Hundreds of trade unionists and workers packed into Birkbeck University on Saturday 21 February at the Workers Against The Far Right Organising Conference co hosted by Stand Up To Racism and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The day was a buzz of debate and discussion. Plenaries addressed the big strategic themes of taking on far right and racist party Reform UK, and looking internationally to the inspiration of the mass resistance to Trump’s ICE murders in the US – where workers have been at the centre of community organising – for how we can build a mass movement of workers against the far right.
A lively whole conference training session, led by Stand Up To Racism trade union liaison officer Kevin Courtney, modelled education and training that can be taken back to workplaces and adopted and adapted by union branches to challenge racism and the far right.
The afternoon breakout session saw five workshops run by Stand Up To Racism (Stopping Reform UK: the state of the far right in Britain) by the TUC (Tools for tackling the far right), by Ella Baker School of Organising (Building unity: how can unions do better?), the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) (Rebuilding solidarity: countering far right narratives at work and in the community) and by Care4Calais (Solidarity in Action: Supporting refugees in Calais and Britain)
The conference saw 560 individual delegates turning up on the day either physically signing in at the registration desk (263) or joining online throughout the day (288). With the addition of busy stall holders and campaigns, an array of inspiring speakers, and a brilliant team of trade union stewards, the event was flowing with conversations and connections for trade unionists and workers to get organised. At its height the event had over 300, with 250 in person and 60 online, with over 250 present in each afternoon session. The conference was supported and promoted by most major unions: Unite, Unison, NEU, PCS, FBU, NASUWT, UCU, EIS, BFAWU, ASLEF, TSSA and the CWU.
There was an electric atmosphere in the opening plenary, The threat of Reform UK: what can our unions do to stop them? Leaders of Britain’s two largest unions, Sharon Graham (Unite) and Andrea Egan (Unison) headlined the platform. Their poweful speeches connected with strong and focussed contributions on the potential and how our unions can take on the far right from Steve Wright, FBU general secretary and Fran Heathcote PCS general secretary.
Across the panel, speakers highlighted the urgency of the need for a clear strategy and the role of unions in galvanising a moment of possibility with the momentum building for the 28 March major unity demonstration called by the newly launched Together Alliance.
Ploutis Koumi brought sharp and valuable lessons from his experience as one of the leading NEU reps in the recent victorious Arther Terry Learning Partnership strike, and stressed how essential it is to directly challenge the division of the racists and the far right.
Agnes Peters spoke powerfully, proudly and forthrightly as a migrant health worker at the forefront of the visa campaign against attacks on workers’ rights.
Ludovico Intruglio from the No Kings movement in Italy spoke about the international nature of the fight against the rise of the new far right and fascism and brought solidarity from the mobilisation in Rome building for 28 March taking place alongside major marches in London, in the US and internationally.
The session was hosted by TUC Head of Equalities Kudsia Batool and rounded off with Weyman Bennett, Stand Up To Racism co convenor.
Workshops saw lively and engaged discussion and debate looking to how we can organise, educate and counter the racist and divisive narrative of far right at the level of the workplace.
The sessions also focussed on how this can translate into unprecendented numbers of workers joining the trade union blocs on 28 March.
They also discussed how to develop a strong, confident grassroots movement of workers against the far right that taps into the widespread feeling of opposition to the threat posed by the growth in confidence of racists and the far right, and mobilises the anti racist majority.
A closing plenary, an In conversation with panel: Building a movement of workers against the far right, heard from the inspiring struggle on the streets of Minneapolis with David Stiggers, a bus worker and Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005 president.
Watch David’s inspiring contribution from Minneapolis HERE
The panel, with contributions from the floor, discussed two questions.
Firstly, they responded to the shocking murders by ICE agents of first Renée Good and then Alex Pretti and the horrifying attacks by ICE in Minneapolis, reflecting on how this has sparked such an incredible display of the power of working class community organising and solidarity and resistance.
They each in turn explored the question of how, in this era of unprecedented growth of the far right globally, we learn from the process that has taken place in Minneapolis. The discussion drew out in particular what it suggests about the role of organised workers and trade unions in building an effective movement to drive back the far right.
Secondly, panelists explored how we are witnessing an advance of the far right here that is unprecedented in Britain’s history, with the threat of Reform UK in government and with the largest street mobilisation led by fascists we have ever seen last Autumn. They responded to the question of how widespread anti racist opposition that exists, but alongside greater confidence by racists.
The session asked how we are seeing this manifest in workplaces and how do we organise and build confidence of the anti racist majority to move into action?
Panelists Matt Wrack NASUWT general secretary, Sarah Woolley BFAWU general secretary, Andrea Bradley EIS general secretary and Ed Harlow NEU assistant general secretary joined David in Minneapolis in addressing these questions.
Chris Denson from the NEU strike in the Midlands drew out wider lessons from the dispute and countering the far right on the ground in our unions.
The session was hosted by Sabby Dhalu Stand Up To Racism co convenor and rounded up byconference organiserJulie Sherry Bryce, Stand Up To Racism trade union liaison & international officer.
We want to come out the conference with a collective plan to make the Thursday 5 March day of action a chance to test the water and see what activity is possible in as many workplaces as possible, whether organising some leafleting for 28 March, holding a stall, inviting an SUTR speaker to come to talk about the demo, calling staff members to hold up posters for the demo for a photo – get materials and see what you can do
We are organising for the biggest trade union blocs possible on the 28 March – with such incredible top level backing, 100s of organisations on board, celebrity support, and the inspiration of Minneapolis, this is a moment to seize the opportunity and bring thousands onto the streets, going way beyond the usual suspects with the banner. Pass the model motion for your branch: contact [email protected]
We want to build a movement of Workers Against The Far Right, order badges and stickers, set up a group in your workplace, like the example of Homerton Hospital Workers Against the Far Right: invite a Stand Up To Racism speaker to your meeting, you can also link your branch/ workplace group to local Stand Up To Racism groups in your locality: contact [email protected]
