Gloucestershire’s phlebotomists have brought their historic strike to a close after almost a year of action, leaving a legacy of determination – and a clear lesson about the power of solidarity in the face of anti-union laws and austerity, says FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT
TWENTY years ago the US union the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ended its affiliation with the US trade union umbrella organisation the AFL-CIO following ongoing disagreements that the AFL-CIO was concentrating too much on political matters rather than organising new members and building workers’ power in new industries.
The SEIU, under the leadership of the charismatic Andy Stern, argued US trade unions had to become more than just “servicing unions” watching membership and union power continue to decline.
The SEIU had run a number of high-profile organising campaigns in the US, notably Justice For Janitors, building union membership among property maintenance workers.
Cuba Solidarity Campaign secretary BERNARD REGAN says the inhuman blockade of Cuba not only continues, but the Donald Trump administration is ratcheting up aggression against both Havana and Latin America more widely
Washington’s tariff policies become explicable in light of the US economy’s relative decline and the astonishing rise of China, argues MICHAEL BURKE



