They already have the single biggest voice in electing the labour leader. Fool on them for choosing a series of lemons.
With all the will in the world those with industrial muscle will get most say
Unfortunately union will always be a dirty word to some people of a certain age.
“I remember the strikes in the 70s, we were swimming in bin bags”
“Arthur Scargill this, Arthur Scargill that, champagne socialists!”
“They all used to strike if they had the wrong kind of biscuits in the tea room!”
Unions would be great but I think having actual human British people at that table would be even better.
Lol, isn’t that what the Labour party is supposed to be for?
They could create and (partly) fund their own political party. Might even call call it the Labour Party.
If only we had some sort of political wing of the labour movement
[removed]
No it’s not, Unions are marginally less corrupt than the absolute criminals in charge
Yeah because unions are not known for corruption at all…
They could but I remember them voting against change of the electoral system to allow this.
Unions need to be far more responsible than they are now. Their demands now mean that everyone else os worse off. If unions have a seat at the table then every single worker needs to be unionised. Otherwise to is just the usual me me me. In scandinavia it is like you say and it works because unions are responsible actors. Not so much here in the UK
I am not so sure. Unions are an important part of our society, but they have a tendency of making the wrong call.
They got us the wrong Miliband, they got us Corbyn, and those Lexit phantasies certainly contributed to Brexit.
So maybe we should strengthen the position of the unions but keep them out of politics.
While they do a job for people in work.
But fuck that, would take years before anything gets done.
Unions are just made up of people. We don’t need to specifically give unions a seat at the table, we need a government where experts in various fields represent the people. Why have Health Secretaries or Education Secretaries who have never worked in healthcare or teaching? Whether it is in the Commons or the Lords, we need to abandon the idea of being led by career politicians and move towards the idea of being led by learned professionals.
Yeah it’s called the PLP, but it doesn’t feel like doing it’s job.
“Nonsense, why would we want capable leaders at the table, they might not like our incompetent fascism.” – The Tories
Sounds like a great idea but to do that you will have to have a political party that is prepared to engage with the unions on some level first.
It’s interesting, having studied a bit of the labour history and the post-war social democratic settlement the last while, how different workplace and industrial relations looked from post war to the 70s when unions were a somewhat respected partner in industrial relations. They did have a say, and some influence, with the power they had, to negotiate around closures, and transfers with government and business so if a coal mine was shut down, other employment in say manufacturing could be provided in those towns. Still issues sure, but it was to some degree cooperative.
The fact that the images of chaos, holding the country to ransom, overwhelming union power and all that seems to have stuck so tightly in public consciousness is fascinating. From what i’ve seen, the increasingly militant union activity of the 1970s into the 80s, was precipitated more by unions increasingly being pushed out of that and in between a rock and hard place. A more coercive state, wage restraint in the 70s that was pushed by Labour because they knew the Unions wouldn’t want the tories in, and once the tories were in, a complete dismantling of those cooperative relations, enforced deindustrialisation without any mitigation in it’s effects, neoliberalism, essentially more power to business.
Unions and their members knew this was happening. For whatever gripes people have about their tactics, we can see now what the effects of Thatcher’s remodelling of the state and the economy looked like- the deprivation and slow violence that still affects parts of this country. The attempt to fight back against that in the 80s was seen as existential, but it was also desperate, unions were not as powerful as they were made out to be. They were increasingly marginalised and a very powerful story was constructed that made them out to be the villains, when really the state, corporations, nationalised industries like the NCB all went hard in on crushing the unions just because it didn’t benefit them anymore to work with them.
I can’t see the benefits of that change to be honest, stagnating and falling wages for years, rampant inequality. And the wide apathy among most people in politics, with the feeling that we don’t have a say in politics, in our workplaces, in our lives. The political sphere is increasingly out of touch with ordinary people’s lives, and is instead a contest of who can better serve economic elites, business and corporation’s interests best; and who can get away with giving us as little as possible so it doesn’t harm those. When working people collectively had economic power that could be asserted at the table, capitalism had to be run by consent. Now we don’t, it can just be run by coercian.
South Wales police and HM Revenue and Customs raided Unite’s offices in central London as part of an investigation into allegations of bribery, fraud and money laundering, oops
[removed]
Its time warehouse workers in the food supply chain started to take striking action. 3rd party companies and zero hour contracts are ruining peoples lives. Companies should have to run their own supply chain instead of avoiding the responsibility. So many warehouse workers are underpaid, with awful terms and conditions. Rail staff, and teachers, royal mail etc would be shocked to see how warehouse workers are treated. In the pandemic people in the food supply chain for supermarkets were considered ‘key workers’ uncelebrated key workers that is. They got nothing in return for putting themselves at risk when others got to shield. Firms such as GXO, Wincanton etc are just taking advantage of people working them half to death on behalf of the companies that should be taking on the responsibilities. Its like hiring a 3rd party to run a prison for the government, they have no accountability.
And before every meeting, they should read out some Vogon poetry
Anti- growth brigade in full force I see. The only right workers should have is to be flogged if profits aren’t higher year on year, or if nanny’s arm drops slightly when she holds my sun umbrella up.
They would start boycotting the meetings. Then leverage attendance to raise wages. And I am not even anti-union.
Hilariously, this is the reason labour exists. I think Starmer will be surprised when 2 thirds of his party funding disappears because he opposes the unions who literally fund his party
First step is to stop first past the post voting. It’s fkd us up. It’s fkd up America and it will continue to do so until we get rid of it.
I read this as ‘It’s time to give onions a seat at the table in talks about how Britain is run’.
They could hardly do any worse than the latest smorgasbord of root vegetables to give it a shot.
Lynch was a massive supporter for Brexit – and still is. Not quite the bright light bulb you think it is
Do unions really represent a significant portion to f the workforce any more, they seem mainly confined to large public sector organisations nowadays
No it’s not, we all have an equal vote, if we chose to vote in a bunch of right wing nut jobs that’s on us.
I vote we get some onions around the table. They are always treated so badly, but without them, we’d have very little tasty food.
In Germany it is not uncommon for unions to have reps at board level.in the UK the unions give a lot of money to the labor party .
We all pay far far far too much tax and get nothing in return. How would unions help change that?
Should force them all to take the UK average salary if they strike or offer their jobs to Europeans. They will soon stop.
Why? Just let them strike and leverage their position, they don’t need actual institutional power, are you mad?
Oops. Misread this as ‘It’s time to give unicorns a seat at the table’.
P R O P O R T I O N A L R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
That’s it. That’s the tweet.
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t this what voting is for. Everyone gets to choose how the country is run not a select few.
39 comments
They already have the single biggest voice in electing the labour leader. Fool on them for choosing a series of lemons.
With all the will in the world those with industrial muscle will get most say
Unfortunately union will always be a dirty word to some people of a certain age.
“I remember the strikes in the 70s, we were swimming in bin bags”
“Arthur Scargill this, Arthur Scargill that, champagne socialists!”
“They all used to strike if they had the wrong kind of biscuits in the tea room!”
Unions would be great but I think having actual human British people at that table would be even better.
Lol, isn’t that what the Labour party is supposed to be for?
They could create and (partly) fund their own political party. Might even call call it the Labour Party.
If only we had some sort of political wing of the labour movement
[removed]
No it’s not, Unions are marginally less corrupt than the absolute criminals in charge
Yeah because unions are not known for corruption at all…
They could but I remember them voting against change of the electoral system to allow this.
Unions need to be far more responsible than they are now. Their demands now mean that everyone else os worse off. If unions have a seat at the table then every single worker needs to be unionised. Otherwise to is just the usual me me me. In scandinavia it is like you say and it works because unions are responsible actors. Not so much here in the UK
I am not so sure. Unions are an important part of our society, but they have a tendency of making the wrong call.
They got us the wrong Miliband, they got us Corbyn, and those Lexit phantasies certainly contributed to Brexit.
So maybe we should strengthen the position of the unions but keep them out of politics.
While they do a job for people in work.
But fuck that, would take years before anything gets done.
Unions are just made up of people. We don’t need to specifically give unions a seat at the table, we need a government where experts in various fields represent the people. Why have Health Secretaries or Education Secretaries who have never worked in healthcare or teaching? Whether it is in the Commons or the Lords, we need to abandon the idea of being led by career politicians and move towards the idea of being led by learned professionals.
Yeah it’s called the PLP, but it doesn’t feel like doing it’s job.
“Nonsense, why would we want capable leaders at the table, they might not like our incompetent fascism.” – The Tories
Sounds like a great idea but to do that you will have to have a political party that is prepared to engage with the unions on some level first.
It’s interesting, having studied a bit of the labour history and the post-war social democratic settlement the last while, how different workplace and industrial relations looked from post war to the 70s when unions were a somewhat respected partner in industrial relations. They did have a say, and some influence, with the power they had, to negotiate around closures, and transfers with government and business so if a coal mine was shut down, other employment in say manufacturing could be provided in those towns. Still issues sure, but it was to some degree cooperative.
The fact that the images of chaos, holding the country to ransom, overwhelming union power and all that seems to have stuck so tightly in public consciousness is fascinating. From what i’ve seen, the increasingly militant union activity of the 1970s into the 80s, was precipitated more by unions increasingly being pushed out of that and in between a rock and hard place. A more coercive state, wage restraint in the 70s that was pushed by Labour because they knew the Unions wouldn’t want the tories in, and once the tories were in, a complete dismantling of those cooperative relations, enforced deindustrialisation without any mitigation in it’s effects, neoliberalism, essentially more power to business.
Unions and their members knew this was happening. For whatever gripes people have about their tactics, we can see now what the effects of Thatcher’s remodelling of the state and the economy looked like- the deprivation and slow violence that still affects parts of this country. The attempt to fight back against that in the 80s was seen as existential, but it was also desperate, unions were not as powerful as they were made out to be. They were increasingly marginalised and a very powerful story was constructed that made them out to be the villains, when really the state, corporations, nationalised industries like the NCB all went hard in on crushing the unions just because it didn’t benefit them anymore to work with them.
I can’t see the benefits of that change to be honest, stagnating and falling wages for years, rampant inequality. And the wide apathy among most people in politics, with the feeling that we don’t have a say in politics, in our workplaces, in our lives. The political sphere is increasingly out of touch with ordinary people’s lives, and is instead a contest of who can better serve economic elites, business and corporation’s interests best; and who can get away with giving us as little as possible so it doesn’t harm those. When working people collectively had economic power that could be asserted at the table, capitalism had to be run by consent. Now we don’t, it can just be run by coercian.
South Wales police and HM Revenue and Customs raided Unite’s offices in central London as part of an investigation into allegations of bribery, fraud and money laundering, oops
[removed]
Its time warehouse workers in the food supply chain started to take striking action. 3rd party companies and zero hour contracts are ruining peoples lives. Companies should have to run their own supply chain instead of avoiding the responsibility. So many warehouse workers are underpaid, with awful terms and conditions. Rail staff, and teachers, royal mail etc would be shocked to see how warehouse workers are treated. In the pandemic people in the food supply chain for supermarkets were considered ‘key workers’ uncelebrated key workers that is. They got nothing in return for putting themselves at risk when others got to shield. Firms such as GXO, Wincanton etc are just taking advantage of people working them half to death on behalf of the companies that should be taking on the responsibilities. Its like hiring a 3rd party to run a prison for the government, they have no accountability.
And before every meeting, they should read out some Vogon poetry
Anti- growth brigade in full force I see. The only right workers should have is to be flogged if profits aren’t higher year on year, or if nanny’s arm drops slightly when she holds my sun umbrella up.
They would start boycotting the meetings. Then leverage attendance to raise wages. And I am not even anti-union.
Hilariously, this is the reason labour exists. I think Starmer will be surprised when 2 thirds of his party funding disappears because he opposes the unions who literally fund his party
First step is to stop first past the post voting. It’s fkd us up. It’s fkd up America and it will continue to do so until we get rid of it.
I read this as ‘It’s time to give onions a seat at the table in talks about how Britain is run’.
They could hardly do any worse than the latest smorgasbord of root vegetables to give it a shot.
Lynch was a massive supporter for Brexit – and still is. Not quite the bright light bulb you think it is
Do unions really represent a significant portion to f the workforce any more, they seem mainly confined to large public sector organisations nowadays
No it’s not, we all have an equal vote, if we chose to vote in a bunch of right wing nut jobs that’s on us.
I vote we get some onions around the table. They are always treated so badly, but without them, we’d have very little tasty food.
In Germany it is not uncommon for unions to have reps at board level.in the UK the unions give a lot of money to the labor party .
We all pay far far far too much tax and get nothing in return. How would unions help change that?
Should force them all to take the UK average salary if they strike or offer their jobs to Europeans. They will soon stop.
Why? Just let them strike and leverage their position, they don’t need actual institutional power, are you mad?
Oops. Misread this as ‘It’s time to give unicorns a seat at the table’.
P R O P O R T I O N A L R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
That’s it. That’s the tweet.
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t this what voting is for. Everyone gets to choose how the country is run not a select few.