(en) Britain, AF, The Bristoloan V4 , #2 April 2013 - Another bureaucrat, another planet?

Bristol union bosses stitch up ordinary workers in brazen bids to protect status ---- 
Unison tells uppity women ?stop organising in UWE? Women workers in the University of West 
of England have been warned by Unison officials that they cannot ?organise? with other 
women trade unionists from Unite and UCU as this will bring Unison into ?disrepute?. 
Unison officials were apparently shocked when ? as one of them put it - ?these 
troublesome middle-aged women? decided to organise across unions to fight for better 
conditions and pay for all women workers. ---- What planet are they on? A pretty sexist 
one as far as we can tell. ---- Unison leadership roots out rank-and-file radicals ---- 
Unison?s actions are no surprise as don?t-rock-the-boat full-timers have been waging a war 
against so-called ?militants? (i.e. active union members) for several years.

This included the disgraceful expulsion of
rank-and-file members for ?racism?
because they used the ?Hear No Evil, See No
Evil, Speak No Evil? three monkeys motif on a
flyer! Unison leadership paranoia about its own
members in Bristol even extended to internet
denunciations of an elected branch secretary a
couple of years ago - just because one timeserver
lost their own election!

What planet are they on? They might as well join
the Tories on their doomed asteroid of austerity.

Unite elections get nasty as McCluskey faces pay cut

Elections for General Secretary of Unite got nasty
recently when incumbent union boss Len Mc-
Cluskey was challenged by Bristolian Jerry Hicks.
Hicks called for the General Secretary?s salary to
be cut from more than ?122,000 to an average
wage of about ?26,000.

This didn?t go down well
with King Len, who denounced him as a ?red
opportunist? attempting to ?hijack? the union.
Seems like Len wants to keep his cushy Planet Unite
to himself.

Trades Council bans young Bristolians from May Day

Young Bristolian ?anarchist troublemakers? have
been blocked from participating in Bristol?s
Workers? Day celebrations this year because they
wanted to ?do some history? explaining the po-
litical origins of May Day. According to a Trades
Council official event organiser, ?everyone knows?
the history of the Haymarket in 1886, which led
to seven anarchists being sentenced to death for
campaigning for an eight hour working day. Well,
you do, don?t you? Given that the TC-organised
May Day event already has an average participant
age in the sixties, having a few young enthusiastic
faces would make a change and help stop it dying
out. Surely history is not that frightening?
Well, apparently on Planet Trades Council it is...

SW TUC plans memorial for workers - in a cathedral!

Similarly the South West TUC has chosen to
stage its ?Workers? Memorial? event for May Day
in Bristol Cathedral. It?s not rocket science to
realise that this might cause problems attracting
Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist etc, let alone
atheist, union members! The four anarchist
labour organisers murdered by the state in 1886
in Chicago which led to the worldwide ?Workers?
Day? would be turning in their unbelieving graves
so much that the cemetery will be shaking.
A strange Christian planet for SW TUC, it seems....