IWW Education Workers Organising Update: February 2011

Fellow workers may have noticed that a rather pleasing upsurge in class struggle occurred in parts of the British education sector at the end of 2010! Many wobblies were active in these events in their own individual ways, and IWW Education Workers collectively agreed a statement on the developments, which we posted on our blog and distributed to students and workers undertaking direct action protest around the country. As the statement makes clear, “It is the ultimate goal of the IWW to do away with the dominance of a tiny minority over our lives, and to work collectively and co-operatively to build a better world. The emerging movement in the education sector is paving the way for broader struggles and showing us how we create a real alternative to government plans. We, as EWIU education workers across the sector, unreservedly salute all those who are risking life and limb to fight this struggle. We are with you both in spirit and in person.” And indeed this is the case. IWW Education Workers participated in occupations of University buildings in the University of Glasgow and the University of Birmingham, were in the vicinity of the Milbank acts of property disruption that sparked the wave of student protests, and took part in demonstrations closing down Vodafone in protest at cuts to education spending. They also participated in the large number of protest events and demonstrations throughout November and December 2010 that sought to oppose the introduction of up to £9000 tuition fees and the abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowance.

IWW Education Workers also continue to agitate and organise on a day-to-day basis in our workplaces and places of study. The Education Workers blog – www.educationworkers.wordpress.com – continues to be updated regularly and its readership continues to increase on a monthly basis.

IWW Education Workers also agreed an important statement on our attitude towards dual-card organising within the education sector. This is important because a great many of our members and (perhaps more importantly still) our potential members are also members of TUC unions. This has been an ongoing problem facing IU620 – i.e. why would anyone join us if they’re already in a union? The education workers dual-carding statement is therefore particularly important as it helps us respond directly to this question. As the statement reads, “The IWW offers TUC union members a greater degree of flexibility and independence in their union organising than they might otherwise have. We are not bound by collective agreements and we emphasise direct action. We are a grassroots union, which means our actions are governed by our members, rather than by union bureaucrats or executive committees. Many workplaces have several different trade unions represented – this situation divides and weakens workforces, and the IWW seeks to build one union for all by connecting workers in different roles throughout the sector. This all means that we can act quickly and in the interests of our members when we respond to management’s ever-present attempts to undermine our working conditions.”   This is currently being turned into a leaflet which we hope to use to encourage more education workers and trade unionists to join us.

We continue to be active around the country. In London, a member has been supporting a small group of ESOL teachers at a private college who are interested in the union. A couple of members at UCL have been central to the cleaners living wage campaign there, which was a partial success (they got the living wage, but hours and conditions cut!).

In Glasgow University, a number of other wobs work and study, and there are suggestions of efforts to bring together a Glasgow Uni job branch, which will hopefully be a catalyst for action there.

At the University of Birmingham there is a group of around 12 members on campus who continue to actively organise and may consider forming a job branch at some point in the near future. IWW Education Workers are active members in the UCU and Unison branches on campus, and 1000 IWW fliers were distributed to support the TUC unions’ mobilization of employees for the staff protest of 24 November – see here. In addition, a student occupation took place on 17 January. Due to good links between students and staff on campus the occupation was able to raise some key demands in support of University staff. As the students put it in their statement, “We are in occupation because the University are placing many jobs under threat, causing unnecessary stress to staff and causing long lasting damage to the development of the University of Birmingham.” Unfortunately, the student occupation was quite brutally repressed by the University. There were eye-witness reports of members of the University security and the local police punching students to the face and chest, as well as head-butting, hair-pulling, and pushing students to the floor.

In the ensuing witch-hunt conducted by the University in its attempt to both cover up its brutal methods and to deter students from expressing concern about staff in the future, an IWW member was formally accused by the University for having racially abused and physically assaulted the security staff – despite not having actually been involved in the events whatsoever! He was accompanied by another IWW member to his disciplinary hearing, where it was put to the University investigators in no uncertain terms that they were out of line! The allegations have now been dropped. IWW members were also glad to be able to support a number of the students in their disciplinary hearings following a predictably low level of support from NUS representatives (who even apparently refused to sign the petition in support of the students!). Building on from these student and staff mobilisations, the IWW group is involved in organising a series of events seeking to help further mobilise an opposition movement on campus. This will include an IWW-sponsored leafleting and seminar campaign to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, during which IWW Education Workers will be further highlighting the problems associated with their male-dominated and bullying macho-managers. More details here

Finally, IWW Education Workers continue to build international links, and expect to send a delegation to an education meeting organised by CNT-F in June 2011 in Paris.

The class struggle continues – for the one big union!