Bulletin of Socialist Party members working in retail and distribution
ADM bulletin number 1, April 2009
‘I’d like to thank all the delegates and visitors to this conference who voted for me in
the election for General Secretary helping me achieve 40.6% of the vote’ Robbie Segal
Dear Sisters and Brothers
Unfortunately, 2009 is developing into one of the hardest years faced by retail workers for decades. During my campaign for Usdaw’s general secretary, I said that what was at stake was the future direction of the union.
My socialist message received 40% of the vote. If the election had taken place today, I am sure the bankruptcy of the present leadership’s policies - as shown by their response to the economic crisis - would have given me even more votes. My warning that there needed to be a change of attitude because the union would not be ready to face the challenges of the impending economic crisis has proven correct. It is clear from recent reports that two of the major UK banks came within hours of collapse and New Labour came to their rescue and the tax payer paid the bill. Our members have contributed millions to save the banks and yet when our jobs are threatened there is no help for us.
What is needed is a militant programme of action which includes: demonstrations, lobbying the government, occupations of the stores and workplaces, and the nationalisation of the major retailers. The trade unions have been silent, Usdaw must demand at the TUC that a progamme of coordinated action be planned which must include one day stoppages. John Hannett and the policies of Usdaw leaders’ have been tested with their response to the Woolworth closure. They have failed. We need Usdaw to fight for every job and argue for nationalisation of all large retail and distribution outlets when they threaten closure or redundancy. I am backing the No2EU- Yes to Democracy challenge in the Euroelections, see below for more info.
Comradely
Robbie Segal
No2EU-Yes to Democracy offers the only realistic alternative of persuading workers rightly disgusted with the mainstream capitalist parties not to cast a protest vote for the BNP. No candidate on the No2EU list would benefit financially from their election and they would use the nominal position of MEP to fight against the EU’s neo-liberal agenda, in Britain and Europe. No2EU is a coalition for the European elections, and is only a tentative first step to independent working-class political representation. It will at bottom provide a pro-worker alternative to New Labour in June’s poll.
Support the Union Led Challenge to New Labour
THE MILLIONS of people now facing job losses, home repossessions, short-time working and wage cuts can expect nothing from the pro-market establishment politicians. After all, these are the same people who got us into this mess in the first place!
It was Gordon Brown, for example, who boasted at a speech before business leaders at London’s Mansion House just 18 months ago, that the New Labour government had helped create “a new golden age for the City”. He speaks now of the need for ‘new global rules’. But then he hailed the unleashed financial markets for creating a “new world order”, achieving “the greatest restructuring of the global economy, perhaps even greater than the industrial revolution”! Workers and young people suffering the consequences of his pro-big business policies have no mass political party to represent them as the crisis of the free market system deepens.
That’s why the announcement that the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT) is backing an electoral alliance to contest the forthcoming European elections in June is so important. For the first time ever a national trade union, the RMT, the most militant industrial
union in Britain, is mounting an electoral challenge to New Labour, under the name No2EU-Yes to Democracy.
No2EU-Yes to Democracy concentrates on opposition to the European Union (EU) constitution (now re-packaged as the Lisbon treaty), which enshrines free market economics into EU law. It also stands against the EU’s directives instructing governments to privatise and cut public services, and the anti-trade union rulings of the European Court of Justice that are driving our wages, conditions and job prospects down in ‘a race to the bottom’.
No2EU-Yes to Democracy is a coalition for the European elections. But it represents another step towards rebuilding political representation for working class people, absent from Britain since the 1990s transformation of the Labour Party into the completely capitalist New Labour.
Come to the Broadleft meeting tonight (Sunday)
Speakers will include Robbie Segal EC member (in a personal capacity) and Mick Cotter Unite member to speak about the Visteon dispute, where 600 workers were informed 5 minutes before their shift end that they had no job and no redundancy pay or pension intitlements. A discussion will also be had on the No2EU- Yes to Democracy electoral challenge.
Thursday 30 April 2009
Retail and Distribution Activist no 17
Bulletin of Socialist Party members working in retail and distribution
March 2009
Usdaw Activist Public Meeting
· Do the Usdaw leaders have the strategy to defend members in the recession?
· Come along and discuss where next for the campaign to change Usdaw into a Union that fights for its members
4 April, 11am-3pm,
Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street,
near Euston station, London
Join the Struggle – Against the Rich
G 20 demo –
“8th April, the Demo leaves the Embankment at 12.00
Youth Fight for Jobs
Starts on 2 April and is passing through London’s highest areas of unemployment and end at the ExCel Centre where the rich countries leaders are meeting. If you want to know more ring 02085587947
The Credit Crunch and Poverty
The economic crisis has pushed a further 60 million people into absolute poverty which means living on less than $1 a day. This will mean that over an extra one million children will die prematurely. The world’s governments have provided millions of pounds to save the banks but have never provided even a small fraction of this sum to save the starving children of the world.
The Activist and the supporters of the Socialist Party believe that the failure to solve the problems faced by the world even in the good times shows that the capitalism is a bankrupt system. In the long term, unless we rid ourselves of these parasites, more and more people will slip into the poverty trap,
Billionaire Crisis
OK, So you may have lost your job, are hopelessly in dept and are having your house repossessed as a result of the capitalist economic. But spare a thought for the real losers – those pinnacles of society. According to Forbes magazine, the world’s billionaires have, on average, lost a quarter of their wealth – some £2 trillion – due to the financial meltdown and developing recession. In fact, things are so bad that 335 of last year’s billionaires have been regulated to the ranks of the mere millionaires.
How will US speculator Warren Buffet pay hie electricity and gas bills after his wealth dropped from $41 billion last year to just $24 billion today? And how will the Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC sugar-daddy, Roman Abramovich, afford his season ticket now that his bank balance has shrunk from !^ billion to less than £6 billion.
If any reader would like to assist in the rehabilitation of these tragic victims of capitalist greed – through socialist expropriation.
Campaigning to Save the Post Office and the £500,000 donation to New Labour
Usdaw has just donated £500,000 to New Labour. Our members are asking why are we handing over the cash and we get nothing in return.
In the last edition of the Activist, we called for Usdaw members to support the campaign against New Labour’s plans to part-privatise the Post Office. At a meeting between the trade unions and New Labour at the Warwick University in 2008, Labour promised to keep the Post Office in the public Sector. Now they are willing to sell part of it off. We hope that when Usdaw’s leaders handed over our money, John Hannett mentioned to Brown of his Post Office commitment.
John Hannett, along with other trade union leaders, signed a protest letter to the Guardian (26.2.09). The letter is interesting because it shows the bankruptcy of New Labour and how they serve the interests of big business rather the working people. We print extracts of the letter below.
‘Within that Warwick agreement was a clear commitment to maintaining Royal Mail in the public sector: "We have set out a vision of a wholly publicly owned, integrated Royal Mail group in good health providing customers with an excellent service and its employees with rewarding employment."
This commitment was agreed by all affiliated trade unions in the belief that it guaranteed the future of Royal Mail as "wholly publicly owned". This was our belief in the summer, and it was the belief of the 2008 Labour party conference, which voted to support this policy.
We are deeply concerned that the Labour party now appears to be willing to break that commitment by adopting the recommendations of the Hooper report. Its proposals to bring in a "strategic partner", via an exchange of equity, clearly constitutes the part privatisation of Royal Mail.
The affiliated trade unions believe that the part-privatisation of Royal Mail is electorally unpopular, politically unwise and damaging to the concept of universal service provision. Furthermore, to break a pledge so recently made undermines the legitimacy of our policy process and raises questions about the validity of other agreements reached.
We are unanimous in our opposition to the proposed privatisation of Royal Mail, and ask that the government reconsiders its response before it becomes a dividing line within our movement.
The New Labour government has announced plans to part privatise the Post Office. In a recent survey, nine out of every 10 people oppose its privatisation.
The CWU, the post office workers’ union, has launched a campaign against the government's intention to privatise Royal Mail. They are calling for people to sign their petition opposing privatisation at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Royal-Mail-Sale/
Letters to the Activist
Dear Activist,
As a shop worker on £6 an hour, I earn £240 a week and that makes a yearly income of £12,480. So if I earn the same wage for the next ten years, I would have received £124,800 and in a lifetime of work (50 years) the grand total will reach £624,000.
I will earn £624,000 over a lifetime and one parasite banker will get a yearly pension of £693,000. The politicians say there is nothing to be done. He has a contract. They can nationalise bankrupt banks and I say let’s nationalise Godwin and share out his wealth.
A Scottish Usdaw member
The Activist: Well it is not only bankers who have fabulous pensions, even our own Terry Leahy, the Tesco boss, has £10 million in his pension pot and that will give him £710,000 a year. But don’t feel too sorry for him as he earned £2.4 million last year.
Dear Activist
Today, I heard Mr. Gordon Brown on a question & answer programme on BBC RADIO 4 today circa 12.30 hours. He was challenged by a number of people really fed up as they were just coming up or reached retirement and when they got told what Pension they were about to receive, it was way short of what they had planned for. In fact one person said that he could not now afford to retire on what he was quoted, typical Mr. Brown sidestepped the answer. This is just disgusting in my opinion, & I have found when recruiting for USDAW, people ARE BEING FORCED BACK TO WORK SO THEY CAN PAY THEIR EVER INCREASING BILLS.
SO PENSION PLANNING IS VERY IMPORTANT, MIND YOU, TO THOSE WHO HAVE," THE GOVERNMENT APPEARS TO BE PENALISING THEM", JUST LIKE THE 10p RIP OFF, BROWN keeps hitting the people who cannot fight back, OH WHY IS THIS???.
Good luck in your news letter,
Derrick Frost,
VERY angry retired USDAW member!!
Dear Activist,
As I was walking to do the local shops I passed the recently closed Woolworths. The shutters were down and the doors shut. It had been a regular shop to visit in our high street since I was a boy. Now it is gone and I am sure it won’t be the last store to close.
As I turn the corner, there are more empty shops and along with the post office they are all boarded up. My next stop was my bank. All my working life, I have called for the nationalisation of the banks. Now I own it. Alas the Government have left it in the hands of the same lot of criminals that ruined it before.
Clearly, the New Labour government pose no threat to the power of the rich. If the ruling class were really concerned then they would be clamouring for their removal.
I see you are calling for nationalisation under workers’ control and management. Well done and keep up the good work. Robbie got my vote.
Yours fraternally
A retired retail worker
Email addresses needed
If you have a colleague who would like to receive a regular copy of the Activist or other materials to democratise our union then send their e-mail address to shopworker@socialistparty.org.uk
March 2009
Usdaw Activist Public Meeting
· Do the Usdaw leaders have the strategy to defend members in the recession?
· Come along and discuss where next for the campaign to change Usdaw into a Union that fights for its members
4 April, 11am-3pm,
Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street,
near Euston station, London
Join the Struggle – Against the Rich
G 20 demo –
“8th April, the Demo leaves the Embankment at 12.00
Youth Fight for Jobs
Starts on 2 April and is passing through London’s highest areas of unemployment and end at the ExCel Centre where the rich countries leaders are meeting. If you want to know more ring 02085587947
The Credit Crunch and Poverty
The economic crisis has pushed a further 60 million people into absolute poverty which means living on less than $1 a day. This will mean that over an extra one million children will die prematurely. The world’s governments have provided millions of pounds to save the banks but have never provided even a small fraction of this sum to save the starving children of the world.
The Activist and the supporters of the Socialist Party believe that the failure to solve the problems faced by the world even in the good times shows that the capitalism is a bankrupt system. In the long term, unless we rid ourselves of these parasites, more and more people will slip into the poverty trap,
Billionaire Crisis
OK, So you may have lost your job, are hopelessly in dept and are having your house repossessed as a result of the capitalist economic. But spare a thought for the real losers – those pinnacles of society. According to Forbes magazine, the world’s billionaires have, on average, lost a quarter of their wealth – some £2 trillion – due to the financial meltdown and developing recession. In fact, things are so bad that 335 of last year’s billionaires have been regulated to the ranks of the mere millionaires.
How will US speculator Warren Buffet pay hie electricity and gas bills after his wealth dropped from $41 billion last year to just $24 billion today? And how will the Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC sugar-daddy, Roman Abramovich, afford his season ticket now that his bank balance has shrunk from !^ billion to less than £6 billion.
If any reader would like to assist in the rehabilitation of these tragic victims of capitalist greed – through socialist expropriation.
Campaigning to Save the Post Office and the £500,000 donation to New Labour
Usdaw has just donated £500,000 to New Labour. Our members are asking why are we handing over the cash and we get nothing in return.
In the last edition of the Activist, we called for Usdaw members to support the campaign against New Labour’s plans to part-privatise the Post Office. At a meeting between the trade unions and New Labour at the Warwick University in 2008, Labour promised to keep the Post Office in the public Sector. Now they are willing to sell part of it off. We hope that when Usdaw’s leaders handed over our money, John Hannett mentioned to Brown of his Post Office commitment.
John Hannett, along with other trade union leaders, signed a protest letter to the Guardian (26.2.09). The letter is interesting because it shows the bankruptcy of New Labour and how they serve the interests of big business rather the working people. We print extracts of the letter below.
‘Within that Warwick agreement was a clear commitment to maintaining Royal Mail in the public sector: "We have set out a vision of a wholly publicly owned, integrated Royal Mail group in good health providing customers with an excellent service and its employees with rewarding employment."
This commitment was agreed by all affiliated trade unions in the belief that it guaranteed the future of Royal Mail as "wholly publicly owned". This was our belief in the summer, and it was the belief of the 2008 Labour party conference, which voted to support this policy.
We are deeply concerned that the Labour party now appears to be willing to break that commitment by adopting the recommendations of the Hooper report. Its proposals to bring in a "strategic partner", via an exchange of equity, clearly constitutes the part privatisation of Royal Mail.
The affiliated trade unions believe that the part-privatisation of Royal Mail is electorally unpopular, politically unwise and damaging to the concept of universal service provision. Furthermore, to break a pledge so recently made undermines the legitimacy of our policy process and raises questions about the validity of other agreements reached.
We are unanimous in our opposition to the proposed privatisation of Royal Mail, and ask that the government reconsiders its response before it becomes a dividing line within our movement.
The New Labour government has announced plans to part privatise the Post Office. In a recent survey, nine out of every 10 people oppose its privatisation.
The CWU, the post office workers’ union, has launched a campaign against the government's intention to privatise Royal Mail. They are calling for people to sign their petition opposing privatisation at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Royal-Mail-Sale/
Letters to the Activist
Dear Activist,
As a shop worker on £6 an hour, I earn £240 a week and that makes a yearly income of £12,480. So if I earn the same wage for the next ten years, I would have received £124,800 and in a lifetime of work (50 years) the grand total will reach £624,000.
I will earn £624,000 over a lifetime and one parasite banker will get a yearly pension of £693,000. The politicians say there is nothing to be done. He has a contract. They can nationalise bankrupt banks and I say let’s nationalise Godwin and share out his wealth.
A Scottish Usdaw member
The Activist: Well it is not only bankers who have fabulous pensions, even our own Terry Leahy, the Tesco boss, has £10 million in his pension pot and that will give him £710,000 a year. But don’t feel too sorry for him as he earned £2.4 million last year.
Dear Activist
Today, I heard Mr. Gordon Brown on a question & answer programme on BBC RADIO 4 today circa 12.30 hours. He was challenged by a number of people really fed up as they were just coming up or reached retirement and when they got told what Pension they were about to receive, it was way short of what they had planned for. In fact one person said that he could not now afford to retire on what he was quoted, typical Mr. Brown sidestepped the answer. This is just disgusting in my opinion, & I have found when recruiting for USDAW, people ARE BEING FORCED BACK TO WORK SO THEY CAN PAY THEIR EVER INCREASING BILLS.
SO PENSION PLANNING IS VERY IMPORTANT, MIND YOU, TO THOSE WHO HAVE," THE GOVERNMENT APPEARS TO BE PENALISING THEM", JUST LIKE THE 10p RIP OFF, BROWN keeps hitting the people who cannot fight back, OH WHY IS THIS???.
Good luck in your news letter,
Derrick Frost,
VERY angry retired USDAW member!!
Dear Activist,
As I was walking to do the local shops I passed the recently closed Woolworths. The shutters were down and the doors shut. It had been a regular shop to visit in our high street since I was a boy. Now it is gone and I am sure it won’t be the last store to close.
As I turn the corner, there are more empty shops and along with the post office they are all boarded up. My next stop was my bank. All my working life, I have called for the nationalisation of the banks. Now I own it. Alas the Government have left it in the hands of the same lot of criminals that ruined it before.
Clearly, the New Labour government pose no threat to the power of the rich. If the ruling class were really concerned then they would be clamouring for their removal.
I see you are calling for nationalisation under workers’ control and management. Well done and keep up the good work. Robbie got my vote.
Yours fraternally
A retired retail worker
Email addresses needed
If you have a colleague who would like to receive a regular copy of the Activist or other materials to democratise our union then send their e-mail address to shopworker@socialistparty.org.uk
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