ROB WARZYNIAK recalls the emblematic 1906 book, The Jungle, in its analysis of the crisis presently engulfing the US Food and Drug Administration
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'Unions need to broaden our horizons — and become the political leadership in this country'
DOUG NICHOLLS, who is stepping down as GFTU general secretary, talks to Morning Star editor Ben Chacko about the lessons of a lifetime in struggle
Doug Nicholls is retiring as GFTU general secretary
Welsh wanderings showcase fiery destruction, alternative water ways and revive memories of a local mining legend, writes MARK SEDDON
As thousands die in the eastern DRC, a global health emergency is being starved of funds, says S KRISHNASWAMY
MAT COWARD explains how in the 17th century a row over whether to kneel at communion became a battle over religion, class and royal power
Renewed illusions in social democratic reformism are sprouting as a result of Andy Burnham’s rhetoric, but material conditions are already intruding into the debate, argues NICK WRIGHT
Andy Burnham could learn a few lessons from a previous Labour government in the pre-privatisation era on how to tackle water shortages, writes KEITH FLETT
Having been general secretary, first at the Community and Youth Workers Union and then at General Federation of Trade Unions, since 1987, you are retiring as Britain’s longest-serving general secretary. There have been significant changes in the movement over that time. What do you see as some of the strengths and weaknesses?
Unions are now more popular than at any time I have known. The public are behind the pay struggles in ways they never have been before. Remember in 1976 the big unions and TUC called a conference to argue that there should be pay restraint to avoid a spiral of inflation. No-one believes these days that higher wages are to blame for the cost of living crisis.
There’s ebb and flow of overt struggle but I’m minded of what one of the leaders of the revolt in 1381 said: “In time of peace, be not all men at war with them that be rich.”
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