“THE only weapon we have as working people is to demonstrate, is to strike.” These are the words of Mike Masters, striking Birmingham bin worker at the joint Sussex Morning Star Readers, Unite Brighton and Strike Map fundraising social this week, a social which raised over £1,640 for the strike in one night, as delegates from Unite’s conference flooded in to hear from the heroic bin workers.

To date, Strike Map has been involved in fundraising over £3,600 of financial support for this strike, which has also seen bin workers travel the country on a solidarity tour, as union after union has welcomed speakers from this dispute as part of the many conferences and events over the last few months.

Hardship during long disputes is inevitable and the role of financial solidarity key. Strikes like the one in Birmingham are increasingly reaching long periods of action, with the bin workers joining the Gloucester phlebotomists at well over 100 days of action each.

Financial solidarity matters. But it is not enough.

That is why this Gala, we will be promoting our partners Strike Map and their Megapicket 2 on July 25, which will cover all five sites included in the Brum bin strike. This action follows on from the successful Megapicket on May 9, that shut down the Lifford Lane depot.

At the GFTU we often talk proudly of our founding principle of education, nurtured through our educational trust, delivering high-quality independent trade union education for the whole movement. This educational work throughout the union movement provides more than just education, it provides spaces of solidarity. Whether this is online or on residentials, our programme brings together different sectors and unions, encouraging solidarity and unity in action. Don’t just take our word for it, come and see for yourself. Our new programme launches this weekend (gftuet.org.uk/education) and solidarity is at the heart of it.

This link between our education and solidarity is deliberate. Education, solidarity and unity in action are our guiding principles. These principles are interlinked, forged through the history of the best of our movement, when it wins for workers, providing the ability to deliver a better future for us all.

It is through our partnership with Strike Map, a worker-powered and funded digital map of action in Britain and the island of Ireland, that we can co-ordinate support across our movement. In supporting the comrades in Birmingham, we have co-ordinated visits of striking workers to conferences/events, produced easy to use digital actions for the public and recently co-ordinated a letter to Angela Rayner MP signed by unions representing over one million workers.

The Megapicket later this month is another great example of our solidarity work. We have brought together many non-GFTU-affiliated unions with those within our federation, to promote and support workers in this struggle. These unions have recognised the political significance of this dispute for the whole working class.

Birmingham is like so many battles of our past, with strikers being subject to all the excess of state power: legal sanctions (like Section 14), arrests, and now an injunction from the courts. These tactics are all to prevent effective picketing in this dispute – empowering the council, their rotten commissioners, all backed by a Labour government committed to “Making Workers Pay.”

As Mike ended his speech to packed venue full of Unite delegates earlier this week, he reminded us of all the importance of solidarity — through showing up — not just because it increases the chance of a successful outcome for this dispute, but because it strengthens our movement as a whole, helping build our collective power to change the world.

“This strike has been compared to the past; let it be the strike that shapes our future.”

Enjoy the gala! And make sure to let the Birmingham bin workers know you will be joining them on July 25 here: https://bit.ly/Megapicket2RSVP.

Henry Fowler is head of education, campaigns and organising and Gawain Little is general secretary at the General Federation of Trade Unions (www.gftu.org.uk).