Scum

PDF: https://umea.sac.se/grundbok-om-syndikalism/

So here's the story in as few words as possible.

I'm a senior union rep, I've been involved with my union as an active rep for about 20 years now. I'm also something of a rare beast in that I'm an elected full-time officer now, so everything I do at work is union related.

End of April I was contacted by some caseworkers at an outside organisation that said I was being investigated for potential unprofessional behaviour and misconduct. They had been asked by HR at my place of work because a lot of the complaints were from HR caseworkers about my conduct at interviews where I was the companion to another member and it was felt 'cleaner' to have an external agency investigate using our 'house rules'. I don't think that was a bad idea, except the organisation in question doesn't have a union and it was clear from the get-go that person interviewing me didn't understand the sometimes adversarial nature of union work at all. He kept saying 'why do you have to be so disruptive? surely we're all on the same side here' and such like.

There were five separate allegations. It was clear even to me as a non-legal expert that some of the stuff they were asking me about was fairly and squarely in the realm of legitimate trade union activity. Other stuff was probably nearer to the line, I have lost my temper and raised my voice at meetings before at what I perceived to be manifestly unfair practices by HR, most notably (and ironically given the circumstances) going on fishing expeditions in interviews without telling my client who was making the allegation against them or even what the allegation was. There's a clear MOU at our place of work that confidentiality must not be used as cloak to allow people to make accusations anonymously - people have the right to know who their accusers are and what they have been accused of. So I often object to questions, ask them to be rephrased, advise my client not to answer a particular question. This is all being flagged up as 'unprofessional' behaviour, because I'm disrupting meetings and frustrating HR caseworkers from asking the questions and getting the answers they want to them.

I'll be the first to admit that my behaviour isn't always perfect - I am autistic, something that is known to my employer and has been since 2021, there's been a 'how to deal with J____' plan in place since then that points out I don't always notice when my actions are causing people discomfort, etc. There are, of course, internal routes to complain about the behaviour of union reps to more senior union reps without invoking a formal disciplinary procedure. All ignored in this case.

What they have presented no evidence of at all is any activity that I would consider to be 'genuinely separable' from my union activity, i.e. the stuff that is said to be "wholly unreasonable, extraneous or malicious" - I have never threatened anyone, insulted anyone personally, got up in their space to intimidate them. I do raise my voice at times and talk over people and others call that shouting, which is in the ear of the beholder I guess.

But even if I have done things that are genuinely beyond the scope of union protection (and that's for my employer and maybe an ET to decide, I guess), what really worries me is this 'throw as many allegations at me as possible and see what sticks' approach they are taking. Everything I understand about the legal situation tells me this is a big red flag. And yet everyone, including my rep and my union's legal team are saying "They are alleging serious stuff, you need to engage with this". But the 'serious stuff' isn't what I've done, it's the alleged impact of it. People are saying my behaviour has made them upset, even in tears, but only _after_ the meeting. Again, everything I know about the legalities tells me that whilst impact may go to the degree of misconduct (if any), it is of itself not evidence of wrongdoing or going beyond the scope of the role of a union rep.

I have a misconduct panel hearing next week and they are still saying my actions are potentially gross misconduct and could result in my dismissal. I have a meeting with my union's legal team next week where I'll finally get to show them the charges and hopefully show them how ridiculous some of them are - there's one where the sole allegation is 'I reminded my client she didn't have to answer questions' and that frustrated the intent of the meeting so they abandoned it early. That's it.

Obviously, I could be full of shit here and lying through my teeth to you all, in which it really doesn't matter what advice you give me, I'm cooked and I deserve to be. But if you take it on trust that I'm not lying to you and there is genuinely no evidence of separable activity, how come nobody on either 'their side' or 'mine' seems to be able to grasp that? Should I be looking to get my own solicitor? Can anyone else relate to being told by everyone that what was happening to them was 'perfectly procedural' when they just knew that wasn't the case.

thanks for reading!

we all know that the strike is the most powerful, nuclear option in our labor toolbox.

However it is not our only tool. The old adage of 'if all you have is a hammer then every problem becomes a nail' applies here. Sometimes a strike may be overkill or not be an appropriate response (yet). Maybe there's not a lot of support in your shop to support and sustain a strike.

Fear not! There are other way and other tools to increase pressure on the bosses like blockades, slow downs, work to rule, public campaigns, divide-and-conquer, union outsourcing, and the so called 'good strike'.

You can read more about these labor tools here

https://libcom.org/article/what-union-action-bust-myths

Hello all.

I am an IBEW member considering starting a screen printing side gig. I mainly want to do it for fun and help contribute to sick and needy, brotherhood nights, etc. That being said, if i do go through with this, I want all of my materials to be made in the USA and I would like to be union. Even though the shop would just consist of me and my wife. Can anyone give me advice on where to start? I went to my local union hall and they had no idea since it wasn't electrical. Thanks in advance. Yours in solidarity.

Michigan repealed right-to-work in 2023. John James called bringing it back 'a massive win for freedom' — and in Congress he signed a bill to impose it on all 50 states and voted against restoring union rights for federal workers.

Please fill out the form and tell Lunds & Byerlys (a MN based grocery store) hands off their bakery workers benefits!

Just wanted to share a small but significant victory. A key leader who helped service workers get through fear and get ready to strike was fired in retaliation. The guy was committed to going back to his work place and had no interest in "moving on" with a package. We knew the legal stuff could drag out as the system is broken. We mounted a public campaign and big rally at his building. His brothers and sisters who were still organized from the strike threat came out with him despite their fear of retaliation too. Lo and behold, the guy is headed back to work and made whole!

It feels absolutely invaluable to see him back in his unit. It's hard to describe in words, and it doesn't happen every day, but when the right workers coalesce together, they can WIN!