Labour and the unions: Now the ball is in the Tories’ court
In the wake of today’s speech Ed Miliband will face the biggest test of his leadership thus far – and it is a test of his own making.
Trade Unions
Unite bus tour brings love for the NHS and a defiant message to government ministers
The Unite Union’s two week bus tour ended defiantly in Manchester on Friday with a party in the park to mark the 65th birthday of the NHS.
In defence of the Histadrut: a response to Gary Spedding
Every last thing about Gary Spedding’s argument in favour of boycotting Histadrut, Israel’s free and democratic Israeli trade union movement, is wrong. Speeding does not so much put a left foot forward as trip over his own feet.
For the credibility of the party Labour is right to take strong action over Falkirk
It’s become increasingly clear in recent weeks that the Conservative Party is looking for anything it can with which to smear the Labour Party link with the trade unions.
Trade unionism is not about creating even more divisions based on nationality
Trade unions are about solidarity. The very name of our movement is symbolic of the fact that we are bound together by ties that go beyond nationality or location.
Support progressives in Israel by all means, but don’t vilify boycotts
The idea of nations and peoples cooperating instead of fixating on individual respective national interests is popular in trade union movements due to the strongly held principles of solidarity that come with trade unionism.
US Unions Embrace ‘alt.labor’ workers
At a recent conference in Toronto of Workers Uniting, the global union created by Unite in the UK and Ireland and the US and Canadian union, the United Steelworkers, I heard a new term, which has now spread widely across the union movement in the USA.
Obama moves to suspend trade privileges with Bangladesh
President Obama has announced the suspension of ‘trade privileges’ for Bangladesh following the recent tragedies in the garment industry, notably at Rana Plaza and Tarzeen Fashions, where over 1,300 workers have died in building collapses and fires.
We should be supporting progressive forces in Israel, not boycotting them
In a long standing tradition, internationalism has been about campaigning for peace, cooperation, economic development and education.
Boycotting Israel: Moderate voices drowned out by hard-liners
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most complex and difficult in modern history, with two competing narratives attempting to describe an extraordinary shared history. With polarisation on the issue endemic, there is limited space for moderates in the center to advocate a resolution that delivers justice for Palestinians, security for Israelis and peaceful co-existence for both.