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Solidarity to Union workers by Paula Peters

 

 
Solidarity to Union workers by Paula Peters
  

I would like to share the following with you today. Last night, a great friend and trade unionist tagged me in a post to tell me about what happened to him yesterday morning. A message was left on his car – “Union faggots – lets see you get home from here” and drove nails into his car tyres.

He is a striking worker – a barnet unison trade unionist fighting back against privatisation. He is a wonderful man and a courageous one. All of them fighting however they can have bloody guts and courage they are making a stand, not just for them and their rights, but yours too.

The tube workers and I know a great many of them have serious issues about safety on the london underground, with 24 hour tube running soon to come in on several lines on the underground in september. TFL and Boris Johnson are cutting back on staff to man the platforms and every station, they wont be there to assist when its overcrowded, they won’t be there to get you out of the station when there is a serious security alert, or god forbid another 7/7 incident, or a fire like at kings cross, they won’t be there to assist tourists, elderly, disabled people get about their business. They are closing the ticket offices, not everyone can use a ticket machine, and nine tickets cannot be bought on a ticket machine, tourists do not have oyster cards. Many with different impairments for example like visual impariments need assistance to purchase a ticket, to get to the platform, need a ramp to board a train to get them on their way. Few staff on the station puts all of us at risk of physical attack, and homophobic, disability and sexual attacks are rising, we are all vulnerable to being attacked and the staff who work those stations with lilttle thanks or even a smile from the hundreds of thousands they help every day get the abuse from passengers all the time too. They are cutting back on track maintenance which puts every single man, woman, and child who use the underground in their millions at serious risk of serious harm and risk of death track not maintained on a regular basis and a serious accident is at risk of happening.

Strike action is not easy to take, and the workers do it with heavy heart, they are fighting against boris johnson who is not listening, TFL who does not give a damn and a tory government who is interested in one thing – privatisation, profit before people and making sure their rich friends make even more money.

It was not easy for anyone to travel – but think of the above please – because they are out there striking for your rights too.

I felt deeply sad really sad and disappointed that a someone took the action they did against this trade unionist. Don’t listen to the right wing media and read the crap they write which is a load of crap, talk to the strikers and ask why are you here today, and get it directly from them, take the leaflets they are handing out go home and read it.
Then think about it – all of the rights we all take for granted, were hard fought for and won, we have had the workers rights we had because of action like above – rights were not given, they were fought for and hard won.
When you see the workers take this kind of action – give them whatever support you can, because they fight for you, but if you can’t, and its your choice, just grit your teeth and remember this it is 24 hours of your life they took action on because one day you will wish those staff were at those stations to help you.
Take the anger out on Boris Johnson, TFL Managment, the local government and David Cameron and the multi millionaire bosses who are responsible for these cuts and to the coward who attacked the trade unionists members car – shame on you. Karma comes around and it really does.

Solidarity with the millions of workers who are struggling to fight back against the government against privatisation and the horrendous cuts.

In my eyes you are warriors and you have my support 1 million per cent.

 

About Obi_Live

Occupier at OccupyLSX Camp. Then an Occupy Nomad. The revolution will be Livestreamed.

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