The reasons I mounted the challenge to Derek Simpson are simple and straightforward:It is quite simply wrong that General Secretary Derek Simpson should go for 8 years without facing an election. I believe it is also illegal.It was my overriding belief that it was necessary to correct this wrongdoing. He (Derek Simpson) knew that it was unlawful because he himself challenged Sir Ken Jackson’s right to remain in position without holding an election in 2002 using the Certification Officer.I have received widespread support for my actions.
More here
Nice to have a good chat with a genuine working class hero in the form of Jerry Hicks, last night...usually the cool people just mail me rather than mobile me!
Jerry is currently running for the post of General Secretary of the Unite/Amicus union, Britain's second biggest trade union. He has a proud record as a union activist. In a David versus Goliath battle against the odds he waged a campaign to make the current General Secretary Derek Simpson stand for election.
Jerry is a grassroots activists who would work as General Secretary on a workers wage not the approximately £100,000 plus perks enjoyed by Simpson. He is gaining support pretty rapidly, the Socialist Party have thrown their weight behind him, along with the SWP, Socialist Appeal, Workers Liberty and Green Party Trade Union activist and Unite member Matt Sellwood.
He believes in creating jobs through green energy and has the kind of grit and experience necessary to defend members of Unite during the severe recession we are entering.
Jerry is used to fighting and winning tough battles, the biased broadcasting corporation noted:
Nearly 100 test engineers from the Bristol plant began continuous strike action on Tuesday in protest at his dismissal in July. Amicus said it cannot rule out a spread of industrial action.
Mr Hicks was dismissed after allegations of misconduct but an employment tribunal provisionally found he had "probably been dismissed on trade union grounds".
I am also keen on Jerry as an ex-Bristolian myself, certainly the Bristol bloggers and press are talking about him. He lives in York Rd, Montpelier....I used to live down the hill on Ashley Rd.
Mark Serwota ran a similar grassroot campaign to win in the PCS union, Jerry can win too.
The Murdoch press and various union bureaucrats are keen to kill his campaign, so we must rise up and give him some solidarity.
Vote for Jerry!
1. You can donate to his campaign
2. You can link to his campaign blog
3. You can blog about his campaign
4. If you are a member of Unite, Vote for Jerry!
Interesting interview with Jerry here.
3 comments:
Where does he stand on aviation, in particular Heathrow expansion?
He is against Heathrow expansion, I will post a report on his green ideas tomorrow....
Thanks for asking...by the way if you go on his site http://jerryhicks.wordpress.com/, you can mail him questions directly...he is encouraging people to do so.
Here is his email jo@benefield.force9.co.uk
that's good. Like most Greens, I imagine, I've been deeply unimpressed with UNITE and GMB's blinkered 'jobs at any cost' stance on Heathrow (likewise jobs in nuclear and the arms industry).
Post a Comment