Apologies: U, Jo, D,
Present: Jb, S, T, A, G, I, M,
NB// T to find HK John’s email and get back in touch. Jb to look for shop key.
1. Relationship between London Education Workers and NLSF
LEWNs are meeting once a month, and have decided not to be an industrial Local but remain a grouping within NLSF for the moment. Jb is main contact.
Some debate over personal reports, different ways of doing it mooted:
- Hotseating of one person doing 15 minutes on their workplace
- Doing personal reports in LEWN and summarising at NLSF.
- Short summaries of personal reports followed by EWN report on what has been decided/what’s needed
On designing workshops, S to sort out a date in late October for next training.
2. Personal reports
A (Rail): Contractor’s Charter in pipeline, this now kicking off with £1 a week joining. RMT exec has signed off on it, launch to happen soon. Idea to build up trackworkers’ army over course of next year and eventually present demands to management. RMT merger with TSSA has to happen as otherwise it’ll be TSSA/Unite and that’d go badly. A now in on organising in LUL long-term.
T (schools): Back at work and grievance has begun almost immediately. SEN staff now mostly agency to undermine organising. T still under cosh but ballot in works for Unison over pensions. Report on 14th.
Jb (schools): New job! Under-resourced, reps already there in most major areas, couple of SP etc but some potential.
I (schools): Head has gone mad, given out loads of new job descriptions, making TAs do filing and general cracking down. People very pissed off but also very scared and a bit racist. Union rep is senior TA which isn’t useful.
U (Unis): Trade unionist people are okay with us leafleting and such at QM under the SF banner. I to investigate costs of 500 copies, A5 one side colour. Also generic educators’ leaflet to be sent out to list by T.
3. Policy decision: Process of drafting statements
Formal policy proposal: Put online in list and forum and give warning of sending 24 hours in advance. Golden rule is that you don’t mess about with stuff for the sake of it – major issues and technical improvements (spelling, grammar) only please, not for turn of phrase and other matters of personal taste.
Y:4, majority carries.
4. Finance
August account £997.13. Current income and amount owed to National TBC. £40 owed (to T). V owed £50. £10 to be paid in from mystery donation. Jo owed £90 for books.
Total kitty (pre-National Subs): £807.13.
5. Bookfair
Rooms paid for. S looked into folding shelf units - approx £30 for three-tier 20" wide. S to order.
6. Gigs
In hand. Tabled until something full to report.
7. Office update: We have one!
We’ll need to check through various things like how to implement storage/security.
Moving in date of Tuesday 20th/27th? Decide on list.
8. Student network suggestion from Jim
Table.
9. Introduction talk for interested non-members
I&S to look into dates and working in with next induction. J: Next social – Bethnal Green? Jb to put proposal on email list – probably for early Oct so can invite students at Freshers.
10. Move start time back an hour?
7.30pm a bit early, but 7pm from next meeting mooted (still early for G), put to list.
11. EDL in Tower Hamlets, discuss lack of response or no?
Legendary work on the Tubes with fire alarms and passenger alarms going off all over the shop. Jb: Should have been a callout, issue with some of the stuff which went up on Libcom about it.
Need a date for strategy meeting to go through anti-fascist policy properly, along with things like prisons policy, longer term industrial strategy etc. People to look at weekends and think about what might be a good date as it’d need to be a longer one.
12. Translator: Gorka
Table.
13. quick mentions/updates
Visteon: T will be meeting campaign group on Saturday to ask about demoing with them.
Ryanair: No contacts from L’pool, flies out of Gatwick/Luton/Stansted – any London offices? SUF interested.
Survey: Fill it in.
Gender discussion: THIS SATURDAY. 5-8pm, at Larc in Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel.
Jerome to contact LCAP about organiser training.
Leccy protests will be on Wed 14th 6.30am at Olympics site nr Pudding Mill Lane DLR. M: We should be asking people to go to Olympic site to support it. Jb to call Polish @st Bartek and also contact cooking people from J30? Also meet afterwards to discuss relationship to campaign.
14. Newham
Council meeting on 19th coming up, do a demo? Jb contact point/putting on details.
15. Alarm review
Sunday 2pm at Larc. Attendance falling a bit and Jb hopeful more SF people will turn up for it to show bit of support.
16. Initials/pseudonyms
Complaints about confusing nature of one-letter names, should we use online names for minutes instead? General consensus is Yes – names from SF internal forums will now be used as the names in these minutes. This means if you are unclear who is who you can send the relevant person a message online or ask in meeting.
17. New banner making session
G is on it, to sort out date.
18. Put date of next meeting on bottom as policy.
Yup!
Projects on the books which only get an mention if summat's happened...
USB drives,
Writing workshop – some troubles with it, I to talk to no1
Syndicalist forum,
Gigs.
Next meeting: Wednesday September 21 at Freedom bookshop, 7.30pm unless 7pm signed off by members.