BNP trade union

There was a cut and paste from the BNP website on here, which rather proudly stated that 4/5 of them had been expelled from unions, funny how Searchlight wrote it to look as if they had uncovered the info.

Who is likely to join this union, seems like a really good way to get fired.

depends on the workplace. In some cases workers may even be encouraged to join by the boss, like PaulMarsh said in the other thread about this subject:

http://libcom.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7840

I think it could be a problem JDMF. On a suprficial level BNP's national chauvinism is a lot easier to push to reactionaries (of which there are many) than syndicalism; plus they're stance ain't really so massively different to a lot of mainstream newspapers like the Daily Mail, which is something the left can't compete with. I'd imagine - as long as they avoid being openly nazi - they'll grow faster than we will on this front at least superficially because there's a lot fewer shared assumptions between revolutionary syndicalism and the status quo than there is between the status quo and "a union for British workers".

Difficult to see what they want to do with it tho. Does anyone have a handle on why it is strategically important for the BNP to have a 'trade union'? I mean do they just want to 'outflank the reds' or is it fascist entryism?

I can't really see them leading large strikes or anything like that and from what Paul is saying they might be recruiting almost exclusively from tradespeople and the petit bourgeois set - which kinds of defeats the purpose of having a 'trade union'.

Tommy Ascaso, good point. Compared to what they have now, which is zero influence on a workplace to what they will have even with 500 scattered members across the country, the strategy makes sense.

There is a silver lining in this: i am happier for the fash to be in their own marginal union than fash getting into positions in existing unions - or does someone have good arguments against this?

Well it seems like most of the people in this one have been ejected from other unions already. I suppose people might join, it depends how they advertise it, I find it hard to believe that any existing union wouldn't protect itself by pointing out that "solidarity" has these BNP links.

Question is should it be organised against? If I saw leaflets etc I'd bin them and talk to anyone who'd been reading them, maybe even a brief leaflet showing the links. I suppose like Tommy Ascaso said: "wait and see"

Yeah this is what struck me first. Surely it would be illegal to deny someone union membership on racial grounds??

Yeah, so they'll probably make it not racial but some kind of other thing. I'd imagine one of their main aims would be to organise british building workers to keep out eastern europeans. They tried to do that with the Wembley strikes... They might have to keep the union unofficial perhaps...

Hopefully it'll all go to shit, this could be a powerful weapon for them

No fucking way, the cost of eastern european workers is less than half that of british workers. Capitalism uses nationalism but it doesn't bow to it without severe consequences.

edit:quote fixed

Jef could be right. If that was one of their aims I'd be surprised to see even the most reactionary small business boss, no matter how protective they might appear to be of british business, being interested in a union with such aims, when they know they can get cheaper labour from eastern europeans.

Right but that's based on the idea that the "union" is trying to get small businessmen to join, rather than workers for big bosses. TBH given their distributist politics, they could want both small businessmen, and workers for big companies to join. They have tried to do stuff around builders who've been threatened with cheaper eastern european labour...

The existing unions will defend skilled labour: plumbers/electricians etc

There is some sort of unofficial compromise over labourers, but that's largely because its all dodgy.

A mate of mine was an electrician, EE labourers were technically hired through agencies for around £30 a day, less than half the price of a British one and below minimum wage, but the agency contracts work not hours and they keep some british on because it makes it easier to run the fiddle. Even the racist sparks I spoke to accepted the EE labourers as a fact and had no desire to do anything about it.

Given that most of the prominent BNP trade unionists have been seeking substantial damages for their expulsion from unions like the RMT, mainly as a means of making mischief, it might not be a bad tactic to try back at them.

Disgruntled worker joins and is expelled for lack of racism, perhaps?

Regards,

martin

Perhaps get some minority workers with acceptable names to sign up, presuming they have some non-rabid literature as a basis.

admin edit - fuck off you fash cunt

Didn't the Unions get the Labour Party to change the law so that it was OK to expel people on political grounds? Wouldn't this be a non-starter as a result?

That's true - but this wouldn't make it easier for the BNP to expel you for not being a racist.

Depends how well they couched their racist terms, if they could show that you differed from their "immigration policy" then they could get rid of you.

I reckon get someone with a nice english name to sign up and then have them deal with a black/asian member.

I could sign up and then put on my irish accent, I've got an irish surname

What exactly are the shortcomings of organised workplace militant anti-fascism?? I'd imagine this could even be something of a springboard for it. I mean, it wouldn't have to be restricted to workplaces which have a Solidarity (URGH!!!) presence, the threat of it should suffice surely?? Seems to make more sense than sending in undercover Indians anyway.

Aren't their laws against being victimised because of union membership (as opposed to membership of a political party). Perhaps they are going to try to argue this if BNP members face getting sacked for their politics (as in Fire Brigadesl, Civil Service and local government). They might say it is because of Solidarity membership not BNP membership.

Good point.

Alan: organised workplace militant anti-fascism is a really good way to get fired.

There is not a history of Far Right unions in this country succeeding, and neither is there the active numbers to make it viable. A likely political dead-end, although we shall see.

In any event, the small numbers involved means it couldn't begin to act in a way analagous to proper TUs in terms of providing services to its members.

If it does establish it self even in a small scale, what would it be like in 5 years?

Even en masse??

According to the BNP site they are aiming for an initial 500 people paying a founding fee of 25 quid. That would give them enough money to pay for a website and some advertising and maybe apply for a Certificate of Independence. If they then switch to charging say 8 or 10 quid a month they will have enough to keep going for some time. They don't have a HQ or full-time officials to pay so costs are likely to be low.

It also seems from reading different articles on the web that the BNP are not the only ones involved. The President is actually Patrick Harrington (of Third Way and recently expelled from the RMT Union (according to Searchlight). If Harrington delivers support from the English Democrats (to which Third Way are allied in the English Lobby) it will have a much wider base of support.

There are many workplaces where Union membership is low and so organised resistance to Solidarity will be non-existent. If they target non-unionised labour it will be difficult to counter.

Depends what you mean by militant I suppose.

I'd be surprised if they managed to unionise non-unionised workplaces, it might in fact do some good if they established a presence; provoking people into organising.

Hi

Ha ha. I know lots of honest to goodness capitalist proprietors who encourage it. Some of the black ones have even been known to join in. Not to mention the homos and the commies.

"I'm not taking him on, he's BNP"

LR

Hi

I mean, try being a known racist and trying to get a job. It's tough. And rightly so.

Love

LR

Not if they organise along racial/national lines. That would be super-shit.

Hi

I don’t know John, at least it would flush them out into the open. We’d know who needs a kicking then without having to ask if they is racialist or not.

Love

LR