Email From Les4GS

Let’s not waste the power of Unite

Unlike other union mergers the fusion of Amicus and the T&G to create Unite was based on a political strategy rather than a financial necessity. It was clear to us, even before the credit crunch, that multi national companies and big financial institutions had a strangle hold on power and working people were suffering as a result. Pay and pensions were under attack at home and in the developing world exploitation was getting worse and trade unionists were reduced to spectators.

We had to admit that small domestically organised unions that were losing members were no match for the might of Wall St and the City of London. In 2005 we put aside the old enmity between skilled and semi skilled and blue and white color workers because it was obvious that competition between unions and workers was self-defeating. Similarly we had to set aside our nationalistic approach to organising workers if we were to avoid being constantly played off against unions and workers in other countries by the employers.

The political power of big business and the financial institutions, those who are represented at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, had outstripped governments and even international federations like the EU since the seventies. Billionaires have forced governments of the right and left to deregulate the finance industry, dilute employment protection and sell off public industries for the profit of the few. The rich didn’t get richer over the last 40 years by accident.


Meanwhile the many unions affiliated to the Labour party in the UK squandered the potential influence that could have been ours for years. This was partly due to our collective terror at the prospect of the return of the Tories but also it was down to the vanity of previous union leaders who reveled in the reflected glory of dining with a Prime Minister.

Unite was formed to eliminate competition between unions, to create an international union, and to maximize our political influence to start tip the balance of power back toward working people. The hysterical press coverage on the BA dispute recently clearly shows that this strategy was correct and it's working. Overblown statements like “The Labour Party is the political wing of Unite” demonstrate the fear and loathing that Unite is stirring among the rich and powerful. The Tories have even cried foul on the support that the Teamsters and the USW in the US have offered BA workers. They scream that we are too powerful, that we are destroying the economy and influencing government with our cash. The irony may be lost on them but it isn’t lost on our members.

That the Tories failed to have an impact on the polls with their union bashing is because we are responding to demands from our members for us to make sure the party we support supports them. Our efforts to do this include mobilising our members in marginal constituencies with using direct contact methods we’ve learnt from our sister union the USW. We are also being proactive in getting working people into Parliament. We‘re organising in constituency parties to elect people as our lawmakers who have real life experience, because it’s what our members want.

The Tories and the British establishment are not the only ones to recognise the potential power and influence of Unite and the international union we have created. Ultra left factions are organising to capture the union for their own fanciful purposes. We have an election for General Secretary this year and the importance of that position being occupied by an individual who represents the members, rather than an outside minority political interest, cannot be overstated.

The SWP and the old Militant Tendency will be backing at least two candidates in the election and it’s vitally important for the whole Labour Movement that neither of them wins. Only the Tories will benefit from Unite’s potential being wasted on glorious defeats and the pursuit of obscure causes that alienate our members.