can bet that money is going somewhere.

Initially we had no offer of increased pay, then we went on strike and got an offer of 3% (again, in the face of a loss of 25% over the last decade in real terms), and then 5%. These ‘offers’ have been overwhelmingly rejected by UCU members, in part because they prove that that money does exist, and is available for our employers to give us our due. But more importantly, this is not just about pay, and the problems of workloads, pensions, mismanagement, and discrimination, which sparked the current strikes, won’t be solved by throwing money at them.

Nevertheless, slowly but surely, we are making advances. Industrial action works. Support the Unions and support the strikes!

Solidarity forever.

#UCUrising #UCU #UK politics #strikes #strike action #industrial action #original #University & College Union #trade union #labour union #up the union!

[leomonae]

I think strikes should be something they do in every job, for a short period and on a regular basis. Just to stop employers from getting too complacent.

"We will be striking for one week every year. You find out which week at 8 am on the Monday"

#strikes #industrial action #it'd be good for them #and also for the workers #nice little periodic reminder of where the power does and should lie

[barely-coherent-anarchist]

seeing a lot of discourse within the british media about these strikes, most notably the fact that several pundits and politicians are claiming that raising wages will "increase inflation".

to be completely blunt, this claim is absolute bullshit. wages haven't kept up with inflation since the 2007 financial crisis, and yet corporations (e.g. private rail companies) have reported record profits. so how the fuck is it acceptable for corporations to enjoy massive profits, but when workers demand pay rises to be able to afford to live, its somehow wrong?

and yes, i know strikes are disruptive, but that's kind of the fucking point. direct action, whether industrial or social only works when disruptive.

so yeah, support the strikes, support workers, and fuck the companies who refuse to pay them properly.

#socialism #marxism #communism #socialist #anarchism #leftist #leftism #communist #left wing #ancom #rmt strike #rmt union #trade unions #syndicalism #anarcho syndicalism #trade unionism #unionize #protest #industrial action #direct action #left unity #politics #ukpolitics #british politics #anti capitalism #anticapitalism #antiwar #right to protest #right to strike #rail strikes

[toakley]

I’d rather be at work, but here we are instead.

#BMA #junior doctors #strike #industrial action #NHS #fair pay #Chichester

[georgefairbrother]

On February 18th, 1981, a BBC headline announced something that would be unthinkable three years later, 'Thatcher Gives in to Miners'.

"…Mrs Thatcher's Conservative Government has withdrawn plans to close 23 pits in its first major u-turn since coming to power two years ago. President of the National Union of Mineworkers Joe Gormley is confident the government's intervention will avert the threatened national miners' strikes…"

After crisis talks in Whitehall between union leaders and Energy Secretary, David Howell, the government agreed to reduce coal imports from eight million to 5.5 million tons and to reinstate higher operating subsidies.

NUM President Joe Gormley stated that as a result of commitments given, he would not be recommending a strike despite overwhelming support for industrial action from within the union membership.

Not everyone was happy;

"…The next day the NUM told all miners to return to work after the executive voted to accept the concessions made by the government and coal board by 15 to 8, with one abstention. Some left-wing pits maintained unofficial stoppages and there were pickets outside the NUM headquarters in London…"

When the government confirmed an injection of 300 million pounds in industry support, the unofficial action was called off and rebel pits were operating again by 20th February. Just over a year later, Joe Gormley secured a 9.3 % pay rise for miners, and was replaced by Arthur Scargill as NUM President.

In a 2002 BBC documentary, a former Special Branch officer claimed that Joe Gormley was a security services informant during the 1970s, having become concerned over the increasing influence within the NUM of left-wing militants.

Arthur Scargill opined,

"…The history of our movement is littered with people in leadership positions who were either connected with Special Branch or connected with the State..."

Joe Gormley was awarded a Life Peerage in 1982, and passed away in 1993.

#social history #uk politics #working class history #social justice #modern history #uk government #british culture #society #uk history #coal mining #coal industry #industrial action #trade unions

[thecrownnet]

Equity Updates Strike Advice Due To “Panic & Confusion” Among UK Publicists Over Actors’ Press Duties

Jake Kanter, July 25, 2023

DEADLINE

[Photo: Actors Andy Serkis, David Oyelowo, Hayley Atwell, Rob Delaney, Brian Cox, Simon Pegg, Jim Carter, and Imelda Staunton, attend a rally by UK performers' group Equity, in solidarity with striking US actor collective SAG-AFTRA, in London, UK, on Friday, July 21, 2023. They hold a large purple banner that says "Equity stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA."]

EXCLUSIVE: British actors union Equity will today update strike guidance for publicity agents amid confusion over how stars should manage their promotional duties during the SAG-AFTRA walkout.

The union, which has said it will enthusiastically support industrial action within UK laws, is expected to update its strike FAQs after getting calls from publicists requesting clarity.

Multiple publicists have told Deadline that there is uncertainty over how they should be preparing for press campaigns over the coming months.

“Everybody’s in a state of panic and downing tools because they don’t want to put their clients in a difficult position,” said one publicist. Another added: “It’s difficult to see where actors stand and there is a lot of confusion.”

Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming encouraged publicists to check the contracts of their clients and plan campaigns accordingly.

He said actors on a SAG-AFTRA deal are likely to be told by the U.S. union that they are forbidden from doing promotional work. Those on an Equity agreement are not on strike and should fulfill their contractual duties.

“The contract is in dispute, not the union itself,” Fleming said. “American actors are still recording TV commercials. Americans are still recording audiobooks, including for struck companies … because the agreements that they’re recording on are not subject to the dispute.”

Deadline hears that British actors have voiced reservations about doing interviews and other publicity work during the strike, even when they are on Equity deals. 

One publicist said contracts often include a vague provision for “reasonable publicity,” which could be open to interpretation in terms of the volume of promotional work an actor undertakes.

Fleming said members are welcome to contact Equity for specific advice if they are concerned that they are undermining a strike by going “above and beyond” their contractual duties.

“Do you have to carry on doing press and publicity as specified in your contract if you’re on an Equity agreement? Yes. If you’re contractually bound to do ‘reasonable press and publicity,’ what does that now mean? Well, that will depend on the circumstances,” Fleming said.

“What are you objecting to, in particular? Going on a chat show in these circumstances, for instance, maybe a more reasonable thing to object to, as opposed to having a photograph taken.”

The union would never actively advise members to renege on press duties to support the strikes because it could be seen as an inducement to take illegal industrial action.

#imelda staunton #jim carter #actors strike #sag strike #the crown netflix #the crown #downton abbey #downton abbey movie #sag aftra #sag aftra strike #uk actors equity #equity #in solidarity #industrial action #british actors #fans4wga #writers strike #wga strike #andy serkis #david oyelowo #hayley atwell #rob delaney #brian cox #simon pegg #thecrownnet

[kropotkindersurprise]

December 7, 2023 - Hundreds of UK union workers blockaded companies who sell weapons or parts for fighter jets that Israel uses for its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. Four factories were blockaded in Bournemouth, Lancashire, Brighton and Glasgow. Palestinian unions have asked for union workers across the world to use their power to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. Dock workers have recenty heeded this call for solidarity by blocking Israeli weapons shipments in several countries, inculding South Africa, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, and Italy. [video]

#solidarity #unions #palestine #free palestine #blockade #workers #working class #industrial action #gif #occupation #apartheid #anti-colonialism #2023 #dockworkers #uk #factory #working clas #gaza

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

Up the workers.

#uk politics #Amazon #fuck Amazon #unions #trade union #strike #industrial action #don't cross the picket line

[bleistiftung]

#proletkult #soviet #communist #japanese communist party #1930s #class struggle #japanese graphic design #japanese illustration #industrial action #labor union

[damnesdelamer]

My boss: [the manager of our client/partner] emailed me to tell you they don't want you mentioning unions to their employees.

Me: I'm pretty sure it's illegal to explicitly forbid union members organising, but the national industrial action has been announced publicly anyway.

Boss: Well they just don't want you to mention it.

Me: Remember on my first day, when I had to walk in due to rail strikes, and you said I could work from home for as long as those strikes continued? This is just like that. All I did was ask [our client/partner] if they were aware of the ongoing industrial action in order to address possible delays.

Boss: But if you were a member of the rail union --

Me: Which I am.

Boss: 😐

#unions #trade union #unionise #unionize #solidarity forever! #agitate educate organise! #the union makes us strong! #unionise your workplace! #unionize your workplace! #industrial action #trade unions #original #up the union!

[beccaboxes]

It's not "quiet quitting" it's Work To Rule

#Politics #Strike #industrial action #uk politics #scottish politics #unionise

[ukprotestnetwork]

Laws: Industrial Action

Uh, so the laws on Industrial Action in the UK are kind of complicated. We do not actually have the right to go on strike in this country. If we do, we have to jump through a million hoops to show that we have reason to.

Essentially, the law makes it as hard as possible to strike and heavily favours the employers over the workers.

Basic important things to remember if you are in a union/ want to take industrial action:

You are not protected if you participate in a 'wildcat strike'

If you do not vote when your union sends out a ballot, it counts as a vote against the strike

You must only participate in a dispute related to your own employer, therefore you are NOT allowed to strike in solidarity with other trades. You will not be protected from dismissal if you do so.

Non-union members who take part in legal industrial action have the same rights are union members not to be dismissed (A/N: I didn't know this!)

Other things to remember:

Unions in the UK essentially have to be approved by the gov, so they have to follow these rules or they are not allowed to operate. Hence why the International Workers of the World is not a recognised union here

Relevant Laws:

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

Employment Rights Act 1996

Links to useful pages:

Government Website on Industrial Action

The Trade Union Congress' Guide to Industrial Action

#ukprotestnetwork #industrial action #laws #uk politics

[cassolotl]

UK petition against creation of anti-strike laws

I've started a UK petition against anti-strike laws. Click here to sign it. People in the UK and British citizens anywhere are eligible to sign.

Refrain from making laws that restrict strike action.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is working on "new tough laws" to protect people from strike disruption. [1]

We the undersigned fully support industrial action by NHS staff, public transport staff, teachers, etc. We oppose the creation of laws restricting industrial action in any way.

More details: [1] "PMQs: Rishi Sunak working on 'tough' new anti-strike laws", 2022-12-07: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63885549

[ Sign ]

Also you can track the signature graph here.

#UK #petition #strikes #industrial action