LSSE struggle: Next stop, the Drapers

Having already successfully run rings around their wage stealing boss, workers at LSSE are getting ready to hit him where it really hurts: as a member of the Draper's Guild.

The workers at the Leicester Square School of English – with the support of the Angry Language Brigade and the Industrial Workers of the World – have been in an ongoing battle with their wage-stealing boss, Craig Tallents, for almost two months now.

Over the Christmas holidays, Tallents permanently closed the school without informing either teachers or students. Besides literally leaving students out in the cold with no accommodation and no lessons, he owes staff thousands of pounds resulting from lack of notice and holiday pay, illegal denial of paternity pay, and just straight-up unpaid wages.

In their efforts to bring him to the negotiating table, workers have been forcing Tallents' shady business practices out from behind the curtains. To date, they have:

- Occupied the school building
- Caused Craig to resign as governor of the fee-paying Bancroft's school
- Caused him to pull the curtains on his website Asparagus Managent Consulting
- Held a rowdy picket in Leicester Square
- Targeted Talents at the Smallford Residents Association, where he was an officer

Despite all this, Tallents has refused to talk to his workers. Now he's done a runner and refuses to even answer their phone calls.

You can read more about the dispute, including Craig's despicable behaviour towards the students, here.

Tallents, a former chartered accountant, portrays himself a management consultant. As a city boy wannabe, he's become a Liveryman of the City of London. He's joined the Drapers' Company, one of the self-proclaimed “Twelve Great Livery Companies in the City of London.” In fact, it was the Drapers' who nominated Craig to his governorship at the Bancroft's Academy.

Dating back hundreds of years, the Drapers' was, at one time, the Guild of Master Drapers. Now little more than an elite club for business types, it is more likely to count bankers and hedge fund managers than anyone who has ever done an honest day’s toil to produce something from textiles.

The Drapers' claims to be “an organisation that addresses contemporary issues, gaining a new relevance through its philanthropic role.”

Well, Drapers', the LSSE workers issue you this challenge: don't turn a blind eye to Craig's shameful behaviour.

One of your members has unapologetically stolen thousands of pounds in wages from his staff. Your claim to philanthropy is little more than ash in your mouth if you allow your members to get away with such abhorrent behaviour.

And if you do, we'll be hooking you in too and holding you to account.

As the first step, the workers have called for communications blockade of the Drapers' Hall on Monday the 9th of February. The callout can be found here.