Washington, Tyne and Wear, have little connection on the surface. But they closely connected.
The campaign against Todd is part of a new offensive by the right in the unions. The Nissan deal shows where the right intends to take the trade union movement.
The Nissan deal is an excellent 'business unionism'. The deal will make strikes by the workforce virtually impossible.
The shop stewards will be 'replaced' visors, and there will be complete flexibility between trades and grades. Power will be in the hands of tull-time officials not workplace representatives. And the union will police the agreement The AUEW won thi contract as a result of a deal with the EETPU. . Ir return for the AUEW accepting the electricians' single-union deal at the Hitachi plant South Wales, the EETPU gave the engineers a clear run at Nissan.
In this US-style trade unionism the membership figure mainly as duespaying, bargaining ploys in the union officials, relatons with the emplovers The new realist right in the TUC see this as the future for trade unions in Britain. It is the direction in which they intend to take the and the bourgeoisie - is to ensure that these posts fall to the right. They intend to take the TUC away from any policy of resistance to anti-union laws, away NOIO any support tor strikes such as the miners' anu to ustalce it on unt Labour Party. who have rejected TUC policy in lavoul of col 25000 tine.
CPSA and the NUT are all conforming to the law on mpaign the ith the aid of campaigns, with the aid policy, the left leaders by TUC their inaction and silence are allowing that policy to become increasingly purely formal stand that means little in practise an idea which Hattersley is reviving.
Yet the broad left framework continues to dominate in the unions. Indeed, under the impact oIne CrISIS Communist Party is pressing to extend us bauework l the right, under the rubric the all-lattic The argument that the working won't fight is the justification for this line.
Surrendered ucw Tuffin gave classic demonstration of the real meaning of this argument. In the face of Post Office roace a national strike, he management's threat ignored deci Sions surrendered to the blackmail week later more than 7000 UCH workers fought back.
The that the membership won't fight is self-fulfilling prophecy. Where determined national lead is given, leadership bases itself on the militant sections of membership, as in the NUM, the story is very difDecisive It would be foolish to pretend that the working class is spoiling for a fight, and that only the betrayals of the bureaucracy prevent it sweeping the Tories ou of office.