Kenny Bell: From loss to living legacy | Hilary Wainwright

Kenny Bell stood for a distinctive, strategic and effective kind of trade unionism writes Hilary Wainwright

Kenny Bell, 30 May 1949 – 14 Aug 2011
Deputy Convenor, UNISON Northern Region Branch Secretary, UNISON Newcastle City Council Branch

The Latin American poet Pablo Neruda describes the moment that grief gives way to carrying the spirit of a compañero with us and making it our own.

From the moment Kenny knew that his cancer was terminal he left those with whom he worked in no doubt that our grief should be brief. There was too much ‘to get done’, as he would put it, to hang around being melancholic. But more than this – and he would be too modest to say it – Kenny set us an example of the imaginative and strategic kind of trade unionism that we urgently need to build today.

He expected us all to continue his work – in Neruda’s terms, to make part of his spirit our own. This was not for reasons of ego; that was not his character. The obligation he gave us came from his passionate belief in effective and strategic organisation to create a society beyond capitalism, combined with his equally strong belief in the collective intelligence and power of working people to create that alternative.

Instead of a traditional obituary, then, here is a first sketch of the kind of trade unionism which he was continually refining through practice and through a distinctively open and creative collaboration with others.

These others will I’m sure, contribute more.

Participatory, empowering organisation

Kenny’s starting point, and returning point, was the need constantly to build, renew and develop a strong and creative trade union in the workplace; an organisation able also to reach out to the city and fellow citizens, to be a strong base for a regional strategy and to be a resource for international solidarity.

For Kenny, a strong organisation required ways of organising through which individuals gain self-confidence, realise that they have a voice, grow their capacities and in turn contribute to the development of a dynamic collective power.

The SHIH of Organizing | New Unionism

This is the second article in a series on organization development and organizing by Rex Lai, MSOD*. The first was “The TAO of Organizing.” Translated literally, Tao means the way or the path. It aslo stands for Theoretical and Applied Organizing, the system Rex is explaining in these articles. In this discussion we focus on SHIH – the ideal position of potential force.

“Shih, a position of potential force—the position of a boulder perched precariously on a hilltop, say, or of a bowstring stretched taut. A tap on the boulder, the release of the bowstring, and potential force is violently unleashed…What matters is not following pre-ordained steps but placing yourself in shih and giving yourselves options.”
(Robert Greene, 33 Strategies of War)

As we have seen (here), Theoretical and Applied Organizing keeps a campaign moving strategically, so that we are always positioning for better options. It is this spirit that builds capacity during a campaign. It leads us towards an improving position of potential force. This is the essence of SHIH.

TAO is a complementary–not competitive–framework that can be applied to any industry or strategy. It expands the range of potential capacities; building Shih. TAO can be used for design in the planning stages, or, in the midst of the campaign, it can be used as an evaluation and intervention device. It can be used to monitor planned design outcomes, allowing for adjustments or interventions. Finally, it can be utilized for a campaign debrief. Deconstruction of the parts and the whole of the campaign can be used to glean insights into what worked and what did not.

Let’s look again at the conceptual model of TAO, made up of Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory of Change; Richard Beckhard’s Change Equation; and Marshall Ganz’s “Breaking the Belief Barriers” emotive states. In doing so, we are visually summarising the Part One of this series.

28-29 of June – Everybody Out To Syntagma Square! | TNS

48 Hours On The Streets – The Whole Country Will Be At Syntagma Square!  Watch the video call to action below (with English subtitles). The text call is below the video.

Greece is now only a few hours from the 48-hour nationwide mobilization of 28 and 29 June. Everything indicates that the 48-hour General Strike could form part of a nationwide uprising that would ultimately bury the notorious Medium Term Austerity Programme. This struggle is not only critical for the Greek people’s future, but also a beacon of hope for all the peoples of the world who want to take their lives into their own hands. The demonstration at Syntagma Square marks the beginning of a new direction.

-we were deceived
-we were underestimated
-they thought we were asleep in their nightmare
-but we woke up!
-we gathered at the squares,
-we came to know each other
-we started to transform our dreams into reality
-all together
-united
-with solidarity and dignity
-Now it is US who talk, and THEY that are afraid!
-We will not rest in, until those who stole from us, pay!
-We will not go unless all those who plunder our lives
and burn our future, go first!
-28 and 29 of June, 48 hours in the streets!
-All Greece in Syntagma square!
-The midterm agreement shall not pass!

People’s Assembly of Syntagma square 1.34
People’s Assemblies of districts and region
Unions and Syndicates

Direct Democracy Now

Spanish Citizens Reject Pact of the Euro, Amaia Arcos | P2P Blog

Via Scoop.it – Mapping Social Network Unionism Worldwide

20th June 2011

A very convinced Spanish citizen explains why the Pact of the Euro must be rejected. Yesterday, Sunday 19th saw massively attended demonstrations in all major cities against the Pact of the Euro among the rest of grievances being protested in the country since #15M. #19J felt especially important as the Pact of the Euro is being signed within a few days. Many wonder how come the signing of such treaty is barely being mentioned on mainstream media.

For an idea of demonstrations’ attendance yesterday, this video is from La Vanguardia one of Barcelona’s leading newspapers. The demonstration carried on for 4 hours (with the route packed as in the images shown), departing from Plaza Catalunya and ending near Catalunya’s regional Parliament (about 1.6 km walk).

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1

And Madrid’s meeting point, 6 demonstrations (called columns) arrived there from different parts of the city, what you see is part of it, the streets leading to the square are also full of people but not in these images from the actual square:

Show original

The Cyberunion Podcasts on air: Use technology to organise!

Walton Pantland of Unite, from Scotland and union activist Stephen from Boston US, have recently started a great experiment on Cyberunions website.

They started podcasting on how to use social media, networks, new internet and mobile phone technologies in order to strengthen unions and rank and file at the shop floor, and in general.

Those unionists who feel the need to grow in number and fight back better must follow these invaluable discussions.

Here are the links to first three episodes:

The Cyberunions Podcast: Episode Three

by WALTON PANTLAND on JUNE 7, 2011 · 0 COMMENTS AND 5 REACTIONS · in PODCAST

From Luddism 2.0 to Cyberunions | Cyberunions

It’s time for unions to embrace the information age and develop an online, global, networked social movement unionism.

Original text: http://cyberunions.org/2011/05/13/from-luddism-2-0-to-cyberunions/

Rational Luddism

The default trade union position on new technology is Luddism 2.0. Anecdotes abound of a Life on Mars world where trade union officials get their secretaries to print out their emails, or use their computer screens for post-it notes. This luddism is not entirely irrational: technology has a long history of putting people out of work, as well as monitoring and controlling them. Some trade unionists seem determined to avoid entering the 21^st century at all costs.

However, the success of new technology in Obama’s election campaign, and more recently in organising student protests and the wave of democracy that has swept across the Middle East during the Arab Spring, has lead many unionists to realise that “every tool is a weapon if you hold it right”, as Ani DiFranco puts it.

Organizing 2.0

Organizing 2.0 is an annual training event held in New York City. It is a volunteer run event offering training in online organizing, digital strategy and use of online tools.

Organizing 2.0 is a collective of communicators and online organizers working for unions and social justice activists. We run events, trainings, consult and promote uncommon interactions within and between our communities. We cross boundaries between labor, progressives, nonprofits, tech firms, faith communities and techies of all stripes.

http://www.organizing20.org/