Monday

Jerry Hicks calls for Unite leadership election result to be annulled


Jerry Hicks lodges complaint after revelation that Unite sent over 158,000 ballot papers to 'former members'.


McCluskey: "It's Time to Deliver"
Jerry Hicks, Len McCluskey’s only rival in this year's election for Unite General Secretary has lodged a complaint calling for the result to be annulled after it emerged that 158,000 ballot papers were sent to members no longer paying fees. And it may result in the election having to be re-run

Len McCluskey, 63, won the election in April with a margin of 60,000 more votes than his opponent Jerry Hicks, who surprised everybody by polling nearly 40% of the vote. Remarkable given that he [Jerry Hicks] remains unemployed following his unlawful sacking for Trade Union activities by Rolls Royce in 2005.

But Jerry Hicks is complaining that between the end of December last year and January this year the union increased the number of potential voters in the leadership race by about 158,000. He has written to the trade union watchdog – the Certification Officer - to ask how "former trade union members" could be allowed to vote in the leadership election. 

During the election there were some attempts to slur the name of Jerry Hicks, and these matters are also included in the complaint.

The certification officer has wide-ranging powers and in 2011 forced construction union UCATT to re-run a leadership election, declaring the vote invalid. 

The Barrister acting against UCATT on that occasion was Jody Atkinson, and he is now representing Jerry Hicks on a ‘pro bono’ basis [free of charge]. 

Mr Atkinson said  " it appeared that Unite had been balloting people who had left the union, most likely because they had not paid their subscriptions. And it seems that ballot papers have been sent to people who have not been members for years."

Vote McCluskey 2012
Vote McCluskey 2010
In an interview with ‘The Guardian’s Randeep Ramesh’ Jerry Hicks said that he was told by Electoral Reform Services, which oversaw the union ballot, that Unite had identified "there was a group of 'members' who the Union had considered no longer to be members of the union" but "it was decided that they should be treated as continuing members and therefore for the purpose of the election eligible to vote" More interestingly it might be that as many as 77,000 of the 158,000 ballot papers had no postal address at all, so what on earth happened to them?

Jerry Hicks said he wanted "Unite's leadership to explain why people who weren't members of the Unite union could vote in the election of its General Secretary. So far I've been offered no explanation."
Jerry Hicks, said Mr McCluskey called the "snap election" after the union's Executive Council last September changed the rule book to raise the retirement age of senior officials to 67 and an attempt was made to double the number of branch nominations required to stand in a leadership election from 50 to 100. 

Adding “They thought that would deter me but they failed. I am an ordinary member who managed to get more than 150 nominations," The leadership got arrogant about their own power. They are paid six figure sums and have lost touch with ordinary members."

Len McCluskey, who has been Unite's General Secretary since 2010, had called the election early arguing he did not want to take to the hustings in the run up to the general election in 2015. Labour's biggest donor by far is Unite, which has provided 20%, about £12m, of party donations since the election.

Click here for  todays' Guardian article

Tuesday

Unite By Election Results

LGBT seat:

Jenny Douglas (McCluskey Supporters' Club) 26,085 (elected)
Lesley Mansell (Grass Roots Left) 14,644
Matt Irish 10, 260
Patsy Turner 11,865

Turnout 6.2%


London and Eastern Region seat:

Richard Allday (McCluskey Supporters' Club) 8,056 (elected)
Ian Bradley (Grass Roots Left) 5,878

Turnout 6.9%

The winning candidates will only hold office for 8 months - the whole executive are up for election in April 2014.

Sunday

Panic in the Bureaucracy

ERS Head Office North London
The signs are that the election is very close, the General Secretary's election team (which calls itself the 'Broad Left') has been sending out increasingly desperate emailshots, 9 in total with the latest last Thursday.

Electoral Reform Services (ERS) count the votes as they arrive.  No one except them should know the figures but this information may have leaked before:  In April 2000 the left anti-establishment candidate Sue Michie was banned from all office the day after the ballot closed and two days before the result was announced by ERS (she topped the poll). At the time we believed the results had been leaked to the union in advance, ERS denied it.

Lesley Mansell
Anyway if you haven't voted it is not too late.  If you have lost your ballot paper down the back of the sofa it is not too late.  Call free 0800 783 3856 or from the Republic of Ireland 0818 333 155 and they will send you a new ballot paper.

The ballot closes on Tuesday 27th August.

Vote for the Grass Roots Left Candidates Lesley Mansell (LGBT) and Ian Bradley (London And Eastern).

Thursday

Vote Now!

X marks the Grass Roots Left Candidates
Vote now! If you haven't received a ballot paper or have lost it contact the ballot enquiry service now for free on 0800 783 3856 or from the Republic of Ireland 0818 333 155

Wednesday

Executive elections



Lesley Mansell - robbed last time just like the members are being now?
Ballot papers will be with you this week.  The Grass Roots Left candidates are Lesley Mansell (LGBT) and Ian Bradley (London Eastern) .

Apparently it will cost members over £1,000,000 to run this ballot.  The cost is outrageous.   It's a shame this has to be done so soon. 

Members are querying why the runner up (Lesley Mansell)  was not allowed to take up  the seat to save this enormous expense. Perhaps because she is truly on the left and opposes McCluskey's entrenched bureaucracy.


Lesley stood for the seat in the first place and was challenged by Harry McAnulty with seemingly little experience either at work or in the LGBT field.  McAnulty then decided to take off for Australia after a short time in the post. In our view he has let down the LGBT members and the Unite left. There seems little evidence of any impact he has made on the LGBT agenda. He failed to turn up at National Unite LGBT meetings and the TUC LGBT conference.  So LGBT members were not being represented.

Lesley was the "runner" up after the last election.  Four of her nominations were suspiciously given to the winner and Unite failed to do much to correct their error. 

Vote Lesley Mansell the candidate with the experience, commitment and track record of securing rights for LGBT and other members.

"I have represented members for over 30 years, founded Lesbians and Gays in MSF (1989)  and had a very positive impact which resulted in the TUC awarding me their prestigious Gold badge.

Homophobia and transphobia have not gone away. I continue to challenge the discrimination members still receive. We can be the first to go during any cut backs.

My record is outstanding in giving expert advice and support to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans members to improve their lives.

I've led campaigns for:
·       Equal rights at work
·       Repealing Section 28
·       Inclusion of bisexual and trans people
·       Civil partnerships
·       Dignity and respect for HIV+ members.

I started my union activity in engineering and became convenor and held various elected union positions including:
·       TUC LGBT Committee
·       National LGBT Committee
·       Equality Representative
·       Regional Council Deputy President
·       Standing Orders Committee

I am standing as a Grass Roots Left member and will fight for:

·       Unite to be a model for genuine involvement of LGBT members and all equality groups.
·       Officers elected by the members
·       Confronting anti-union and other unjust laws in the UK and EU.
·       A fighting union for jobs, terms and conditions, not just campaigning.
·       Public ownership and keeping public services.
·       Re-building manufacturing.
·       Employees/officers to be reinstated whenever a Tribunal
finds employers guilty of unfair dismissal.
·       A union fully accountable to members.

I am an NHS Equality manager and held similar roles in councils, education and voluntary organisations. I am a Labour party member and Chair the local Town Council.   Please contact me on mobile: 07980 695117
Email: lesleywinningunite@yahoo.co.uk"


Ian Bradley: 

"I am from a new generation of Unite activists. I am a socialist and was elected to the Electricians’ Rank and File London Committee during the BESNA dispute and play an active role nationally. I hope to bring the independence, experience and the spirit of the successful fightback in construction onto the Executive.

It’s great to see the union is finally taking on the blacklist in Construction and supporting the campaign launched by ordinary members. Professor Keith Ewing described the blacklist as, “the worst human rights abuse in relation to workers in Britain for 50 years.”


Many members want to see a more determined united fight to save jobs, services and pensions and stop years of pay freeze and pay cuts. Len McCluskey has spoken out against Tory austerity and called for civil disobedience and mass strike action against the government and employers.


But there is a gap between what Len is saying and what’s being delivered. The example in construction of rank and file activists working with the union leadership to deliver official and unofficial action was the key to our success. I believe we need to try and develop a similar approach across other sectors in Unite―in finance, passenger transport, manufacturing and the public sector.


I consider our union’s Equalities agenda as one of the most important aspects of our work, and one that must be developed alongside our industrial strategy. This is especially true after the terrible events in Woolwich. The EDL and BNP are trying to use the horrifc murder to make us blame migrants instead of bankers and politicians for the economic mess we face.


That’s why I’ve been active on all the recent protests against the BNP and EDL in the region. We must continue to take a lead in opposing discrimination in all its forms in the trade union movement and wider society.


We’ve just successfully delivered a big vote to keep our union’s political fund. It’s great that Unite has the ability to campaign for the NHS, against austerity and the Nazis. However, many members don’t see why we should be donating millions to Labour when Ed Miliband attacks our union if we strike or when Len McCluskey says Labour shouldn’t make the Tories cuts for them. We need to spend more of our political fund on political campaigning and we need visibility of how much money goes to Labour.


That’s why in the recent general secretary election, alongside almost 80,000 Unite members I voted for Jerry Hicks for a democratic union and the election of officers on an average workers wage. I support the unions Organising drive and am in favour of branch restructuring and the emphasis on workplace branches. However, I am opposed to the closure of branches without any consultation in our region.
I ask you to vote for me as part of building a genuine network of solidarity across Unite. I am happy to address branch meetings and reps committees. 


Please contact me for further information about our campaign at:
ianbradley.unite@gmail.com


Ian addressing the crowds in Trafalgar Square at the May Day Rally 2012.
I played a leading role in this region in initiating a fight by ordinary members against 35% wage cuts and employers’ attempts to tear up national agreements in Construction. A combination of official protests and unofficial action delivered a huge victory for our members and our union.” 


Get in touch with Ian:Email: ianbradley.unite@gmail.com  Phone: 07513 333 845"

Thursday

Press Release: Jerry Hicks, blacklisted candidate for Unite General Secretary, speaks out

Press release: Press release: Press release: Immediate 24/01/2013

Blacklisting of workers is a ‘national scandal’. And the scandal is that it has gone on for so long and not enough was done by those shouting the loudest now.

Millions of people would be forgiven for thinking that the illegal blacklisting of over 3,000 construction workers has suddenly been discovered. Yet it has been the worst kept secret for over two decades that those who spoke up with concerns for Health and Safety on construction sites or defended wages and conditions were punished and denied employment.

Brave people paid a heavy price as each year, each month, each day brought more discrimination - more lives were being wrecked, houses lost to repossession, stress induced ill health, heart attacks and even worse.

It was more than 3 years ago in 2009 when the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) raided the offices of the Consultancy Association and found the illegal records of files kept on 3,200 workers. Ian Kerr was fined a paltry £5,000 for storing information contrary to the Data Protection Act. To add insult to injury, the fine was paid not by Mr Kerr but by the employers who had enlisted his services.

Then last year before he met with his untimely death Ian Kerr ‘spilled the beans’ when he gave evidence to the Scottish Select Committee.

Jerry Hicks, who is on the illegal blacklist, says, “There are those that liken this to the ‘phone hacking’ scandal, but I believe this has more similarities to the Jimmy Saville scandal. How many institutions knew or suspected? How many employers outside of the contributors knew? How many MPs suspected or knew? How many union officials suspected or knew and perhaps benefited? What and how much did the police know?”

Why the lack of effective action? Why has it been left to the determined struggle of the Blacklisting Support Group along with some very courageous people already on the list to expose the abuses and attempt to redress the wrongs and bring those responsible to book?

As a spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office rightly pointed out to today’s outcry from trade union leaders, “Where were the unions 3 years ago?”

Jerry Hicks, the only challenger in the current election for Unite General Secretary, said “The union had the perfect opportunity to confront blacklisting employers. The Olympics could have, should have been the time and the vehicle to take on and defeat the blacklist, It would have propelled the abuse into the national news. It was an opportunity lost.”

Back in 2010, Jerry Hicks was among those protesting at the Olympic site over workers failing to find employment there. At the same time, trade union leaders at the TUC conference only a mile away made speeches about the need for ‘civil unrest’, yet not one of them came to the protest.

It would seem that some band standing is going on here. After all, who spoke out the loudest or even at all during those long grim years? Labour in office? Unite’s leadership?
Jerry Hicks pointed out “Two years ago during the last election for the top job in the UK’s biggest Union I was the only one of four candidates that made blacklisting in construction an issue and to promise to redress the wrongs – both in my campaign and election address. Mr McCluskey and Ms Cartmail - also candidates - chose not to mention it. They obviously had other priorities. Perhaps for them it has only just become a National Scandal.”

Now there is another election on for Unite’s General Secretary, it having been called ‘out of the blue’, brought forward 3 years and fast tracked.

To many it seemed as though it would go uncontested, allowing McCluskey to extend his term of office without actually going to the members. But Jerry Hicks has challenged and is well on his way to securing the 50 branch nominations required to force the ballot of 1.5 million members.

Jerry Hicks said “There are two candidates, one on the blacklist who has always spoken out and acted against it and one who decides to shout about it now it has hit the headlines. In life everything is about timing. I have my views as to why Mr McCluskey has chosen now, but I leave it to you to draw your own conclusion.”

He [Jerry Hicks] added “Labour ‘shadow business minister’ Chukka Ummna is now calling for an investigation into allegations that firms involved in major projects, including the Olympics and Crossrail, blacklisted workers. Great! But why wait until in opposition? What did Labour do during its 3 terms and 13 years in government? As every year went by demands for justice went unanswered, while trade unions poured money into their coffers.”

Unite’s General Secretary Len McCluskey calls for a “Leveson-style enquiry” which is correct but also an easy demand now that it has already hit the headlines. Why didn’t the Unite leadership maximise the opportunities that previously came their way to highlight the abuse?

Assistant General Secretary Gail Cartmail, who openly supports Len McCluskey in his election campaign, described the 40 or so guilty firms on Radio 5 Live as  - “an industry in denial, failing even to apologise”. She is right.

However it’s not just employers that Unite officials can be hard on. In 2011 when 8 construction companies gave notice of unilateral withdrawal from a national agreement ‘BESNA’, 500 Unite electricians took matters into their own hands, met, agreed and embarked on a year long campaign of protests and unofficial actions which proved to be a very successful strategy. Official backing did eventually come ‘better late than never’. But Unite’s initial response to this campaign beggars belief.

In an email to Gail Cartmail copied to every Unite construction official and some staff, the National Officer for Construction Bernard McAuley began “Good morning Gail, in reference to our conversation last night” and went on to spew his bile at those very same members of the union describing them as a ‘cancerous group’, ‘opportunists’, ‘mindless individuals’ and mentioned Jerry Hicks by name.

When he received this email fourth hand, Jerry Hicks challenged this outrageous and libelous diatribe and its wide circulation. No formal apology ever came nor condemnation, and both officials are still responsible for ‘looking after’ construction members. It is easy to see how by design or carelessness names can appear on blacklists.

Legal action is being taken on behalf of a number of construction workers, who are seeking compensation for having their names on the blacklist. But shamefully this, the only major court case, is a private case brought by the workers themselves and not funded by Unite. It has been left to the good offices of Guney, Clark & Ryan to take legal action on behalf of the construction workers.

Just as the blacklist was more than just rumoured for years, so was the possible involvement of some union officials in supplying information to the consultancy agency. A Leveson-style enquiry that Len McCluskey now calls for, may embarrassingly prove if union officials were involved, where internal union investigations have failed in the past to find sufficient evidence.

Jerry Hicks said “In life, chances to really make a difference come and go. The Vestas occupation on the Isle of Wight was one. It was wasted, I believe the best chance to save the Remploy factories would have been protests and occupations during the Paralympics but that chance went begging. There will be other chances to fight injustice and the Con-Dem cuts but who will recognise them and act and who will inspire people to believe that big victories are possible?”

Ends:

Notes to Editor:

Unite is the biggest union in the UK with 1.5 million members.
Unite is currently holding an election for its General Secretary, in which there are only two candidates, Jerry Hicks and Len McCluskey.
Jerry Hicks was runner up in Unite's General Secretary election of 2010 beating two senior national officials and securing 52,527 votes. He can be contacted by mobile 07817827912 or email
jerryhicks4gs2010@yahoo.co.uk

Anyone who believes they may be affected by the Consulting Association Blacklist should first contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on 0303 123 1113.

If you find you are on the list, you should immediately contact Guney Clark & Ryan Solicitors (GCR) on 02072757788 between 8am and 8pm. GCR have been representing innocent blacklisted workers in their fight against the major construction giants since 2009, and have over 100 clients on board already. Most importantly, GCR and the barristers they have instructed (led by Hugh Tomlinson QC) are working under a Conditional Fee Agreement (no-win-no-fee type arrangement) and have insured the case with QBE Insurance.

Anyone who contacts GCR can be assured of their confidentiality and professionalism, and that the call will be on an obligation-free basis
.