Rail strike next month?

[bgmnts]

RMT members to strike on 27th July.

Ahem!

[Zero Gravitas]

North Korean Victory Day!? Mick Lynch is a Jucheist case closed.

[Mrs Wogans lemon drizzle]

Not sure if this has been posted yet but this guy is brilliant.

https://twitter.com/ronanburtenshaw/status/1547625321398013957?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1547625321398013957%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

"People at the top of the Ecconomy are having a disco"

[Buelligan]

Yeah, he's great, glad you like him!

Great and very enlightening section at the start of Tysky tonight with a deeper explanation of the money side of this from the RMT's Eddie Dempsey.  Super union, Clive.

[Mrs Wogans lemon drizzle]

Yeah, he's great, glad you like him!

Excellent, thanks for that.  Eddie Dempsey has a brilliant way of articulating what's wrong with late stage capitalism.  Would like to see more of him in politics. 

[Buelligan]

For me, it's not so much about the individuals, though we have some beauties.  At bottom though, more about the unbeatable force that is solidarity.

[Crenners]

I had a great train ride yesterday, Manchester to Oxford, they must of triple book the seats because I had the same seat reservation as two other people! Ended up standing up for three hours sideways in a bike rack 😂😂😂

Good news was the air con was broke so I could stuck my head out the window

[Buelligan]

I expect Virgin Trains will release cctv footage shortly proving you are The Liar Jeremy Corbyn.

[imitationleather]

I find Eddie Dempsey's voice very relaxing.

If the union stuff doesn't work for him he should start doing ASMR videos.

[Johnny Yesno]

I find Eddie Dempsey's voice very relaxing.

If the union stuff doesn't work for him he should start doing ASMR videos.

What region do ASMR run trains in?

[Fambo Number Mive]

RMT have launched a petition opposing the closure of 1,000 ticket offices: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/cut-their-profits-not-our-ticket-offices

...The Government and rail industry say that staff will be 'repurposed', yet they have failed to give any commitment that staffing levels will be maintained.

We believe these plans are not about improving the passenger experience, but rather cutting jobs and protecting the profits of the train companies.

In a recent survey of RMT members, nearly 90% of station and ticket office staff said plans to close ticket offices and make all staff 'multi-functional' would have a detrimental impact on the passenger experience and on passenger accessibility.

We know that closing ticket offices will worsen the passenger experience and safety, security and accessibility. The impacts may be particularly severe for disabled and elderly passengers and those requiring additional support.

Elderly and disabled people, and people on low incomes are less likely to have access to the internet and are excluded by the push to online and electronic ticketing.

These plans ignore the much wider role that ticket office staff provide in addition to sales, including providing a wide range of advice and expertise and navigating the complex ticketing system to ensure passengers are not overcharged.

The ticket office provides a point of safety and security, and at many stations access to facilities such as toilets and waiting rooms relies on the presence of staff...

If you are free tommorow and want to join the RMT on a picket line to show solidarity the list of picket lines is here: https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/picket-line-details/

[Buelligan]

I'd love to sign but feel my location might undermine the point.  It's a great idea though, even if it's roundly ignored by Shapps - which it surely will be - I mean, the workers and the customers, uniting, voicing an opinion, what's important about that? - I still feel the opportunity of reminding people around and outside of Britain, that there are an awful lot of us out there, feeling exactly the same is extremely important - it's a great building block of solidarity, that.  And solidarity is what's going to fix all of this shite.

I've signed it anyway.

[Butchers Blind]

Maidstone East Front Entrance
5.30-8.00

On your side brothers but not getting up that early.

[greencalx]

That twat Shapps is now dialing up the anti-union rhetoric, presumably hoping to get a plum job in a Truss cabinet.

The question that no-one ever seems to put to such types is how they think "the market" should broker deals between employers and employees without organisations like trade unions redressing the natural power imbalance between the two sides (an imbalance that is hardly uncontroversial, given that Adam Smith recognised it).

[Buelligan]

Just dropping this across from the Labour thread, in case it's missed -

Tarry sacked soon then?

https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/1552179050189410304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1552179050189410304%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fuk-news%2Flive%2F2022%2Fjul%2F27%2Ftrain-strikes-rail-disruption-uk-live-latest-travel-updates

[Buelligan]

Just thought I'd link this excellent Mick Lynch interview from a few days ago.  It's really worth watching in full.

[TrenterPercenter]

That twat Shapps is now dialing up the anti-union rhetoric, presumably hoping to get a plum job in a Truss cabinet.

They are going to do this and will actually see the strikes as a way of rebooting support.

Most left minded people understand the need for strikes and strong unions.  Sadly lots of the public still view strikes as trouble-making and are jealous/envious of terms and conditions they do not have (of course the answer here is join a union).  What has been impressive this time out (aided by how shit things have got) is the communication - I really like this unspoken truce of the unions and Labour loads of interviewers are trying to work this angle for the rightwing press either Labour is too leftwing on unions or too rightwing on unions it's can't win either way with the public on a mass political sense; so as dull as it is "getting round the table" is the correct answer.  I've started noticing the Unions actually agreeing with this. 

It's a win win for unions and Labour but I appreciate it leaves some left-wingers feeling like neither Labour or the unions are standing up for what they should believe in, they are, they are just being clever about it.  The press do the same thing with the SNP and Labour, they did it with Labour and the EU they do it with everything because it just the divide and conquer tactics reheated.

[Jerrykeshton]

Deleted

[Jerrykeshton]

As long as the union is trying to get the best deal for their members, I'm not sure what else anyone would want them to do. Trying to bring about a workers revolution or some such is not really what they should be about. If someone wants to do that they should join the SWP

[TrenterPercenter]

As long as the union is trying to get the best deal for their members, I'm not sure what else anyone would want them to do. Trying to bring about a workers revolution or some such is not really what they should be about. If someone wants to do that they should join the SWP

Ish and this speaks to the problem of intra-union solidarity around issues (with obviously some workers profession's interests diametrically opposed to that of others) but unity around a general strike are a workers revolution of a sorts, as are people voting out a government that is making them poorer, but I think I get what you mean.

[Stonefish]

Just thought I'd link this excellent Mick Lynch interview from a few days ago.  It's really worth watching in full.

Thanks for this, wow always impressed with Mick Lynch. That's not easy, essentially debating three people on your own. His answers are so thoughtful and clearly expressed too, which really highlights how facile some of the questions are. Asking who he prefers, Truss or Sunak, Lynch says neither of them and explains why. He's told in response "Well you must be a Rishi Sunak guy then!". Embarrassing. Sick burn from Lynch as well about the level of journalism going on "present company excepted of course" haha.

[TrenterPercenter]

He really is excellent. Authenticity pouring out like sunlight on vampires.

[Armed Traffic Warden]

Just thought I'd link this excellent Mick Lynch interview from a few days ago.  It's really worth watching in full.

  Thanks for the share. More interesting than what Mick had to say *solidarity comrade* is how poorly the interviewers bother to hide their contempt. Am I being uncharitable? Surely the BBC wouldn't show right leaning bias?

[Buelligan]

I take it you haven't seen Kay Burley trying to skewer him - whole 'nother level.  Dear god, try it once, shame on you.  Try it twice, you're a fucking idiot.

[Armed Traffic Warden]

Yeah I saw it. Kay Burley apparently still trying to remove that skewer from her backside.

Edit- scratch that; I hadn't seen the second interview. Oh dear. School playground stuff.

[frajer]

Yeah I saw it. Kay Burley apparently still trying to remove that skewer from her backside.

Edit- scratch that; I hadn't seen the second interview. Oh dear. School playground stuff.

BURLEY: "Mr Lynch, it has been said you are a bell-end tied to a tree, is that correct?"

LYNCH: "No, that's not true."

BURLEY: "Bell-end on the loose!!"

[Psybro]

A shame in the BBC one he can't say 'Realistically nobody gives a shit about the Commonwealth Games'.

[Johnny Yesno]

Mick Lynch with a non hostile interviewer:

RMT chief Mick Lynch tears into Truss and Sunak's draconian strike plans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYSiND5FVNg

And some Eddie Dempsey highlights:

Union leader Eddie Dempsey makes a fool of Tories and journalists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9pmFxsSGhA

[dissolute ocelot]

Surely to defeat the strikers all the government needs to do is reintroduce COVID stay-at-home rules. Monkey Pox is on the rise, COVID's not going anywhere, and socialism is a worse infection than any pox or coronavirus.

[Buelligan]

And another truly heart-raising one from Dempsey - why can't Labour get off their arses, if they can't bring themselves say this shit, at least stop standing in th way -