2011 for Liberty & Solidarity

2011 was a monumental year. As the Tory cuts began to bite we saw two of the biggest strikes in living memory and saw organised labour begin to flex its collective muscles. We also saw the darker side of a polarising country, but it cannot be denied that we have seen an unprecedented rise in struggle. We’ve seen unions growing at an outstanding rate, we’ve seen anti-cuts groups spring up across the country and we’ve seen students continue their struggles that exploded last year.

Within L&S, 2011 was also an historic year. We’ve established a new branch in Scotland and are looking at the possibility of splitting the Scotland Branch into two separate branches – one in Glasgow, one in Edinburgh. With Scotland developing plans to be a renewable energy powerhouse in Europe, syndicalist views and influences are needed, so this is an amazing development for us. We’ve also been building on our fraternal links we have with similar groups on the continent, developing a close working relationship with the CSR which has led us to collectively signing a declaration calling for the establishment of an international syndicalist tendency, and has helped them link into labour struggles in this country. We have also published a book. However, this is not a money making venture, rather it’s an attempt to spread good practice. Called ‘Rise of the Residents’ it outlines the tools and tactics that community organisers need to use. We plan this to be the first in a series of books called ‘Building blocks’ where we hope to propagate certain ideas and methods of organising.

Internally, we’ve also been developing. After identifying a knowledge gap amongst our members, we’ve implemented a series of educational day schools looking at topics as diverse as marketing and feminist theory. In an attempt to address other internal imbalances we’ve created an equalities officer post as well, in an attempt to rectify the age-old problem of most activists being white men.

There have also been big developments in various organisations we’re involved with. After the disappointment of seeing the National Shop Stewards Network becoming another national anti-cuts group rather than remaining as a grass roots network of shop stewards (a move we argued against), the NSSN syndicalist grouping has remained in contact and we co-ordinate occasionally over certain things. After the NSSN changed focus, the decision was taken with comrades to focus our energies elsewhere. Therefore, L&S members along with our syndicalist and other allies have participated in the re-launching of trade union magazine Solidarity, with a view to creating a network (virtual and actual) around the magazine hub – we will still have the benefits of the NSSN idea without as many factional elements. Also, we’ve worked closely with comrades in London around the two mass trade union strikes held this year – J30 and N30 where we saw the biggest strikes and demonstrations for decades. J30strike.org was an independent web site that allowed striking workers to past where their pickets were and also independently organise solidarity, etc. It has also widened our periphery and contacts network. As a result of this and other sterling work elsewhere, such as in Birmingham, L&S have been in contact with many striking sparkies. These connections have allowed the sparkies to gain contact with French comrades.

In the IWW, we have seen some pretty fundamental changes. This year has been one of growth and consolidation – in London we’ve seen growth on the buses where scores of workers are clamouring to join the IWW. The IWW has progressed to some concrete gains. After gaining the Certificate of Independence concessions for the cleaners have been won in some of London’s most iconic workplaces, such as Guildhall. In certain workplaces the IWW has entered into discussions to be the recognised union in those workplaces. Their living wage campaign has gained support from other unions (notably the RMT and PCS) and has even attracted the support from some MPs, leading to an early day motion being tabled in Parliament and a meeting for the cleaners held in the House of Commons. In London a new regional Delegates Committee has been founded. This is where delegates from all the branches (the GMB, the cleaners, the print workers and the bus drivers) come together to discuss co-ordinated actions. This is another step towards building the IWW to what it was always meant to be – a union for all workers organised industrially with workers in the same industry and workplace, along the supply chain. 

Elsewhere in the IWW things have also continued at pace. In Reading the branch has doubled in size over 6 months after the brilliant work by a (non-L&S) Fellow Worker. The Brunel Group, inspired by the victories of the workers in London, have held protests culminating in a 50 minute protest which won cleaners there their contracts (something which had consistently been denied to them for years previously). The Brunel Group, firmly rooted in the cleaners at the university, has been growing at an amazing rate and will soon be established enough to become an independent branch, again a step towards proper industrial unionism. 

All this growth has contributed to another exciting development – the inaugural strategy conference, where the BIRA will meet for the first time to discuss and decide the future direction of the union, setting goals and allowing us to grow in a more strategic, and ultimately a more powerful, way. The IWW is also developing the functionality to set up Direct Debit dues payments, further consolidating and stabilising its membership and finances and putting the union on a stronger footing to facilitate further growth. With the development of internal departments (such as the organising department, the literature department and the technical department), the IWW is ensuring the infrastructure of the union is up to the job of supporting a fighting union, geared to win!