On Nottingham’s Radical History and Women in Trade Unions

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I was invited to address the RMT’s Women’s Conference in Nottingham recently.

Nottingham Castle Gate House

Nottingham Castle Gate House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Welcome sisters, or as we say in Nottingham “ey up me ducks”

I am delighted to welcome you all to beautiful Nottingham, city of legends.

I imagine that many of you will have arrived at Nottingham Rail Station.  I know that it is looking a bit sorry for itself at present as it is in the middle of being refurbished.  Locally, we are looking forward towards the completion of a new transport hub.

You may have come from the station on the tram. If not, the nearest stop is at the end of the street, just by the Royal Centre.  Line one (to the north of Nottingham) was jointly developed by the Labour controlled County Council and City Council. The first thing the new Conservative administration at County Hall did was to pull out of the consortium which was building phase 2.  Despite this Tory attempt to put a spanner in the development of public transport the City Council has pushed on with lines 2 and 3 to the West of Nottingham. These are due to open in late 2014 and should relieve some of the traffic problems which bedevil us, especially at rush hours.

I hope that if you come back to Nottingham next year, either for a future conference or just to visit the Queen of the midlands, you’ll see a big improvement in our public transport.

I hope that while you are here you’ll take the opportunity to get out and explore Nottingham.  Although Nottingham is advertised as the city of legends (Robin Hood, Brian Clough) to my mind it has a bigger claim to the title of “city of radical progressive politics”.

Just one word of warning though, if you visit our famous castle you may be somewhat disappointed.  It doesn’t look like a mediaeval castle at all (it’s got no turrets, no keep, no moat) and it’s certainly nothing like Hollywood would have you believe.  There was a Norman Castle on the site, Richard the Lionheart laid siege to it when his brother John took refuge and Richard the third rode out from it to the Battle of Bosworth.  Although King Charles I raised his standard by the castle and started the Civil War here, for most of the time Nottingham was a parliamentary stronghold.  After the execution of Charles I in 1649, the castle was demolished to prevent its re-use.  The first Duke of Newcastle then built a mansion on the site.

However in 1831 this building was attacked and razed to the ground by Nottingham people protesting at the Duke of Newcastle’s opposition to Parliamentary reform.  The mansion remained a derelict shell until it was restored in 1875 and opened in 1878 as the Nottingham Castle Museum, the first municipal art gallery in the UK outside of London

Nottingham’s long radical history runs from Saxons defending their independence against the Vikings, through Robin Hood (the Civil War,), Luddism, the Reform Riots Chartism, the General Strike and through to the Spanish Civil War. This continues up to today, with the many industrial struggles which have rocked Nottingham over the last 80 years.

Feargus O'Connor by J B Robinson, Nottingham A...

Feargus O’Connor by J B Robinson, Nottingham Arboretum (Photo credit: mira66)

Indeed Nottingham was the only place to send a Chartist to Parliament.  Feargus Edward O’Connor was elected in 1847.  Although he is largely forgotten today a statue of him sits in Nottingham Arboretum.

The people of Nottingham are known for being no respecters of person when in pursuit of their aims.  In 1764, during the so called “cheese riots” those protesting against price increase bowled huge cheeses down the street.  Attempts by the local mayor to quell the mob resulted in his dignity being flattened by a 100lb cheese.  (I must admit that I have a list of politicians I’d like to see flattened by a cheese).

More recently during the Poll Tax Protests a council meeting was ended when local Councillors were attacked with custard pies.  Yet again Nottingham was at the forefront of the campaign and was reportedly fourth in the national league for non-payment. Official figures show that over one third of people weren’t paying.

Nottingham has also been long known for the strength of its women’s organisations.  From the middle of the nineteenth century young women became the main source of labour in the lace factories.  This led to the City’s reputation as home to many young, attractive, self-sufficient women.  As a result the Nottingham Trade Union of Women Workers in the Lace Trade, and The Nottingham Female Political Union flourished.

The Nottingham Co-operative Women’s Guild aimed to improve the conditions of women especially in poor neighbourhoods.,  Nottingham Women’s Welfare Centre opened in 1926 as only the third birth control clinic ever in England .

In 1971 a group of Women’s Liberation activists opened a women’s centre out of the front room of one of their members. A number of organisations gravitated to the centre and once they had dedicated premises they were able to form a focus point for groups such as Women’s Abortion & Contraception Group, Lesbian Group, Feminist Theory Group & ‘Battered Wives.’ (Now known as women’s aid) By organising together despite opposition, they managed to provide a strong women’s centre that has helped to contribute to the environment in Nottingham, which has encouraged, educated and supported women to be leaders and influencers.

All of this shows why Nottingham is such a good place for the RMT’s women’s conference.

However, there will be some people who question the need for women’s conferences and women’s organisations within trades unions.

There’s no doubt that the nature of trades unionism has changed.  As of January this year there were 53 unions affiliated to the TUC representing some 6 million workers.  In 2000, 38.5% of the affiliated membership to the TUC was female, today it is 49%  In unions representing public sector workers (including health and teaching) women are the majority, up to 70%.  In comparison the same figures show that of the 76,000 RMT members some 12% are female.

We know that trades unions are good for women.  Studies[1], show that workers in unionised workplaces are far better off than those in non-unionised workplaces and that this is particularly true for women.  Trade unions are agents of greater equality – economic, sexual and racial.

In unionised workplaces:

  • pay differentials are reduced
  • there is more flexibility to help women achieve a work-life balance

And trades unions often offer access to education and training which help their members.

This is significant in the face of the Government’s austerity programme.  The cuts to important public services will affect many of us as users but will also disproportionately affect women as employees.  And we’ve seen the number of firms that have gone bust in recent months – all our high streets bear the scars of the Government “talking the economy down”.

So given the increase in women in trade unions and the attacks on women’s services we could ask why aren’t women more active in trade unions[2].  There seem to be a number of factors at play which still means that much of the trade union culture is male-dominated.

For instance:

  • Women still encounter hostility when they take on trade union responsibilities
  • Some rules of procedure seem designed to be deliberately obscure
  • Women often lack confidence in their own abilities, (we have a confidence gap where men will apply for jobs when they have 20% of the needed qualifications whilst a woman won’t apply unless they have over 80%)
  • The assumption that members are available outside normal working hours ignores the unequal division of family responsibilities (a problem which all the more acute for single mothers)

If we are to recruit and retain women members and represent them effectively then unions need to strive to become more women-friendly.

This means:

  • Giving women space to explore issues together (we know that women tend to contribute less when they’re in mixed groups)
  • Helping build our confidence
  • Challenging the way in which unions work, especially where women make up a smaller proportion.

I’d like to play tribute to the RMT for providing a women-friendly space through conferences such as this.  I appreciate that being a trade union representative is frequently difficult in the workplace so I would encourage you to take advantage of this women’s only event to explore issues, share experiences, and consider how you can support each other.  Personally I’m a great believer in the value of social media in helping build networks between people who may be isolated.  I hope that you’ll all come out of the Conference feeling its been worthwhile.

I can see from the agenda that you have a busy couple of days ahead.  But I hope that you will get some time to explore my fine city.

Once again, welcome to Nottingham

Thank You

[1] 1999 by Professor David Metcalf from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)

[2] Research carried out among organisations affiliated to European Trades Union Confederation in 2002

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A Christian View of Equal Marriage

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A friend of mine kindly gave me permission to post the letter she wrote to her mp here.

Dear MP,

I am writing to urge you to vote in favour of equal marriage laws.

I am Christian, a Methodist, a daughter of a Methodist Minister. I
have seen from news reports that you are worried that Christians will
be forced into performing marriage ceremonies that they do not want to
and you  asked that: “your community could let me know the strength of your
views on this matter prior to any legislation.”

In that community it is also true that there are Christian ministers who are eager to
give the blessing of God to the love and commitment of two people,
regardless of their gender.

The strength of my views as a Christian is an unswerving determination
to see human rights be taken up as the main cause of the church. Social
justice and equality are the kind of things Christians should be
standing up for.

Once I was at a service and the preaching minister talked about a time
when many years ago he had heard a minister say that AIDS was a
punishment for homosexuality and he walked out, “because it was the
right thing to do”. He said that sometimes the right thing to do is to
disagree with the church. To stay sitting, to stay in that place, would
have been wrong.

Right now the Conservatives have a chance to do just that, to stand up
for what is right and have an incredible legacy of bringing in equal
rights for people regardless of sexuality. Gay people also suffer a
huge stigma. Bullying and violence is frequent. Parents kicking their
children out. If the vote goes against equal marriage it will continue
to perpetuate this idea that we are different, we don’t deserve the
same rights or the same treatment. I believe that a vote for equal
marriage will stay on in history books far more than the double or
triple dip reception or any economic policy of David Cameron’s.

I myself am bisexual and currently engaged to marry a guy. I love him
very much and cannot wait to get married, but the knowledge that it
could so easily have been a very different situation is a great burden.
We do not love genders, we love people. I certainly do not think that
anyone else’s marriage affects the validity or strength of my own, as
some have suggested.

Currently there can be no religious wording at a civil ceremony, no
Bible readings or hymns or religious poems and no gay marriages in
church.
The Government has promised protection for churches who do not want to
perform gay marriage. Please vote to allow churches and Christians who
DO want to have God and religious elements in their ceremony to do so.

If two people want to commit their lives together and do so as part of
the legal and religious traditions of our country then it is a
beautiful thing that they should not be excluded from because of
gender.

I look forward to hearing your response.

Yours sincerely,

Name redacted by request

Ain’t I a Woman and other Speeches

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English: One of the symbols of German Women's ...

I was at a conference this weekend, all woman and all politically aware and active. But when it came to naming great speeches by women we had problems doing so.

So I would like to throw it open and see if we can compile a list of great speeches by women and why they are great. (preferably with links to video or transcripts)

I’m starting with Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a Woman

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Ain’t I A Woman?
Delivered 1851
Women’s Rights Convention, Akron, Ohio

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ‘twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what’s this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That’s it, honey. What’s that got to do with women’s rights or negroes’ rights? If my cup won’t hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ’cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain’t got nothing more to say.

I am also adding two more modern speeches which I found inspiring

Julia Gillard’s firey rebuttal to Tony Abbott and Hillary Clinton’s reply to the Bengazi Hearing

Edit: Thanks to the Magnificent Nan Sloane of the Centre for Women and Democracy

http://www.cfwd.org.uk/quotations-2/political-speeches-by-women

4 Stops Ago

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http://empoweredafrolatina.tumblr.com via Feministing

 

There’s an advert on tv at the moment and the more I watch it the more it concerns me.

In it a girl gets on a cable car and sits next to a chap and after a while she asks where he’s getting off “four stops ago” is his answer. It seems like a perfectly romantic and nice scenario and to the general public it may well be. (the only version of it I can find is cropped so she has the agency)

But to me, it reminds me of things.

It reminds me of the chap who followed me almost to my front door, only to do a swift 180 and walk back to where he was originally, when I got a friend on the phone.

The chap who sat down next to me on the bus and continued trying to talk to me even though I was obviously not interested and indeed he had to pull my headphones out my ear.

The numerous chaps who will tell me “you’d look prettier if you smiled”, really? Who for?

The guy who refused to leave me alone unless I gave him a hug to prove I wasn’t mad.

The men I ran into when working in a bar who assumed that we were part of the service, there to be groped, propositioned and generally treated like pieces of meat.

The chap I thought was my friend until he revealed himself to feel entitled to my body.

And with these and other chaps comes a lot of baggage. Such as not feeling safe even within my own home if I am on my own at night, panicking if I have to walk anywhere in the dark, even to the Council Chamber for meetings. Trying to make sure that I have a friend who knows where I am going and when I should get there.

Some of these chaps may sound flattering, after all it’s nice to be told you’re pretty. But the way in which they do it and the attitude of possession creeps me out. Really it’s a form of street harassment and one which needs to stop. http://feministing.com/2013/01/18/it-takes-a-village-to-silence-street-harassment/

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Let’s talk about AWS baby

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Jennie Lee, MP, Baroness, Legend, Woman

All Women Shortlists, that bogeyman within the Labour Party. The sole thing that is stopping men from becoming MP’s.

Or so you would think if you listened to the conversation which proliferates around events. Apparently it is now harder for a white, middle-class, male to get into parliament then it is for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle. Women are being put into place purely because they are women, it’s sexist to have a Labour Women’s Network and not a Labour Men’s Network and look at all the advantages they get from the LWN training scheme. They even get their own conference for Bevan’s sake!

There seems to be this view that AWS are giving women an unfair advantage, it’s not about leveling the playing field so much as women taking over. Yet studies have shown that a woman won’t apply for a job unless she has over 85% of the qualities asked for whereas a man will apply if he has only 20%.

There’s an awful lot of privilege denying going on, women are automatically less likely to be selected on an open shortlist, not because of lack of ability, but because selection panels often reflect the makeup of the G.C. G.C’s often tend to be male dominated as they are more likely to put themselves forward or attend meetings. Interestingly this often doesn’t reflect the makeup of the CLP, women are more likely to be silent members, they would go to meetings but were scared off, have to look after the kids or a million and one other activities which are automatically designated “women’s work” even in the most egalitarian and feminist of couples.If CLP’s aren’t gender balanced then how can we expect selections to be genderblind? As Ann Black said in her response to the LWN “Around 75% of parliamentary candidates in non-target seats are also men, worrying because these can often be the first step towards a parliamentary career.”

Men are also more likely to take part in more high-profile campaigning than women, leaflet folding, photocopying and phone canvassing are just as vital to voter ID as doorknocking but have less kudos when selecting people for positions in branch, G.C or as candidates. This is something which needs to be looked into, doorknocking is intimidating enough as it is but as a woman you are constantly reminded that you are not safe. Be it through ad campaigns that blame victims for their own attack or other forms of media which use women as victims. Most men I know have never had to consider their safety in detail before leaving the house, grasping keys in their hand as a defence against attack or ringing a friend before walking home, getting in a taxi or leaving the house when it’s dark.Putting yourself in a situation where you are meeting strangers at their own house automatically rings alarm bells of “not safe, not safe” even if you are in a large group, it does for me even though I have been doorknocking for years. This is one of the reasons women tend to do the backroom work and leave the high-profile stuff to the men. However this counts against them when going for selection.

If you’re a youngish woman, that can count against you. Even though it is no longer asked assumptions are made about your reproductive capabilities and whether you would be able to commit to the role if you had a baby. This is despite some high-profile female MP’s managing to combine both childcare and politics well. I doubt that this is thought of when it comes to male candidates.

As a party we often have an aggression towards AWS based on what is seen as them being imposed by on high. The NEC sets a target and Regional Office tells CLP’s what to do.

  • What we need to start working on is a grassroots approach, we need to start valuing the input women make to campaign work and remove the hierarchy of contributions.
  • There needs to be work on gender balance at the branch and CLP level as well as on selection panels.
  • There has been some excellent work on reformulating the structure of branch and g.c meetings but more has to be done. Thought needs to be paid to the time most of these meetings are and pooling childcare.
  • Women need to be encouraged to stand, when I stood it was the result of a lot of arm twisting on behalf of my CLP chair and secretary who thought I was a good candidate. Without that support I doubt I would have stood or even be considering standing until I was past my 40′s.
  • We also need to start promoting the women within our party, those who have been elected need to start speaking at CLP’s and writing about their experiences, no one person’s experience is the same but we can all support and learn from each other.

Most importantly we need to stop talking about AWS as if they are some giant evil on the level of Beveridge’s Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness. Do you think a woman is going to stand after years of being told that she isn’t as good as a man? Do you think that after 20 odd years that someone is going to say something so shocking and new that it will overthrow the entire system?

What we do need to talk about is what other ways we can get women into politics and make it so that AWS aren’t needed but can be considered a relic of the past.

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