Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Sunday, November 26, 2006

If I were Venezuelan...


I would vote for Chavez. I have just signed a petition to that effect because I was asked to. I am not immediately convinced that my signature will make any difference to the Venezuelan electorate…

It is a fairly limited form of solidarity to sign a petition, but that doesn’t make it pointless. In line with UNISON policy I am very happy to express solidarity with Venezuela in one way or another.

We may have our problems with Pensions, Privatisation and Single Status but we don't necessarily face the same problems as comrades in some other parts of the world. The example of Colombia, most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists, is an indication of what would be in store for Venezuelans if the US managed to derail their Bolivarian revolution.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll join you on that, but in policy terms, the opposition looks pretty good too (though their behaviour has been disgraceful). Democratic Socialists can't lose.

Emma said...

Comrade! You forgot the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign:
www.venezuelasolidarity.org.uk

You may notice the VSC co-ordinator is called Andy Goodall. I can assure you that is pure coincidence. He is a UNISON activist, though, and gave me a copy of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised which is a cracking film and if you haven't seen it already, do it now!