I like it, but I'm not sure about the "charge" bit, perhaps just "Your morning cuppa'"
Nov 29 2010 18:42
Nov 29 2010 18:56
No bother, it's a (bad) pun, if you make a cup of char up north you're making the tea.
Nov 29 2010 19:03
Sloth, how we coming along with the international bit?
Nov 29 2010 21:15
Quote:
Can we just change this to "the financial markets".
MH (and RR), I left this as "banking industry". I think financial markets just isn't super accessible and "banker gamblers" doesn't leave open the space to talk about the systemic nature of markets, competition, and capital.
Nov 29 2010 21:36
Quote:
I'd use the term "working class in Britain".
Me too - better than 'British' or 'Britons'.
Quote:
Quote:greedy banker-gamblers
Can we just change this to "the financial markets".
I think that would be a change for the better. The financial markets function, but 'greedy banker-gamblers' personalises the (dis)functioning of the system in a way that veers towards leftist and rightist populism.
Nov 29 2010 21:47
Got it to 770 words. RR, what are we looking at in terms of word count here? What do you recommend in terms of individual stories and in total to cover two sides of an A4? Let's say this story, a what's next, a bit for resources, and possibly SJ's international bit (where are ya SJ?!).
Oh, I think I'm gonna go with the British working class. I just don't thing "working class in Britain" scans, even if it is probably more apt term for internationalist communists to use....
Quote:
The past month saw an unprecedented display of resistance at universities and schools all across Britain. Students, often dismissed as apathetic, have taken the lead in creating a movement that has the power to fight the cuts and turn back the tide of austerity.The issues are the same everywhere: the world's economy, led by profit-driven speculation in the banking industry, has nose-dived and left unemployment, house repossessions, and inflation in its wake. In Britain, as well as around the world, the stakes are high: the gains made by workers over the past century are under threat. From social benefits to minimum wage laws, our living standards are being attacked in an effort to pay for a crisis we didn't create.
Already smarting from years of decreasing industrial militancy, job outsourcing, and the 'rich come first' policies of successive governments, the British working class immediately began to feel the pinch. Using “the deficit” as a flimsy excuse, politicians from all parties began discussing not whether there were to be be cuts, but where those cuts would fall if they got into power. Employers in the private and public sectors alike saw another opportunity in the crisis. Wages, which in real terms have been stagnant for decades, were to be frozen or, worse yet, slashed. Workloads increased as redundancies and vacant posts became standard operating procedure in the credit crunch workplace. Alongside all this, unemployment, agency work, and part-time work increased, leaving those in full-time employment working too hard for too many hours.
The movement against this began in fits and starts. Across the country anti-cuts groups began popping up. Unions, bureaucratically top-heavy and increasingly docile, offered little more than symbolic protest. Half-hearted one day strikes led to union officials taking disputes to ACAS and then finally recommending workers accept below-inflation “raises”. Against this, there were some inspirational acts of resistance. Fuel drivers went on a wildcat strike and won a 14% raise. Wildcats spread as oil workers and posties walked out. In the Isle of Wight, non-union workers occupied their wind turbine factory. Visteon auto supply workers occupied three factories in different parts of the UK. Parents, not immune from direct action, occupied the roof of a London school after it was announced it was to be demolished.
Things really began to heat up on the 10th of November when tens of thousands of students converged on London to protest the rise in tuition fees and the scrapping of the EMA. Although called by the NUS and lecturers' union UCU, students broke beyond the bounds of symbolic protest and occupied the Tory headquarters in London. Thousands of students, many of them new to politics, tasted direct action as protesters reached the roof of the Millbank centre. Galvanised by the energy of the 10th, students issued a callout for a day of action on the 24th. When the day arrived, a movement of university occupations took root. In all parts of the UK, students occupied university buildings and made politics real---not in the ballot box or in the newspapers, but a lived, transformative experience. Through votes, debates, and even an occasional dance competition students decided the course of their struggles and linked up with other occupied universities.
While the occupations are of course a heartening development, there is a larger story as well. Links have begun to be made between students, education workers, and the wider working class. It's these activities which hint at what the working class is truly capable of achieving. In Greenwich, teachers held a joint meeting with students to discuss the cuts, what can be done to oppose them, and what solidarity can look like between students and workers. A quote, taken from one of the students present sums up the depth of feeling running through the movement:
52,000 [protesters in London] and the storming of Millbank made the news and everyone is talking about it - imagine what is possible if we double it to 100,000. We need walkouts, occupations and street actions. We'll only know if we try. And we've gotta try - this is too serious not to go all out.
It's only by spreading and co-ordinating struggle between different elements of the working class that we will create a movement capable of beating back the cuts. And it doesn't need to end there—life wasn't all peachy before the cuts, after all. Only a widespread class movement can ultimately create a different economy based not on profit for the few, but that instead functions to meet the needs and desires of the world's population.
Nov 29 2010 22:16
ncwob wrote:
Sloth, how we coming along with the international bit?
I'm sorry, it's taken a back seat to trying to save the United Day of Action on the 4th and get ready for local actions tomorrow. Apologies, I'm wearing too many hats.
I'll get on with as soon as I can, but it's not helped by the problem that the 'facts' I'm using keep changing (Berlin demo good? No, Berlin demo disastrous aparently, etc)
Nov 29 2010 22:20
For A4 you'd have around 600-700 words a side, depending on how pretty you want it to look and how big you want the text.
Nov 29 2010 22:37
770 too much for one side then? Anything that could be cut in that article?
(No, that wasn't a bad pun.)
Nov 29 2010 23:22
621 words:
The past month has sparked a surprise display of resistance at universities and schools all across Britain. Students who had been written off as uninterested and unmotivated have taken the lead in creating a movement with the power to successfully fight cuts and turn back the tide of austerity.
The issues are the same everywhere: the world's economy, led by greedy banker-gamblers, has nose-dived leaving unemployment, house repossessions, and inflation in its wake. In Britain and around the world the stakes are high: gains made by workers over the past century are under threat. From social benefits to minimum wage laws, our living standards are being attacked in an effort to pay for a crisis we didn't create.
Already smarting from years of decreasing workplace militancy, job outsourcing, and an outright "rich come first" policy from successive governments, the British working class has begun feeling the pinch of the recession. Using “the deficit” as a flimsy excuse, politicians from all parties began discussing not whether there should be cuts, but where those cuts would fall if they got into power. Employers in the private and public sectors alike saw another opportunity in the crisis. Wages, which in real terms have been stagnant in Britain for decades, were to be frozen or worse yet, slashed. Workloads increased as redundancies and vacant posts became standard in every credit crunch workplace. Alongside all of this, unemployment and shift work increased, leaving those in full-time employment working too hard for too many hours and for too little pay.
The movement against this has begun in fits and starts. Across the country anti-cuts groups popped up and the speed at which they developed spoke to a mounting anger felt by many in the working class. Unions, bureaucratically top-heavy and increasingly docile, offered little more than symbolic protest. Half-hearted one day strikes led to union officials taking disputes to ACAS and then finally recommending workers accept below-inflation “raises”. Against this there were some inspirational acts of resistance. Fuel drivers went on a wildcat strike and won a 14% raise. Wildcats spread as oil workers and posties walked out—without support from and often in opposition to their recognised trade union. In the Isle of Wight, non-union workers occupied their wind turbine factory. Visteon auto supply workers occupied three factories in different parts of the UK. Parents, not immune from direct action, occupied the roof of a London school after it was announced it was to be demolished and replaced with a new privately run institution.
But things really began to heat up on the 10th of November when tens of thousands of students converged on London to protest the rise in tuition fees and the scrapping of the EMA. Although it was called by the NUS and lecturers' union UCU, students went beyond ineffective symbolic protests and occupied the Tory headquarters in London. Thousands of students, many of them new to politics and some even on their first march, tasted direct action as protesters reached the roof of the Millbank centre. Worked up by the energy they'd tasted on the 10th, students issued a callout for action on the 24th. When the day arrived, a movement of university occupations took root. In all parts of the UK, students occupied university buildings and made politics real — not a ballot box placebo or a newspaper columnist's hysterics, but a real life experience which transformed them. Through votes, debates (and even the occasional dance competition) students decided the course of their struggles and linked up with other occupied universities.
While the occupations should of course be a heartening development for anyone concerned with beating back the cuts, there is a larger story as well. Links have begun to be made between students, education workers, and the larger working class. It's these activities which hint at what the working class is truly capable of achieving. In Greenwich, teachers held a joint meeting with students to discuss the cuts, what can be done to oppose them, and what solidarity can look like between students and workers. A quote, taken from one of the students present sums up the depth of feeling running through the student movement:
52,000 [protesters in London] and the storming of Millbank made the news and everyone is talking about it - imagine what is possible if we double it to 100,000. We need walkouts, occupations and street actions. We'll only know if we try. And we've gotta try - this is too serious not to go all out.
It's only by spreading and co-ordination of struggle between different communities of working class people that we will create a movement capable of beating back the cuts. And it doesn't need to end there—life wasn't all peachy before the cuts, after all. Only a widespread class movement can ultimately create a different economy based not on profit for the few, but that instead functions to meet the needs and desires of the world's population.
Nov 29 2010 23:49
RR's version is very good so far.
One thing that saves space is to take out all references to "the left", and to reduce criticism of Labour or the unions as much as possible, maybe just one critical reference to each, of no more than a line.
First of all, most people don't give a shit about the left, or anarchists or the differences between the two.
Secondly a segment of your target audience is presumably going to be workers who are already engaged on some level with the unions, and probably vote Labour most of the time, if at all - but are well aware both are shit most of the time, and don't need to have that hammered home - a single comment is enough to show you're not in that sort of mould.
Nov 30 2010 07:05
The issues are the same everywhere: the world's economy, led by greedy banker-gamblers, has nose-dived leaving unemployment, house repossessions, and inflation in its wake. In Britain and around the world the stakes are high: gains made by workers over the past century are under threat. From social benefits to minimum wage laws, our living standards are being attacked in an effort to pay for a crisis we didn't create.
could be changed to
''As we all know, the worlds economy has nose dived, and across the globe governments, finance and big business tell us that the only solution that keeps their profits ticking over is mass unemployement, house repossesions and endless cuts to our living standards.
In Britain this means any gains made by workers over the past century are under threat. From social benefits, access to eeucation and minimum wage laws, we are under attack and being forced to pay for a crisis we didn;t create.''
also
While the occupations should of course be a heartening development for anyone concerned with beating back the cuts, there is a larger story as well. Links have begun to be made between students, education workers, and the larger (''wider'' or ''rest of the'' surely) working class.
otherwise really good, the article could try and avoid ''the working class'' syndrome and use ''we'' a bit more, tho it is hard to do that and make it scan well innit
Nov 30 2010 10:20
For some reason it posted a completely different version than the one I'd actually written, this is the finished one (which had actually changed the things cantdo mentions).
---
The past month has sparked a surprise display of resistance at universities and schools all across Britain. Students who had been written off as uninterested and unmotivated have taken the lead in creating a movement with the power to successfully fight cuts and turn back the tide of austerity.
Already smarting from years of decreasing workplace militancy, job outsourcing, and an outright "rich come first" policy from successive governments, the working class is now feeling the pinch of the recession. The world's economy, led by financial institutions, has nose-dived leaving unemployment, house repossessions, and inflation in its wake.
The stakes are high - from social benefits to minimum wage laws, our living standards are being attacked to pay for a crisis we didn't create. Using “the deficit” as a flimsy excuse, politicians from all parties reacted by discussing not whether there should be cuts, but where those cuts should fall. Private and public sector employers saw an opportunity to freeze or worse, slash wages which had already been stagnating for years in real terms. Workloads increased as redundancies, increased shift work and vacant posts became standard in every credit crunch workplace.
The movement against this has begun in fits and starts. Across the country anti-cuts groups popped up and the speed at which they developed spoke to a mounting anger. Bureaucratic, docile unions offered little more than symbolic protest. Half-hearted one day strikes led to officials recommending below-inflation ACAS settlements as “victories.”
But there were some inspirational acts of resistance. Fuel drivers went on a wildcat strike and won a 14% raise. Then oil workers and posties walked out—without support from and often in opposition to their recognised trade union. On the Isle of Wight, non-union workers occupied their wind turbine factory. Visteon auto supply workers occupied three factories nationwide.
Then, on November 10th, tens of thousands of students converged on London to protest a rise in tuition fees and the scrapping of their Education Maintenance Allowance. Although it was called by the NUS and lecturers' union UCU, students went beyond ineffective symbolic protests and occupied the Tory headquarters. Thousands of students, many of them new to politics, tasted direct action. Worked up by the events of the 10th, students issued a callout for action on the 24th. When the day arrived, in all parts of the UK, students occupied university buildings and made politics real — not a ballot box placebo or newspaper hysterics, but a transformative experience. Through votes, debates (even the occasional dance competition) students decided the course of their struggles and linked up with other occupied universities.
While this is a heartening development, there is a larger story as well. Links have begun to be made between students, education workers, and wider society. It's these activities which hint at what the working class is truly capable of. In Greenwich, teachers held a joint meeting with students to discuss the cuts. One student summed up the depth of feeling:
52,000 [protesters in London] and the storming of Millbank made the news and everyone is talking about it - imagine what is possible if we double it to 100,000. We need walkouts, occupations and street actions. We'll only know if we try. And we've gotta try - this is too serious not to go all out.
It's only by spreading and co-ordination of struggle between different communities of working class people that we will create a movement capable of beating back the cuts. And it doesn't need to end there—life wasn't all peachy before the cuts, after all. Only a widespread class movement can ultimately create a different economy based not on profit for the few, but that instead functions to meet the needs and desires of the world's population.
Nov 30 2010 19:41
I think this is the final draft. RR, I took some of your suggestion and did some other cutting of my own.
Quote:
The past month saw an unprecedented display of resistance as students, often dismissed as apathetic, have taken the lead in creating a movement that has the power to fight the cuts and turn back the tide of austerity.The issues are the same everywhere: the world's economy, led by profit-driven speculation in the banking industry, has nose-dived and left unemployment, house repossessions, and inflation in its wake.
The stakes are high--from social benefits to minimum wage laws--our living standards are being attacked to pay for a crisis we didn't create.Already smarting from years of decreasing industrial militancy, job outsourcing, and the 'rich come first' policies of successive governments, the British working class has already begun to feel the pinch. Politicians from all parties discuss not whether there should to be be cuts, but where those cuts will fall if they get into power. Employers in the private and public sectors alike have found opportunity in the crisis. Wages, which in real terms have been stagnant for decades, have been frozen or, worse yet, slashed. Workloads have increased as redundancies and vacant posts became standard operating procedure in the credit crunch workplace. Alongside all this, unemployment, agency work, and part-time work increased, leaving those in full-time employment working too hard for too many hours.
The movement against this began in fits and starts. Across the UK anti-cuts groups began popping up. Unions, bureaucratically top-heavy and increasingly docile, offered little more than symbolic protest. Half-hearted one day strikes led to officials recommending below-inflation ACAS settlements as “victories.” But there were some inspirational acts of resistance. Fuel drivers went on a wildcat strike and won a 14% raise. Wildcats spread as oil workers and posties walked out. In the Isle of Wight, non-union workers occupied their wind turbine factory. Visteon auto supply workers occupied three factories nationwide. Parents, not immune from direct action, occupied the roof of a London school..
Then, on November 10th, tens of thousands of students converged on London to protest a rise in tuition fees and the scrapping of their Education Maintenance Allowance. Although called by the NUS and lecturers' union UCU, students broke beyond the bounds of symbolic protest and occupied the Tory headquarters. Thousands of students, many of them new to politics, tasted direct action. Galvanised by the energy of the 10th, students issued a callout for a day of action on the 24th. When the day arrived, a movement of university occupations took root. All over the UK, students occupied university buildings and made politics real---not in the ballot box or in the newspapers, but a lived, transformative experience. Through votes, debates, and even an occasional dance competition students decided the course of their struggles and linked up with other occupied universities.
While the occupations are of course a heartening development, there is a larger story as well. Links have begun to be made between students, education workers, and the wider working class. It's these activities which hint at what the working class is truly capable of achieving. In Greenwich, teachers held a meeting with students to discuss the cuts, what can be done to oppose them, and what solidarity can look like between students and workers. A quote, taken from one of the students present sums up the depth of feeling running through the movement:
52,000 [protesters in London] and the storming of Millbank made the news and everyone is talking about it - imagine what is possible if we double it to 100,000. We need walkouts, occupations and street actions. We'll only know if we try. This is too serious not to go all out.
Only by spreading and co-ordinating struggle between different elements of the working class will we create a movement capable of beating back the cuts. And it doesn't need to end there—life wasn't all peachy before the cuts, after all. Only a widespread class movement can ultimately create a different economy based not on profit for the few, but that instead functions to meet the needs and desires of the world's population.
Nov 30 2010 20:39
What's Next?
National day of action called for Sunday December 5th.
As of the time of publication, there's been two big developments. The first was a another day of action on 30th November. Much like the 24th, students walked out, protested in the street, and occupied even more universities. Then, there was a callout for a day of action on the 5th. Recognizing that many supportive workers had been previously unable to attend, organisers called for demonstrations and solidarity actions this Sunday.
It's imperative the movement builds, expands, and spreads. This Sunday is the perfect opportunity for that to happen. Workers can come out to tell the government and the bosses that this isn't just about fees, cuts, or students. It's about us standing up and standing together as students, workers, the unemployed, and pensioners. It's about making demands, showing solidarity, and building organization.
No doubt this Sunday will see marches and rallies around the UK. Get involved, but get creative. Go to occupied universities and offer support. Call a meeting with your co-workers (or your trade union branch) and discuss how the cuts will affect you and what can be done to fight them in your workplace.
For students, make links with workers! Tube workers are involved in an on-going dispute. Get down to picket lines, getting talking to tube workers, and see what sort of practical acts of solidarity would be helpful. Talk to the workers in your school at workplaces near your home. Find out their issues and what could be done to support them. This is the kind of activity that could crystalise into a movement where, when the call goes out, not only do students walk, but workers do too!
For students, we also give one more word of warning regarding “the kettle”. Police know how to deal with a big march through the centre of town. What they can't deal with is small roaming marches bent on spreading direct action all around town.
For all involved, we stress the need for self-organization. Organizations like unions and political parties will try control this, so far, self-organized movement. Already we've seen the National Union of Students brought in as 'responsible leadership' to denounce the militant tactics that are actually capable of changing government policy. Thankfully, students at universities all across the UK already view the NUS as a top-down bureaucracy whose interests do not coincide with those of the students they supposedly represent. As struggle moves from universities to workplaces, trade unions will act the same way—controlling protest and struggle to keep it under their control. In all instances, workers and students must control their own struggles, make their own decisions, and always spread struggle across universities, workplaces, unions, and industries.
Further Information
Facebook
‘Dec 4th/5th - Weekend of Action: Against Austerity’
‘Workers and Students Movement’
Find out what’s happening nationally
http://anticuts.org.uk/
Informed political debate on the lessons for and future of the movement
http://libcom.org/
Dec 12 2010 19:08
Here's the final piece. It's going to be in next month's Industrial Worker.
UK Students Lead the Way in the Fight Against Austerity
The past month saw an unprecedented display of resistance as students, often dismissed as apathetic, have taken the lead in creating a movement that has the power to fight the cuts and turn back the tide of austerity.
The issues are the same everywhere: the world's economy, led by profit-driven speculation in the banking industry, has nose-dived and left unemployment, house repossessions, and inflation in its wake. The stakes are high--from social benefits to minimum wage laws--our living standards are being attacked to pay for a crisis we didn't create.
Already smarting from years of decreasing industrial militancy, job outsourcing, and the 'rich come first' policies of successive governments, the British working class has already begun to feel the pinch. Politicians from all parties discuss not whether there should to be be cuts, but where those cuts will fall if they get into power. Employers in the private and public sectors alike have found another opportunity in the crisis. Wages, which in real terms have been stagnant for decades, have been frozen or, worse yet, slashed. Workloads have increased as redundancies and vacant posts became standard operating procedure in the credit crunch workplace. Alongside all this, unemployment, agency work, and part-time work increased, leaving those in full-time employment working too hard for too many hours.
The movement against this began in fits and starts. Across the UK anti-cuts groups began popping up. Unions, bureaucratically top-heavy and increasingly docile, offered little more than symbolic protest. Half-hearted one day strikes led to union officials taking disputes to ACAS, the state-sponsored arbitration services, and then finally recommending workers accept below-inflation “raises”. But there were some inspirational acts of resistance. Fuel drivers went on a wildcat strike and won a 14% raise. Wildcats spread as oil workers and posties walked out. In the Isle of Wight, non-union workers occupied their wind turbine factory. Visteon auto supply workers occupied three factories nationwide. Parents, not immune from direct action, occupied the roof of a school in London after it was announced it was to be demolished and replaced with a new privately run institution.
However, things really began to heat up on the 10th of November. On this date, tens of thousands of students converged on London to protest the rise in tuition fees and the scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance that give children from low-income backgrounds a small weekly payment to student who continue their education beyond age 16. Although called by the National Union of Students and lecturers' union UCU (University and College Union), students broke beyond the bounds of symbolic protest and occupied the Tory headquarters. Thousands of students, many of them new to politics and some even on their first march, tasted direct action. Galvanised by the energy of the 10th, students issued a callout for a day of action on the 24th. When the day arrived, a movement of university occupations took root. All over the UK, students occupied university buildings and made politics real---not in the ballot box or in the newspapers, but a lived, transformative experience. Through votes, debates, and even an occasional dance competition students decided the course of their struggles and linked up with other occupied universities.
From the 24th, things kept heating up. Further successful days of actions have been called since then and at the time this article was going to press, the UK student movement was preparing a lively day of protest on the 9th of December, the day Parliament has scheduled to vote on the increase in tuition fees.
While the occupations and escalating struggles are of course a heartening development, there is a larger story as well. Links have begun to be made between students, education workers, and the wider working class. It's these activities which hint at what the working class is truly capable of achieving. In Greenwich in London, teachers held a meeting with students to discuss the cuts, what can be done to oppose them, and what solidarity can look like between students and workers. A quote, taken from one of the students present sums up the depth of feeling running through the movement:
52,000 [protesters in London] and the storming of Millbank [Tory HQ] made the news and everyone is talking about it - imagine what is possible if we double it to 100,000. We need walkouts, occupations and street actions. We'll only know if we try. This is too serious not to go all out.
Only by spreading and co-ordinating struggle between different elements of the working class will we create a movement capable of beating back the cuts. And it doesn't need to end there—life wasn't all peachy before the cuts, after all. Only a widespread class movement can ultimately create a different economy based not on profit for the few, but that instead functions to meet the needs and desires of the world's population.
Can comment on articles and discussions
Oh chuck it to me and I'll do something layout-wise tomorrow night, assuming I have copy for it. If not Teabreak maybe "A Cuppa' Charge"? Or is that too northern
.