Blacklisting & Construction Union Collusion Claim?

BELOW is the full text of the original Open Letter dated December 20, 2016, which may have forced the hand of Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, to agree to commission a barrister to examine allegations that union officials colluded with a covert blacklisting operation financed by major firms(with more names added):

OPEN LETTER FROM BLACKLISTED CONSTRUCTION WORKERS:

WE the undersigned, are writing this open letter in the spirit of fraternal debate amongst members of the newly merged UCATT / UNITE construction union.
The upsurge in industrial militancy in the last few years demonstrates that when the official union works alongside rank and file activists, it is possible to mobilise workers even in a hostile environment. The merger offers an opportunity to start anew the fight against the appallingly high fatality rates and casualization of the construction industry by combining the best traditions of the two unions.
However, one issue threatens to cause internal friction: possible union collusion in blacklisting.
Some years ago, both UCATT and UNITE carried out internal investigations into possible union involvement in blacklisting. But that was at a time when barely any of the documentation was available.
Since the High Court, all that has changed. The employers were forced to provide witness statements and disclose 40 years worth of documentary evidence. It is now in the public domain that officials in both unions were recorded as the source of information on Economic League and Consulting Association blacklist files. Some of those named, remain senior officials in UNITE and UCATT to this day. Every union activist in construction knows who the named officials are, as does every major employer.
The leadership of both unions have now seen the evidence: discussions about those officials potentially implicated in blacklisting or with overly cosy relationships with industrial relations managers has been part of the behind the scenes discussions in the run up to the merger.
The High Court litigation won a multi-million pound settlement for blacklisted workers. We fully acknowledge and recognise the tremendous legal, political and industrial campaigns that the unions have undertook.
But compensation is not the same as justice: there has still been no-one held accountable for their actions. We remain resolute in calling for a public inquiry into blacklisting. But that is for a future Corbyn government. Now is the time to put our own house in order.
We the undersigned call upon the new UNITE construction section to engage an independent legal expert to carry out a thorough investigation of the allegations relating to union collusion in blacklisting, with a remit drawn up in conjunction with the blacklisted workers. If the implicated officials are completely innocent, then this is their opportunity to clear their name once and for all.  But if the independent investigation concludes that there is a case to answer, then the union should take the appropriate disciplinary action. We are not looking for a witch-hunt, we simply want answers into possible union collusion in order to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
This issue has haunted the union for years and until it is prepared to act, it will continue to be a running sore that hinders building unity in the newly merged union. We need to unite in order to fight against unscrupulous employers and the Tories, but the newly merged union needs to start with a clean slate.
We urge members to please attend your branch or regional meetings, and send a motion in support of an independent investigation to the UNITE EC.

Yours fraternally:

Blacklist Support Group

Construction Rank and File (national)

(plus in a personal capacity)

Steve Acheson – ex-UNITE branch secretary & safety rep

Dave Ayre – ex-Crook UCATT branch secretary

Royston Bentham – ex-UCATT steward & secretary UNITE Liverpool construction

Graham Bowker – treasurer UNITE Manchester contracting branch

Graeme Boxall – branch secretary UNITE London construction branch

Ian Bradley – UNITE London contracting branch

Terry Brough – ex-UCATT North West Regional Council

John Bryan – retired Bermondsey UCATT

Daniel Collins – UNITE London construction branch

John Connolly – UNITE Liverpool

Paul Crimmins – ex-UCATT branch secretary & steward

Dan Dobson – ex-UNITE SE construction branch secretary

Stewart Emms – ex UCATT full time officials

Peter Farrell – UCATT, Construction Safety Campaign

John Flannaghan – ex-UCATT, now UNITE

Jack Fawbert – ex-UCATT convener

Lee James Fowler – ex-offshore safety rep, UNITE

George Fuller – ex-UCATT safety rep

Jim Grey – Jubilee Line steward, UNITE London contracting

Jim Harte – chair UNITE Combine Committee

Brian Higgins – ex-UCATT Eastern Regional Council & branch secretary

Kev Holmes – chair, UNITE Manchester construction branch

Stewart Hume – UNITE construction NISC

John Jones – ex-UCATT London Regional Council

Tony Jones – UNITE Manchester construction branch

Bill Kaye – UNITE Eastern Region

Steve Kelly – Jubilee Line steward, ex-UNITE branch secretary

Stephen Kennedy – Jubilee Line steward, UNITE

Greig McArthur – UNITE construction NISC

Frank Morris –UNITE EC member for construction

Tony O’Brien – ex-UCATT Southwark convenor & branch secretary

Jason Poulter – secretary UNITE Manchester construction branch

Jim Ryan –Crossrail steward, UNITE London contracting

Tony Seaman – UNITE construction NISC

Pete Shaw – UNITE construction RISC, Combine committee

Dave Smith – ex-UCATT branch secretary & London Regional Council

Frank Smith – ex-UCATT branch secretary & steward

Billy Spiers – chair UNITE construction NISC, ex-AMICUS EC member

Tony Sweeney- ex-UCATT Liverpool convener

Colin Trousdale – ex-UNITE NW Region RISC

Victor Williams – Unite construction

Call for Probe into Union Collusion in Blacklisting

WE THE undersigned, are writing this open letter in the spirit of fraternal debate among members of the newly merged Ucatt / Unite construction union.

The upsurge in industrial militancy in the last few years demonstrates that when the official union works alongside rank and file activists, it is possible to mobilise workers even in a hostile environment. The merger offers an opportunity to start anew the fight against the appallingly high fatality rates and casualisation of the construction industry by combining the best traditions of the two unions.

However, one issue threatens to cause internal friction:  possible union collusion in blacklisting.

Some years ago, both Ucatt and Unite carried out internal investigations into possible union involvement in blacklisting.  But that was at a time when barely any of the documentation was available.

Since the High Court case, all that has changed.  The employers were forced to provide witness statements and disclose 40 years’ worth of documentary evidence. It is now in the public domain that officials in both unions were recorded as the source of information on Economic League and Consulting Association blacklist files.  Some of those named, remain senior officials in Unite and Ucatt to this day.  Every union activist in construction knows who the named officials are, as does every major employer.

The leadership of both unions have now seen the evidence: discussions about those officials potentially implicated in blacklisting or with overly cosy relationships with industrial relations managers has been part of the behind the scenes discussions in the run-up to the merger.

The High Court litigation won a multimillion-pound settlement for blacklisted workers.  We fully acknowledge and recognise the tremendous legal, political and industrial campaigns that the unions have undertaken.

But compensation is not the same as justice.  No-one has been held accountable for their actions.   We remain resolute in calling for a public inquiry into blacklisting.  But that is for a future Corbyn government.  Now is the time to put our own house in order.

We the undersigned call upon the new Unite construction section to engage an independent legal expert to carry out a thorough investigation of the allegations relating to union collusion in blacklisting, with a remit drawn up in conjunction with the blacklisted workers.   If the implicated officials are completely innocent, then this is their opportunity to clear their name once and for all.  But if the independent investigation concludes that there is a case to answer, then the union should take the appropriate disciplinary action.  We are not looking for a witch-hunt, we simply want answers into possible union collusion in order to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.

This issue has haunted the union for years and until it is prepared to act, it will continue to be a running sore that hinders building unity in the newly merged union.  We need to unite in order to fight against unscrupulous employers and the Tories, but the newly merged union needs to start with a clean slate.

We urge members to please attend your branch or regional meetings, and send a motion in support of an independent investigation to the Unite EC.

Blacklist Support Group

Construction Rank and File (national)

And (in personal capacity)

• Steve Acheson, ex-Unite branch secretary and safety rep

• Dave Ayre, ex-Crook Ucatt branch secretary

• Brian Bamford, Secretary of Bury Unite Commercial Branch.
. Roy Bentham, ex-Ucatt steward and secretary Unite Liverpool construction

• Graham Bowker, treasurer Unite Manchester contracting branch

• Graeme Boxall, branch secretary Unite London construction branch

• Ian Bradley, Unite London contracting branch

• John Bryan, retired Bermondsey Ucatt

• Dan Collins, Unite London construction branch

• John Connolly, Unite Liverpool

• Paul Crimmins, ex-Ucatt branch secretary and steward

• Keith Dobie – ex-Ucatt steward & Tottenham branch president

• Stewart Emms, ex-Ucatt full time official

• John Flannaghan, ex-Ucatt, Merseyside Asbestos Victims Support Group

• Jack Fawbert, ex-Ucatt convener

• Lee Fowler, ex-offshore safety rep, Unite

• George Fuller, ex-Ucatt safety rep

• Jim Grey, Jubilee Line steward, Unite London contracting

• Jim Harte, chair Unite combine committee

• Brian Higgins, ex-Ucatt eastern regional council and branch secretary

• Kevin Holmes, chair, Unite Manchester construction branch

• Stewart Hume, Unite construction NISC

• John Jones, ex-Ucatt London regional council

• Tony Jones, Unite Manchester construction branch

• Steve Kelly, Jubilee Line steward, ex-Unite branch secretary

• Stephen Kennedy, Jubilee Line steward, Unite

• Greig McArthur, Unite construction NISC

• Frank Morris, Unite EC member for construction

• Kenny Newton, Unite construction

• Tony O’Brien, ex-Ucatt convenor and branch secretary

• Derek Pattison, Unite member and Chair of Tameside TUC
. Jason Poulter, secretary Unite Manchester construction branch

• Jim Ryan, Crossrail steward, Unite London contracting

• Tony Seaman – UNITE NISC, Middlesbrough branch secretary

• Pete Shaw, Unite construction RISC, Combine committee

• Dave Smith, ex-Ucatt branch secretary and London regional council

• Frank Smith, ex-Ucatt branch secretary and steward

• Billy Spiers, chair Unite construction NISC, ex-Amicus EC

• Tony Sweeney, ex-Ucatt Liverpool convener

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-85ef-Light-must-be-shed-on-trade-unions-blacklist-collusion

Blacklist Support Group

book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNcgrNs6pB8

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

'Jail the blacklisters'!

TODAY the Daily Mirror journalist, Andrew Penman, reported that 'The wretched companies that ran an illegal blacklist of construction workers finally apologised in court yesterday, having agreed to pay around £50 million in compensation.'


However, the campaigners that have fought for justice in the last decade or more are arguing that compensation is not good enough, and what they want is to see the men and women who operated the blacklist through the Consulting Association and its predecessor the Economic League behind bars. 


Graham Bowker, a 61-year-old electrician from Oldham in Lancashire, told Andrew Penman:
'...I'd been in continual employment for 31 years, often seven days a week... Then from 2003 to 2009 I barely worked for a total of 100 months... It began because I was a shop steward with Amicus... I was on a supermarket construction project and all I'd do is make sure the national agreement was stuck to and meet with management - and that was enough for me to be classed as a troublemaker.'
He continued:
'At one site I was working for a sub-contractor and they were told that if I was kept on they'd get no work.  My earnings massively declined, holidays went by the board... I feel very bitter and although I've had some compensation, I want to see custodial sentences.'


In today's Mirror Andrew Penman writes:
'Multiply what has happened to Graham by 3,000 and you begin to understand the scale of this scandal.'


And yet, even that would no begin to reveal the magnitude of the problem in the British building trade and beyond; because although 3,213 names were discovered by the Information Commissioner on the illegal data base held by the Consulting Association in 2009, he did not take all the files:  later he admitted that he only took 10% of the blacklist files available.


Perhaps of even greater concern has been the evidence of involvement by the police and security services in the intelligence used to create the blacklist and possibly to enforce it.


The body of activists around the Blacklist Support Group in London, has helped to expose some of this. 
This month, Howard Beckett the legal officer of Unite the Union, said:
'The difficult thing is actually proving a blacklist exists,' he said.  'If we have a public inquiry, the individuals who made the decisions must give statements in an open forum.  In these proceedings, they steadfastly refused to give statements.
'Until we have an inquiry, we won’t know to what extent this practice goes on in the construction sector and indeed in other sectors.'


Graham Bowker was one of the Manchester electricians who began the campaign against the blacklist in the British building trade:  see 'Boys on the Blacklist' published by Tameside TUC.

'Boys on the Blacklist'

 THE Tameside TUC book 'Boys on the Blacklist', sponsored by the North West TUC, and credited by Dave Smith as being a complimentary document alongside the Blacklist Support Group's own book 'Blacklisted: The secret war between big business and union activists' is still on sale.     The first edition of 'Boys on the Blacklist' sold out in just over a month and it is now on its 3rd print- run.

 A presentation of the Tameside TUC book 'Boys on the Blacklist'
was done at the TUC Annual General Meeting at the Manchester Mechanics Institute on the 22nd, November 2014.  The book was also on sale the same night at the Lantern Theatre in Sheffield, at the showing of the play about the Shrewsbury pickets:  'UNITED WE STAND'.  In January 2015, there was a presentation by Tameside TUC and one of the blacklisted electricians at a meeting of Liverpool TUC.  Further launches of the Tameside TUC book followed at the Barnsley performance of 'United We Stand'; at the Moston Miners Arts Club; at the Bury Met.; at Leeds Carriage Theatre; at the St Michael's Irish Centre in Liverpool; and at the Harrogate NUT Conference in April. 

  Tameside TUC's in-depth Report & Study of Blacklisting in the British building trade

OUT now is Tameside TUC's study of blacklisting in the British building trade.  This unique 52-page A5 book concludes our research into blacklisting stretching back for over a decade of struggle by a group of Manchester contracting electricians.  This book illustrates a special investigation by two officers of Tameside TUC focusing on cover-ups, collaboration, and complicity by major British construction companies affiliated to the now defunct Consulting Association.  We consider the behaviour of local authorities in providing contracts to companies that blacklist workers in the British building trade; especially those in the Greater Manchester area such as Tameside MBC, Salford and Manchester City Council.  The book also asks questions as to who else was involved besides:  what did the unions do to expose what was going on for decades; who were the whistle-blowers who helped to bring out the truth; what part did the police and special security services play in the history of blacklisting that goes back beyond the days of the Economic League?

Copies of 'Boys on the Blacklist' available by postal subscription:
£3.53 for one copy (post included).

Make cheque payable to 'Tameside TUC' and send to:
46, Kingsland Road, Rochdale, Lancs.  OL11  3HQ.

Bundles of 5 copies - £16.60p a package (post included).

Tel.:  01706 861793.
e-mail:  northernvoices@hotmail.com 

Launch of book on Blacklist Scandal!

COME & JOIN THOSE OF US

WHO KICKED-OFF THE CAMPAIGN

AGAINST THE BLACKLIST IN 2003:

The venue is literally yards away from

where it all began in Crown Square

in 2003 with the Manchester lads:

Steve Acheson, Graham Bowker,

Colin Trousdale, Tony Jones,

and Sean Keaveney.

Book launch & then party from 9pm

 Kings Arms booked for BSG event Friday 1st May from 7pm.

Everyone else - spread the word (posters & flyers will be sorted from my end)

'Blacklisted' - the book by Phil Chamberlain & Dave Smith

will be available at the above venue on the 1st, May.

 

Otherwise, the book on the blacklisting scandal will be available

to buy from the first week in March. Pre-orders are available

via the New Internationalist website: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

 

In order to maximise the impact in the General Election period (we are still campaigning for a full public inquiry) it would be very useful if people visited their local library & bookshops and asked them to get copies in. BSG is asking for supporters to arrange speaking dates at union meetings, universities, bookshops, festivals throughout March, April and May. Thank you to all those who have already been in contact. If you wish to arrange a meeting, contact blacklistsg@gmail.com 

 

Blacklist Support Group

book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

Liverpool TUC discuss 'Boys on the Blacklist'

LIVERPOOL Trade Union Council (TUC) have invited three speakers from Tameside Trade Union Council to talk about the book  'Boys on the Blacklist'.

Liverpool TUC meeting,

at Jack Jones House,

7pm, Thursday 15th, January 2015  

(5minutes from Lime Street station).

The speakers will include the two authors of the 'Boys on the Blacklist and Graham Bowker, who is one of the lads featured in the book.   The book is an historical ethnography about five activist electricians from Greater Manchester, who by force of circumstances began to campaign against blacklisting in the British building trade over ten years ago in 2003.
 

Copies of 'Boys on the Blacklist' to will be on sale as requested by the organisers of the event.

The event is being advertised in Merseyside and Manchester.  This is a monthly delegate meeting of Liverpool TUC and is open, as always, to strikers, anti-cuts activists, students etc.
 

There will also be other items on the agenda; such as report from Liverpool Against the Cuts, which Liverpool TUC helped to set up three years ago, see motion Old Swan Against the Cuts moved. The conference proposed will be held in February and all who are fighting cuts will be welcome.