unions are a defunct and a part of the state? I would be interested to hear if the person who wrote that has ever actually been a member of a trade union.
if you sincerely believe this, rather than are just repeating some quote out of Black Flag or something, please give me a few pointers on the following questions.

1. if unions are a part of the state then...
why then did Thatcher expend so much time and energy trying to destroy them?
why did she describe the NUM as "the enemy within" during the miners' strike?
why is Tony Blair gearing himself up for a battle with them over the use of the private sector in delivering public services?
why, indeed, so they want to fight him?
why do trade unions make up the backbone of donations to many radical campaigns?
why are so many trade unionists present on anti-capitalist demonstrations?

2. if unions are defunct then...
why do unionised workplaces on average have better rates of pay than non-unionised ones?
why are companies running sweatshops in the developing world so keen to prevent them from forming?
why are 6.9m people still members of them?
why are they still the representative of workers in negotiations with government?
why are there still strikes?


perhaps one day you will realise that trade unions are the sort of organisations that actually get on with improving peoples lives, rather than just talking about it.

g

well,just goes to show that all students are'nt anarchists dunnit?...and some 'shithead' has to help herd everybody around don't they?..remember that colleges and universities come part and parcel with the STATE and the STATE likes to herd people around too...fuck them.
There's bigger and better things to concentrate on rather than these wankers.
(A)+(P)= :)

What is the point of this posting? Whowever wasted their time producing this picture is obviously living under the illusion that the NUS ARENT completely reactionary careerists! This is like showing a picture of Blair and his cronies stood behind the cops with the caption "now we know what side he's on". Come on. Use your time more effectively.

remember, the swp have a large following in the nus

Just seen that the unions of 'UK' have 'watered down' their opposition to private finance initiatives or private investment. Read last week that the largest US labour union - the CIO-AFL (or something along those lines) decided to support Bush Jrs plan to drill for oil in Alaska. Also seen Unions in action, heard first hand accounts of being hounded out of Unison and other unions because the militancy of the members was going against the wishes of the 'Leaders'.

The Unions are indeed defunct. They are for state capitalism and for whatever cop-out choice (be that Labour Party, Socialist Alliance, slightly better working hours, collusion with the ruling elite and bosses organisations, etc) they have. A better arrangement is that of anarcho-syndicalists who organise horizonally (rather than the 'exclusive' vertical management which puts one industry against another and discriminates against those with other skills and experience).

The unions are defunct, but I personally wouldn't work too hard to work within them - you are constrained by too many rules, regulations and beaurocracy. If people feel that their energies are best placed inside a TU then thats what they should do. If you truly want a better world however, not some cop out ('best of the worst choices') then work outside TUs. This is not a criticism of TU activists - rather an attack on the organisation principle and mode of organisation which modern (mainstream) TUs advocate.

I don't feel creaing posters is a waste of activists time. It is a creative use of time with a political message. Its also an indictment of TU and in particular the NUS.

HEY TOM! Sort the time and date on your PC.

good examples of bad decisions by unions. I wouldn't crow too much about the US example however as it blows away one of the myths of the anti-globalisation movement - that we are diverse but united. environmental interests and labour interests are not one and the same, no matter how often we use the example of the Liverpool dockers. the US example is not really just an illustration of the short-sighted nature of union leaderships, it also pours cold water on the idea that all players in the movement want the same thing.

But that said I still completely disagree with your argument.

the main problem with radical-sounding arguments - be they about trade unions, voting, the Trots etc - is that they betray an obsession with theory & ideology. now if we all start from the position of wanting to improve the world (as I am sure we do) then the theory MUST be secondary to the long term goals.

you say anarcho-syndicalism is better than normal unions. but what serious victories have anarcho-syndicalist unions achieved anywhere in the world since they were crushed in Spain?

looking specifically at the UK they have not existed as proper unions for decades. how can you seriously suggest to a postie/firefighter/shopworker/programmer/whatever that they would be better off turning their back on the recognised union in their industry in favour of the anarcho-syndicalist alternative? it is nonsense. what does that mean in the UK anyway - joining SolFed or the IWW? I bet there aren't 500 people involved in them combined.

as for trade unions being a cop-out. which is a bigger cop-out, fighting for a better deal by the most effective means to hand or refusing to get involved with anything that is not ideologically perfect?

to get back to my earlier point much as I sympathise with the goals of anarchism/anarchosyndicalism - if by that we mean attaining libertarian socialism - anarchism in this and most other countries has been and continues to be a failure. the UK anarchist movement is tiny and is not even on the radar screen of those who it claims to speak for. in contrast trade unions have millions of members and are still very politicised. given this background doesn't it look more like anarchism is defunct than the trade unions?

If you look at Trade Unions as an army and management/Govt as the other army then i would say that Unions have still not recovered fron the defeat of the Miners in 1985. The symbolism for Thatcher is that by crushing the spirit of the Miners she was taking out the strongest link. The result was that all other Unions were scared and would buckle under which they did. I was a bus driver in London and fought a lone battle against Privatisation in 92. The T&GWU which was my Union handed Privatisation to Govt on a plate. Unions generally are exclusive and inward looking and put out the bullshit that we look after our members, which generally means they don't care about anyone else. They're like a working mens club, where you've got be a member to get the perks. I can't remember the last major Union Leader that has gone to Prison for their beliefs, wheras many activists presently are.Remember Bill Morris ditching the Liverpool Dockers. Nice bit of solidarity!!
Unions if they can get out of their ostrich mentality can be very effective, the peole working in the sweatshops need effective Unions more than anyone else. It's not just about stopping Privatisation for the Union members but people like school dinner ladies and Hospital Portersas well, they're the ones that get the most shafted by Privatisation. Union Leaders, stop worrying about your 'bricks and mortar', get some 'bread, water and jail bird' and you might start getting my respect.

Errr, I don't thin the anarchist movement is actually that small. Think of what anarchists have accomplished in recent years: June 18th, Mayday protests, direct actions, GM crpo destruction, Genoa, etc etc blah blah blah. You may think it is tiny, but it is more successful and active than colluding Trade Unions.