Us - 1, Glasgow Housing Association - 0
Feb 23 2006 23:23
Updated
We should use the organise forum more to detail individual campaigns, so lessons can be learned and successful practise spread. To that end, and so I can boast ( 
)...
Lessons learnt will be numbered for easy access 
Today I chaired (or tried to chair) an incredibly rowdy meeting of almost 70 people on my estate. A neighbour and myself called it.
With help from three comrades from the neighbouring estate and a pair of vising lefties (I think anarchos?) from leeds we leafleted 900-950 housholds of the 1000ish on the estate. The leafletting was meant to be total, but there was confusion and some places got leafletted twice. This took several hours over three days, although only three people did the bulk of the leafletting. Lots of people talked to the leafletters, one of the leeds guys had to wing it.
1: Use a map and mark off where you've leafletted.
2: Get all your mates to help.
3: Everyone should know all the issues and arguments inside out. Practise discussions.
60-70 people turned up to the meeting. They were really angry and chairing was almost impossible. It was fantastic!
I spoke, then Nick Durie (who's formed a tenant's association on the neighbouring estate) spoke describing their experience.
4: It's important to big up the successes of other people who've organised. Try to sound enthusiastic.
A lot of people wanted to voice their complaints. Some seemed to think that "someone should do something" (ie someone else), but one woman declared loudly that we should all march down the Housing Association offices and not leave until we had satisfaction. She got people to put up their hands if they'd be prepared to do that, and about half the room did.
A group of women organised a list of 10 people to be involved in organising and distributing leaflets for the meeting, without even being asked too!
We collected an additional 50+ contact details.
5: ALWAYS COLLECT CONTACT DETAILS
The only factors working against us were homeowners having different interests from tenants (homeowners are being overcharged for repairs; tenants can't get them done), and the presence of three tenant members of the Local Housing Organisation committee. They were broadly on our side in rhetoric but wanted everyone to just tell them our problems and let them complain about it; classic committee types.
The LHO people were easily brushed aside in practise, and by emphasising unity = strength in very other sentence the homeowner's fears were calmed.
GHA (Glasgow Housing Association) own most of the former council houses, I think all of those that were in council ownership at the time of the transfer. LHOs (Local Housing Organisations) such as Queen's Cross Housing Association currently manage these properties as well as having porfolios of their own, and are meant to have all stock transfered to them within a couple of decades. LHO tenant committees, and indeed LHOs themselves, are a remnant of an earlier phase of struggle that got re-absorbed by the landlord (due to their electoral structure).
Here's the text of the leaflet:
the Leaflet wrote:
Public MeetingFor Hamiltonhill residents–all tenants and homeowners welcome
Thursday 23rd February 7:00pm
Family Learning Centre Shop
In the row of shops on Ellesmere Street
* Do we need a new playground for the weans?
* Are you being forced to pay large sums to GHA for repairs you don’t need?
* Depressed by the state of buildings and facilities on Hamiltonhill?
* Does your house need repairs which GHA refuses to carry out?
* Worried about your house being knocked down?
For more information, contact Jack or Al, C/O George’s X Chalkboard, 34 Clarendon Place, St. George’s Cross 0141 332 2902
We are nothing to do with the GHA or the City Council.
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Feb 24 2006 00:37
#2
AnarchoAl wrote:
We should use the organise forum more to detail individual campaigns, so lessons can be learned and successful practise spread. To that end, and so I can boast (
That's what it'll be best for!
interesting stuff al, cheers
Feb 24 2006 05:31
#3
Nice!
Feb 24 2006 11:54
#4
70 out of 1000 is very, very good. What's the next step?
Feb 24 2006 14:05
#5
Well done.
The same evening I was up in Cumlodden deck entry flats in Maryhill facing the canal. Although they are being refurbished by GHA (kitchens, wiring already in) signs are demolition being prepared for 5-10 year timescale with lighting down and not fixed, closes burned out and not painted or cleaned, overflow pipes leaking water to outside of building, anti socials starting to be moved in. Already have an officially recognised tenants committee there, but it is a paper TA only, is very tame, doesn't hold meetings, never complains.
Was telling the people there about Hamiltonhill and Cedar TAs and ideas of federating, they were up for that, are prepared to deliver the leaflets and book the public meeting themselves, although may need help with printing the leaflets.
A comrade is going down to the local housing office with one of them Monday morning to attempt to resolve one particular issue they've been dragging on. That is a good tactic - like claimants union, a tenant with some TA rep beside them during a meeting will get much less messed about.
Catch wrote:
What's the next step?
I'd say:
1) Concentrate on getting Hamiltonhill up and running strong in the first instance. You'll get a huge amount of initial work in specific cases - lighting, broken door entries, leaking roofs, internal repairs - and have to show you can start to take action on this in the first few weeks. Letters and phone calls on behalf of the TA will be enough in many cases, it helps if you can show (or at least fake) knowledge of tenants rights and legal tactics, such as http://www.shelligoe.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/smgr/legal.pdf. WestGAP and others will be happy to assist.
2) Then form other radical TAs in Milton, Lambhill, Maryhill with same initial public meeting, sample constitution, elected secretary or committee.
3) Then federate them together to form a North Glasgow (eventually all Glasgow) tenants federation.
That is essential for the weaker ones to be carried along by the stronger. Some small TAs will only be able to get one or two strongly active people, and have a lot of pensioners. The federation label will allow people from neighbouring TAs to involve themselves in specific cases in the other areas - phone calls, letters, visits.
Feb 24 2006 14:45
#6
What do GHA and QHA stand for?
Feb 24 2006 14:49
#7
GHA is Glasgow Housing Authority, innit?
I assume QHA is a typo?
Feb 24 2006 15:04
#8
Jack wrote:
GHA is Glasgow Housing Authority, innit?
Almost. Its Glasgow Housing Association
Jack wrote:
I assume QHA is a typo?
As I was sat next to Al as he typed the post, and was joining in the evil giggling, I can confirm that yes - QHA was a typo for GHA. Much raucous drinking/smoking/chortling/plotting was going on last night.
Feb 24 2006 15:37
#9
afraser wrote:
Was telling the people there about Hamiltonhill and Cedar TAs and ideas of federating, they were up for that, are prepared to deliver the leaflets and book the public meeting themselves, although may need help with printing the leaflets.
I don't know how the others felt, but I feel that it was good that a couple of us from the neighbouring scheme could stand up at the hamiltonhill (HH) meeting and say that a TA had helped us get repairs etc done.
These new contacts in HH, plus people in our TA's core group could be the ones that go to the public meeting of this new group, and none of us "politicos" need be there at all. Now that really is 
hardcore. 
Feb 24 2006 16:16
#10
I'd just like to join in the congrats on this thread, sounds super. May I get off my arse and do the same round here.
Feb 24 2006 18:43
#11
QHA = Queens Cross Housing Association.
They are a much vaunted wannabe second stage transfer landlord and currently have about 3000 properties. The GHA in the area is organised through their offices and the staff from GHA and QXHA work very closely with each other.
There are layers of complication with this as well, because I'm quite sure granite house (GHA central headquarters) would love to take over the management of the GHA housing in this area if they could get away with it, just as GHA has been puting the brakes on second stage transfer by insisting that properties are sold for more than the various affiliates of the Scottish Federation of Housing Association's is willing to pay for them across the board in every LHO area.
At the end of the day tho it doesn't matter coz both organisations are scum.
Feb 25 2006 19:00
#12
Excllent stuff.
Quote:
The only factors working against us were homeowners having different interests from tenants (homeowners are being overcharged for repairs; tenants can't get them done), and the presence of three tenant members of the Local Housing Organisation committee. They were broadly on our side in rhetoric but wanted everyone to just tell them our problems and let them complain about it; classic committee types.
The LHO people were easily brushed aside in practise, and by emphasising unity = strength in very other sentence the homeowner's fears were calmed.
Homeowners needs have to be address as well if at all possible. I may have this wrong, but it seems you think there needs are largely secondary. They can often offer a different flank to attack on as well
Feb 26 2006 15:07
#13
We want to sort homeowners and tenants problems. Hence "unity = strength".
Feb 28 2006 10:37
#14
Sorry, i thought you were using said slogan to keep them quiet, rather than an actual basis for the campaign. 
Feb 28 2006 17:01
#15
Nah there's lots of homeowners and they're all working class, it's just ex-council houses. There's a couple in the core organising group.
Another lesson (not that this was the first time I've learnt it, but it needs restating and relearning) :
* People not used to going to political meetings arrive early expecting the meeting to start on time. So you need to be extra early to make sure everything's set up. And then start within 5 mins absolute maximum of the publicised time.
So much anger, determination and humour. And 65 plus people who'd only heard about the meeting from a leaflet through their door, no other building for the meeting at all.