The massive turnout at yesterday’s 129th Durham Miners Gala proved once again why it is the key event in the labour movement calendar bringing together trade unionists, political activists and other campaigning organisations to show the collective voice and strength of ordinary people.
We should never forget our collective history, whilst looking to change the future - the 'Big Meeting' is a political event which reminds us of our collective strength.
Speakers including TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady and Mirror journalist Kevin Maguire hammered home this point in well received speeches. A contingent of UNISON strikers from Future Directions in Rochdale received great support on the march:
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10546842.Fun_in_the_sun_for_50_000_plus__as_police_hail_Durham_Miners__Gala_a_huge_success/
It is impossible to put in words the feeling I had listening to Aidee Moreno from Colombia’s Agricultural Workers Union at Saturday's Latin America 2012 event in London. You are in shock when she tells how her husband was murdered in 1994, her mother ten years later and then numerous other members of her family. On top of this you are numb listening to tales of the thousands of members assassinated, disappeared or in prison. Living with two bodyguards because she is a trade union leader, Aidee is a brave and unbelievably stoic individual who makes as powerful case for international solidarity as I have ever heard.
US trade unions staged protests outside the British Embassy in Washington and in Consulates in all major cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Orlando and Las Vegas.Mary Kay Henry, the President of UNISON's sister union SEIU, wrote to Dave Prentis saying: 'Whether in the UK or the US; it is time to confront those politicians, CEOs and corporate backed right-wing movements who seek to destroy the public sector. It is time for ordinary people to retake control of their lives. It is time to act with the courage of our convictions and the strength of our numbers’ Photos can be seen here http://www.flickr.com/photos/seiu and a report can be read at
http://strongerunions.org/2011/12/01/us-nurses-backed-our-pension-protests/
Dave Randall recently visited the West Bank with War on Want and what he saw there convinced him that it is time for musicians to stand up for Palestine - so along with a host of other musicians he has released a solidarity song.
