National Shop Stewards Network - Staffordshire sends ....
An open letter to all trade unionists;
Should there be a march in Stoke-on-Trent on 30th November?
NSSN Staffordshire welcomes the rally being organised outside the Civic Centre in Stoke and has been busy building for it. It was advertised on the NSSN Staffordshire website as early as 26 October. We were probably the first organisation locally to get out leaflets advertising it and have already given out thousands to workers and members of the public across our area.
But we have also discussed the need for a march to the rally to be organised. We have been stressing the importance of having a march and rally for almost two months. See NSSN Staffordshire post below of 28th September.
Now we find that of the seven major cities of the Midlands only Stoke-on-Trent is NOT having a march! See Midlands TUC blog
Even Lincoln with a population of 86,000 is organising one and so is Chesterfield with just a 70,000 population!
NSSN Staffordshire has been contacted by some local union reps and activists over the last few weeks who are not too happy that there won't be a march in our area and we agree with them.
We still firmly believe that the rally on N30 should be built upon by including a march to it and that there is still time to do so. The strike action on N30 of up to 3 million workers will be the most significant strike action in living memory. If we are not going to organise a march for this then when exactly would we do so?
It has been suggested at recent NSSN Staffordshire meetings that a feeder march from Hanley to the rally in Stoke for those who want to march would be the best option. The advantage of this would be that it wouldn't cut across the rally itself but would add significantly to it.
Crucially a march would also allow us to reach more people with our message on the day when those taking strike action will inevitably be castigated by the mass media.
Obviously, if a march was to be organised it would have to be decided quite quickly so we would like as many trade unionists and other workers to let us know what they think asap. You can post a comment below or better still come along to our next NSSN Staffordshire meeting.
It will take place on Monday 21st November at 7.30pm in the Sacred Hearts Social Centre on the corner of Downey St and Regent Rd, Hanley ST1 3BY.
We have invited Jason Hill and Steve Jones (President and Joint Secretary) of North Staffs TUC and other NSTUC delegates to this meeting to discuss what we believe to be the need for, and the possibility of, organising such a march.
Please accept this open invitation to all trade unionists, activists and supporters to come along as well
