I am proud to stand and represent water, environment and transport workers in UNISON
This year I am standing in the National Executive Council elections for Water, Environment and Transport with other members who want our union to change, fight and win for our members.
I am really proud to officially announce my candidacy for the Water, Environment and Transport seat on UNISON's National Executive Council. If anyone is familiar with navigating UNISON's bureaucracy, then I'm sure you'll believe me when I say that it's already been a long road to get to this point. The healthy show of support by the branches who have nominated me has made this a whole lot easier. Many thanks to all of you. If elected, I will be an ally and an advocate of every branch who wants more for their members and seeks my comradeship.
John Jones, the retiring incumbent, is the very definition of a "stalwart". He has held the seat for 20 years, delivering much, while sustaining attacks on his personal character, even during ill health. Throughout, he has done so with integrity and characteristic honesty, with his sharp mind, tongue and good sense of humour. I admire him a great deal and there's big shoes to fill.
I would like to say that there's big expectations on me from the membership and I will do my utmost to live up to them. But we all know that isn't true, either in a general sense, or in the way that we want it to. Participation in the union's democracy is low. Too low. Many feel like the union itself doesn't live up to their expectations. Many more are ignorant or unaware of it's history, capabilities, possibilities or even it's true function. Even the most well-meaning, sincere or committed union activist is not expected to be able to do very much. Like the employers that we work for, the government, or many other systems and institutions that we deal with every day, The Union is seen as an opaque and immovable thing.
But despite all of it's ills the union is still a working class institution. It is entangled with systems of power and control, but it is ours and it can change. I've seen it change and I've seen how that change has come about. In just a very short time, Time for Real Change activists (of which I'm one), have forced the union to look in the mirror and make it to do things very differently. Through the Organising to Win motion, we have put millions of pounds into peoples pockets, recruited thousands of new activists and bucked the historical trend of membership decline, as well as much more (see below).
People can misunderstand intentions and I often think that I am perceived wrongly. I am not an ambitious person. I did not stand for this seat because I think I have a right to. Anyone that knows me knows that I take the work of the union very seriously and I try to conduct myself in a principled manner commensurate with the responsibilities that have been granted to me by the membership.
I always try to be clear about who I am: I am a communist. I am from the class, and I have witnessed and experienced the brutality of this society. This has always had a profound influence on how I think and what I do. I need society to change, I want it to change, and I always will. I see the union as a vessel for change.
From my work in public affairs, Chair of a busy Branch, sitting on the WET Service Group Executive and on it’s Strategy & Policy Committee, I am intimately aware of the biggest challenges facing our sectors. I am passionate about the work that we do and I see all of the potential for real gains, which will make a difference to the lives of our members and the society that they service. To do anything that we want it to do, though, we have to go back to basics. We have to focus minds and steer the union towards doing what it's supposed to do and doing it well.
If we want fully resourced and empowered environment agencies, green transportation with well paid jobs, or an end to the scandal engulfing the water industry so it can also provide security for its workers, then we cannot carry on with the way we’ve been doing things. No concession has ever been made, no power has ever retreated or any reform granted without workers being confident, mobilised and forcing the issue.
And not just some workers. All workers. Whether you're Black, LGBT+, a woman, or disabled. Currently, our service group is failing these members. Not enough of them are active in self-organised groups or in leading positions. These members are not empowered to challenge systems of discrimination they routinely face in their workplace and are not given the tools to do it effectively. If we can't do it in the office, in the depot, or in the field, how are we supposed to do it in wider society?
These are my priorities, for this year, and the coming years. We need to be better organised and we need our members mobilised and on the front foot. This means that I have to continue the patient work of John and elevate the status of WET on the NEC too. We cannot continue being a second-rate membership group, so we need to demand more. I will do this without fear of the Labour machine.
My position is not complicated. I'll always tell you where I'm coming from and exactly the way that I see it. If you want support, advice or guidance, I will always give it, or when I can't, seek it out.
In the next few months, I hope to have many conversations and gain a deeper understanding of what our members need and what I can do to help the union deliver them. If any branch or individual member wants to have a conversation, my DMs are always open. Come the time, I hope you will vote for me, and in the event that enough of you do and I am elected, I look forward to representing you.
Jim