Naomi
was a working class fighter, a socialist who dedicated her life to supporting
the Palestinians and opposing Zionism
Naomi Junnor speech at Scottish PSC demonstration
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign pay tribute to their deceased comrade here and there are dozens of people who are also paying their own tribute.
I first met Naomi in January 2024 when I toured Scotland at
the invitation of Scottish PSC. I stayed with Naomi in Glasgow on both the
outward and return leg of my tour.
Naomi welcomed me into her home and made me feel part of her
family as we talked, relaxed and ate.
I remember staying in her attic, which could only be reached
by climbing up a ladder. I felt at the time as if I was taking my life in my
hands climbing it. But apart from that the warmth of the welcome which I
received more than outweighed the risk I was taking!
Naomi was a larger than life person despite her diminutive
size with a booming voice. As the tributes to her from her many friends and
admirers make clear she had a heart of gold.
She was in Jewish Network for Palestine and was our Scottish
representative. We kept in touch and every month she would contact me for a donation
for the Younis family in Gaza who depended on the money she raised. I hope that efforts
can be made to ensure that they are not left to suffer
as a result of Naomi’s passing.
Farida and Naomi Go to Edinburgh
Naomi was also an activetrade unionist and was a delegate from her branch to the last UNISON
conference. Quite disgracefully she was removed from the National Conference in
Brighton because she wore a red triangle in her hat.
Some Zionists complained that the red triangle meant she was
a supporter of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, and of course UNISON’s
officialdom took the word of the genocide supporters in the union at their
word. They also began disciplinary proceedings against Naomi.
She signed off that‘They
are beyond unprofessional’ which just about sums up UNISON’s full-timers who a
few years ago also suspended me for 3 years for having criticised a scab official,
Steve Terry.
My last conversation with Naomi was on Thursday 3
September, just two days before she passed away. She told me she had had a
vivid dream about me decorating her home. I was sure that she had mistaken me
for someone else as decorating is the last thing I would attempt!
Naomi's last message to me on 3rd September - she'd had a vivid dream about me - imagining I was going to decorate her home!
Naomi was widely respected and admired within the Palestine
solidarity movement and below I post a number of tributes by those she worked
with.
We
have lost a fierce, determined, sometimes angry friend. Humanity has lost a
bright burning light, a sharp intellect, hopeful, keeping despair beyond
reach, by action. Passionate about the futures possible, for peace, for our
planet, for palestine and its people.
We
wont see her fiery filskit eyes, not her mischievous grin, or hear her earthy
laugh again , but the memory of her will live on. Naomi would share her
resilience in the face of the abominable crimes committed.
My
memories of many marches, sharing simple pleasures, appreciating a shwarma, the
restorative boost of a walk with her dog, enjoying the clouds, the wind or the
sea.
Howard
Zinn describes the kind of hope i saw in Naomi in the face of the horrors
of this barbaric genocide.
"To
be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact
that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion,
sacrifice, courage and kindness. What we choose to emphasise in this
complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys
our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places, and there
are so many, where people have behaved magnificently this gives us the energy
to act and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in
a different direction. And, if we do act, in however small a way, we dont have
to wait for some utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of
presents, and, to live now, as we think human beings should live, in defiance
of all that is bad around us, is in itself, a marvellous victory. "
Naomi
gave so much of herself, she was magnificent and the world is a much much
poorer place without her.
Thank
you
Ann
Davis
Tony
just seen your
message in the chat. I still cant take it in, as I was speaking to her last
Saturday.
By way of background I
believe I have known Naomi for about 30 years after local government
reorganisation and started working for Glasgow City Council, and became active
in UNISON.
She was a regular
correspondent when I had the privilege of being her MP from 2015 to 2024,
regularly on Palestine, and attended fundraisers when I could.
My former
Constituency Office staff remember her fondly, and were very sad at her
passing.
When thinking of her,
the following words ring out. Formidable, Campaigner, Activist, Kindness.
I look forward to
reading your blog.
best wishes
Chris Stephens
I met Naomi at Jordanhill College in 1985 when we
were both students on the Youth and Community(Adult Education) course.
Naomi was very much her own person then and that never changed. She was
fearless and informed. Naomi was someone who wanted a fairer world and worked
selflessly to raise awareness
of the genocide and apartheid being carried out in Gaza
and to establish practical support for anyone caught up in this.
Naomi was my friend. I will miss her. A brave individual
whose moral compass should be an inspiration to us all.
As a
member of the board of trustees of the scottish network of Photographers for
Palestine I am very sad about the loss of the member of the NPP. Naomi and me
were working together about years and I will miss her strong voice, her power
and herself in the board of trustees. Dear Naomi- may you rest in peace
The
scottish Palestine solidarity wrote:
We have
truly lost a strong voice & one of the heartbeats of the movement against
the Genocide. Naomi Junnor was not only a passionate voice but a woman with
love & compassion for all & who gave of herself at every moment. Her
laughter, humour, passion for justice & true kindness will be dearly
missed.
My
condolences to your family.
Rest in
Power & Peace always my friend.
Knowing
Naomi I can only but smile knowing she’ll continue giving the Zio’s hell, so
their peace will never continue. Love you Naomi. “
Naomi . A woman with a beautiful, big heart—the
Scottish woman who stood by, helped, and championed the Palestinian cause for
decades. A woman who dedicated her life to upholding justice and did everything
necessary to support the cause of Palestine and its women and children. Rest in
peace, beautiful soul.
Oh Younis, i’m so sorry for the passing of your
dear friend Naomi. You’ve spoken of her many times to me. May her memory be a
blessing. Sending you love and a big hug and tears.
You will
be sadly missed Naomi. Loved your sense of humour. X
I met Naomi through Avigail’s
Palestine Book Club. We exchanged phone numbers when I heard her Glaswegian
accent, and we visited each other a couple of times.
We met countless times at
demos, and exchanged countless messages on WhatsApp. She came to my birthday lunch last Easter at
the restaurant at Mugdock garden centre and got on well with my family. She had
such lovely plans to change her house to accommodate asylum seekers and
refugees and those needing refuge. I spoke to Naomi on the phone a few days
before she died. I can only imagine what her family is feeling.
All we can do is continue her
work, in her memory, and know that she did not suffer because it looks like she
died quickly. But her family and her friends are the ones suffering, as well as
the Palestinian families she was supporting. They will be devastated.
Love and blessings to all who are
suffering because of her loss.
Sharon Graham
is a Racist, Zionist, Nepotistic
Supporter of Imperialism - She Cares Nothing About Global Warming – Graham’s Appeasement
of Reform is the Last Straw
When Sharon Graham won the election for General
Secretary of Unite in 2021 we were relieved that Gerard Coyne had lost. We
didn’t realise how bad Graham was going to be.
I find it amazing that
the Socialist
Party is still supporting her because she supports some strikes as long as
they don’t challenge the status quo. She has been appalling
over the Birmingham Bin Workers Strike. She has not built support for the
strike in Unite. This is anti-Marxist economism.
Labour Against Antisemitism - the anti-Semitism smear group congratulates Sharon Graham on being elected
The SWP appears have had second thoughts. It endorsed
no group for the Executive elections and it hasn’t, as of yet, endorsed Graham
for General Secretary. However abstention is political cowardice.
Unite officials have recently secretly
met with Reform which the SWP have criticised.
I hope that they draw the necessary conclusions and back Simon Dubbins. No
group that calls itself socialist should endorse a trade union leader prepared
to meet with a far-right party like Reform.
Simon
Dubbins isn’t perfect with his support for the Labour Party, but he is far better
than Sharon Graham. It is essential that all Unite supporters of Palestine &
opponents of Genocide in Gaza vote for Dubbins.
Sharon Graham called herself apolitical. She is pro-capitalist.
Her record is one long attempt to suppress any form of anti-racist, environmental
or Palestine activism.
Concentrating on local strikes has gone hand in hand with abandoning the
fight against racism, global warming, war and imperialism. Class oppression isn’t
just economic. Capitalism doesn’t just oppress people in the workplace but
during their lives outside the workplace. There is no point in gaining higher
wages if the Welfare State is cut, the NHS is in decline, schools privatised
and housing too expensive.
MI5 Spook Paul Mason Calling for The Big Lie to be banned
Banning
An Anti-Racist Film and Corbyn The Big
Lie
In 2024 Graham bannedOn Resistance Street,
an anti-fascist and anti-racist film that looked at the role music has played
in the fight against fascism and racism.
The reasons for the ban
were explained by Graham’s bag carrier, Sarah Carpenter who quoted
an Executive resolution of September 2023 that:
‘Unite should not use its premises or resources
to show or promote any external films or other content that does not relate to
our industrial agenda to support the pay, terms and conditions of our members
and/or support existing Unite policies.
the Union should be especially careful to avoid
appearing to endorse any material which causes unnecessary offence to members.’
In other words Unite
should not offend racists and fascists.
The first inkling that Graham was a
Zionist came on 8 June 2023 when the Chair of Unite SE 6246, Damian
McCarthy, wrote to Carpenter, then SE Regional Secretary, asking if it was true
that she had cancelled a showing of Jeremy Corbyn – The Big Lieand if so
why.
Carpenter, was subsequent appointed as Graham’s Chief of Staff, without any reference
to the Executive. She replied:
I have asked for the screenings to be cancelled whilst
I seek further guidance. I have not had any instructions to cancel. I hope to
get back in touch with the Portsmouth Community branch as soon as possible to
clarify the position.
Contrary to the BBC & MSM Most Israelis Killed on October 4 Were Killed as A Result of the Hannibal Directive
I wrote to Carpenter, as Branch Secretary, to
ask why, if she hadn’t had any instructions to cancel the film, she needed to
seek guidance. It was a clear lie:
That suggests that you were advised to cancel
the booking. Perhaps you would enlighten us as to who gave you this advice?
Otherwise your need to seek guidance makes no sense.
On 13 June Carpenter wrote back:
The issues covered in the film are pertinent to
internal Labour Party matters and that is not the focus of our union. Unite’s
members are working on issues linked to our local communities and to industrial
issues, and union resources are prioritised in these areas. Resources include
use, maintenance and security of Unite buildings.
Frankly, this beggars belief. The unions founded the
Labour Party to achieve the political voice that is essential to the best
interests and welfare of our members. It is neither possible nor desirable to
make such a flimsy, artificial distinction.
Our branch unanimously passed a motion saying that
The film is about the orchestrated attack on Jeremy
Corbyn and the socialist leadership of the Labour Party from 2015-19. We do not
believe that the following issues are irrelevant to Unite members.
Øincreased privatisation of the NHS, which Starmer supports
Øpublic ownership of water, rail and the utilities
ØZionism and Apartheid Israel
Øthe racist treatment of refugees
Øworker’s struggles which Keir Starmer opposes and
ØTory legislation restricting
the right of protest
Although Carpenter would not reveal who had
given her the advice Skwawkbox revealed that it
was Graham.
In an email of 5 July 2023 Carpenter wrote:
I can be clear that Unite has not been contacted by
any group in regards to the decision made…. the decision taken was grounded in
our focus to prioritise resources
The move, which comes hot on the heels of the
Glastonbury festival’s cowardly decision to cave in to pro-Israel groups that
do not want the smears of the pro-Israel right inside and outside the Labour
party exposed, appears to be a further
confirmation of longstanding reports from insiders that Unite general
secretary, for all her protestations about Starmer’s behaviour, has made
an accommodation with his regime.
The irony of all this is that Sharon Graham is
guilty of the very corruption that she accused Len McLuskey of and she has
combined this with nepotism and reactionary politics.
Following correspondence with Campaign Against
Antisemitism, the Unite union has cancelled the screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former
Labour
Party leader Jeremy
Corbyn....
Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Unite for its swift and
decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its
attention. (my emphasis)
‘How does support for the
Palestinians square with working with the Israeli-state funded Campaign Against
Anti-Semitism?’
On 30 August 30 I wrote to
Cartmail telling her that she was
either a racist or an
idiot (or both). You know very well that 'antisemitism' is the standard line of
defence when Israel is accused of war crimes
Cartmail sent me an email
less than two hours later:
Your disagreeable attack is based on a falsehood. No
one in Unite took advice from the Campaign Against Antisemitism, on ‘Jeremy
Corbyn – The Big Lie’, nor indeed any other matter.
I was advised to check my
facts ‘before
launching another ill-informed and blatantly untrue broadside.’
This is the Racist Organisation that Sharon Graham Corresponded With
Now was it possible that the CAA were lying. Why would they lie about
this? I therefore asked Cartmail whether Unite had contacted the CAA to ask
them to withdraw their claim that Unite had corresponded or otherwise contacted
them.
Suffice to say I didn’t receive a reply which means that the CAA, for
once, were telling the truth.
Weaponising
Anti-Semitism – Asa Winstanley
The same happened with the book launch for Asa
Winstanley’s Weaponising Anti-Semitism whichwas scheduled
to be held at Tony Benn House, Unite’s regional office in Bristol. They
cancelled it. Benn would turn in his grave if he knew what Unite’s bureaucrats
had done.
A local
union official told
organisers that the event was cancelled after “discussion with senior colleagues.” Asked to explain why he would
only say the decision “relates to advice
and opinion on controversy around the film” and that “the leadership of Unite” did not want to “be drawn into contentious political debate.”
The CAA is a McCarthyist Organisation Which Targets Academics and Others - Sharon's Friend
Cartmail used exactly
the same kind of language about the Big Lie and Asa Winstanley’s book as
the Zionists had.
In saying
that “Asa Winstanley’s publication has
already caused deep hurt among Jews in Britain.” Cartmail was making
evidence-free anti-Semitic claims.
Why should British Jews be ‘hurt’ by a film that exposes how the Israel lobby destabilised
Corbyn and then boasted
of it?
It’s not Britain’s Jews but Israel’s apologists who
were ‘hurt’ by the revelations in the film and book. There isn’t a shred of
evidence that British Jews were concerned about them.
But even if British Jews were offended. So what?
When Muslims attacked Salman Rushdie’s Satanic
Verses the Guardian proclaimed If
we don’t defend free speech, we live in tyranny. But when anti-Zionists
attack Apartheid ‘preventing hurt’ to racists is what counts.
Cartmail stated
that she was responding at the request of Sharon Graham. Ken Loach
noted that
Asa Winstanley’s book has been widely praised,
including by noted Jewish commentators, for its rigorous and authoritative
research.
By banning the author from discussing it in this
way, Unite has shown the title to be accurate – anti-Semitism has indeed been
weaponized. This is a critical political issue. Buy this important book and
judge for yourself.
When it came to Ukraine Graham didn’t
mince her words:
“There is overwhelming support being expressed
throughout Unite to support the people of Ukraine. It is not only the struggle
for democracy that concerns us but also the struggle for people’s rights to
work and build their future in peace.”
Graham supported
dockers refusing to unload fuel from Russia but didn’t support workers refusing
to produce arms to kill Palestinians. Why? Because Graham is an unashamed
supporter of US imperialism and NATO’s proxy war.
In the Jewish
News ‘Liar’ Lee Harpin described
how,
In a further put down on
far-left foreign policy dogma Graham also wrote “Similarly, we cannot be expected to affiliate to organisations that
actively work against our members and their jobs....
Under Graham’s
leadership Unite has also taken great strides in attempting to combat anti-Semitism...
Despite early claims that the left-wing leader would seek to move the union
away from Labour and disaffiliate, Unite now appears to be opting to become a
“critical friend” of the Starmer led Labour Party.
In an interesting pro-Graham article
in Dissent Olly Haynes observed that
Unite refused to support the Enough is
Enough coalition with the RMT and CWU because
two of the coalition’s five demands—building
affordable housing and imposing heavier taxes on the rich—could only be enacted
directly through state power. ...
Graham was deliberately avoiding anything
questioning the British state yet the SP support her!
Demonstration Outside Unite HQ
At her first Executive
Committee meeting as General Secretary (September 2021) Graham promised to
‘Take the lead or provide practical
support to other groups tackling wider societal issues such as; climate change,
the housing crisis and racism.’ This proved to be a lie.
Under Len
McCluskey Unite’s Community branches were established. It is no secret that
Graham is hostile
to them as she sees them as naturally political.
My Branch Banner at the Demonstration Outside Unite HQ
Why is Unite's Sharon Graham silent on Gaza genocide?
Graham is also supporting
Starmer’s increase in expenditure on the military even though it means cutting the
NHS, education and social services where Unite also has members.
At the 2022 TUC Conference Unite supported
a GMB motion calling for increased military expenditure. Graham called on the
TUC to back an increase in arms spending to 3% of GDP. As Chris Nineham of Stop
the War Coalition wrote
‘It actually
put the TUC to the right of the Tory government which even now only dares to
push for 2.5 per cent arms spending.
There are also concerns about her nepotism,
cronyism and authoritarianism. Her husband Jack Clarke was promoted
to Head of Bargaining and Dispute Support after becoming General
Secretary without
following normal procedures
Graham tried
to have evidence destroyed regarding Clarke’s bullying. Clarke was on a
final warning at the time. The evidence of racism against a close associate
Tony Seaman was binned
as “the posting was take down quickly’.
Brendan
Ogle
The
mainstream media are ignoring a huge trade union scandal. Why?
Brendan Ogle was Unite’s senior officer
in the Ireland Region who went off sick with cancer. When he returned he found
that he had been demoted. He was told that there was no place for him. When he
asked why, Gail Cartmail said
that “Sharon operates on the basis of loyalty.” Ogle had supported Graham’s
election opponent, Howard Beckett.
Brendan Ogle
John Douglas, former General Secretary of Mandate
had this to say
about Ogle:
Brendan had one of the highest profiles of any
trade union official in the country as leader of Right2Water; [he was] the
leader of very many other campaigns, so to see Brendan being humiliated in the
way he was after the way he came back from cancer to do the job he did on
behalf of the working class ... it was shoddy.
The case was extremely high profile in the Irish
press who made the most of Graham’s
reluctance to appear as a witness at a Labour Court. It was reported that
Unite’s legal bill against Ogle was over £1m and that was before Graham started
her defence against a libel action by Ogle.
Demonstration Outside Unite HQ
Sharon
Graham Has Refused to Oppose the Genocide
On October 16, in the
wake of October 7, Unite put out a statement
which
unreservedly condemns and expresses its
revulsion at the recent appalling acts of violence by Hamas against innocent
civilians in Israel. We further deplore the subsequent suffering and loss of
life being endured by civilians in Gaza arising from the actions of the Israeli
government.
Another Hamas Base? Israel destroys the PGFTU Palestinian Trade
Union Building in Gaza City which housed a kindergarten and bakery
Note how the statement ‘deplored’ the genocide of Palestinians but expressed its ‘revulsion’ at the ‘appalling acts of violence by Hamas.’ The difference in tone
between the deaths of the settlers and the Palestinians is a reflection of Sharon Graham’s deep racism.
Israel’s spokesman Daniel Hagari made it clear that “right
now we’re focused on what causes maximum damage”. Numerous
Israeli government ministers made genocidal statements. President Herzog said
on October 14 that ‘There are no innocent civilians in Gaza".
Graham tried to pressurise Unite’s Director for
International Affairs, Simon Dubbins into calling off a Palestinian event at
Labour Party conference putting
him under investigation.
On 17
October Peter Kavanagh, the Regional Secretary of London and Eastern Region, wrote a letter to
Graham asking why there had been no Unite banner or speaker at the previous
Palestine demonstration in London.
Kavanagh asked that Graham write to all branches
urging that members attend the demonstration and that resources be made
available to ensure that members could attend and that it be publicised on
Unite’s web site.
There was no response. At the subsequent
demonstration on October 21 there was only one Unite banner from London and
Eastern. Can anyone imagine previous General Secretaries Ron Todd or Len
McLuskey behaving in a similar way?
Any sign of Sharon Graham? Is she calling for ceasefire and speaking out against genocide? https://t.co/j753yYiCw1
This didn’t stop Gail Cartmail stating
on 27 October that:
The
General Secretary has been actively promoting that the union should put out a
statement calling for a ceasefire.... She is also clear that the Unite position
must be that we do not stoke division through anti-semitism and anti-Muslim
racism.
In other words Graham was more concerned about cries
of ‘anti-Semitism’ than Genocide. On November 2023 I wrote
Unite is led by a right-wing British nationalist...
The sooner this racist is removed from office the better. She is unfit to lead
a scout troupe. She calls herself apolitical but in practice she has been doing
her best to cosy up to Keir Starmer.
Graham also tried
to persuade Kavanagh from speaking at the Palestine demonstration in London
on January 13. Sarah Carpenter threatened
Kavanagh with loss of a pension bonus if he continued to support the
Palestinians.
I totally missed this, @unitetheunion Executive cttee voted 24 to 14 to defeat a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza earlier this week!
As Israel was preparing
to follow its killing 500 people in Al Ahli hospital by threatening the same at
Al Quds Hospital, Unite’s Executive Committee held an emergency meeting on
Palestine on October 26. It broke up in disarray
having voted 24-14 against
making any statement on Israel’s genocide.
The meeting was only held because of the outrage
amongst members at the fact that Unite has done absolutely nothing about
Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza.
On 1 November
I sent an Open
Letter signed by 135 members to Graham
demanding that Unite call for an immediate ceasefire and take part in the
national demonstrations.
Marching and calling for a ceasefire and peace so that more innocent children don’t get killed is not really the definition of a hate march. https://t.co/qLyIqZKhwt
On
November 3 Graham finally
issued a statement calling for a ceasefire
although it was pitifully weak, failing to mention still less condemn Israel’s
genocide in Gaza.
On
December 19 166 Unite members sent another
letter to Graham pointing out that in the
statement of November 3
There was no mention
of genocide or ethnic cleansing. There was no mention of the war crimes
perpetrated by Israel - the bombing of hospitals, the targeting and murder of
journalists, academics and doctors to say nothing of the bombing of residential
areas or the murder of children, which now stands at over 8,000.
There was no mention
of the fact that Israel has imposed a food, water and fuel blockade on the Gaza
strip resulting in starvation according to the United Nations. ... the statement treats the Palestinians and the
Israeli state as equally responsible....
We quoted a report from Vatican
News of 16 December:
‘Following heavy
bombardment overnight of the area around Holy Family Latin parish in Gaza City,
dozens are reported dead… and reports continue to arrive that shooting by
Israeli snipers continues during these hours. A statement released by the Latin
Patriarchate of Jerusalem confirmed that an Israeli sniper murdered two
Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish where the majority of Christian
families have taken refuge since the start of the war.’
On 17 December. Al Jazeera reported that
Israeli bulldozers had crushed Palestinians who were taking shelter in tents
outside Kamal Adwan Hospital. We wrote:
Dozens of Palestinians are reported to have been buried alive.
These are Nazi-style massacres and yet you have said nothing and done
nothing since issuing your statement. You were happy to wave the
Ukrainian flag but you haven’t waved the Palestinian flag or expressed any
sympathy with the thousands of murdered Palestinian civilians, not least
children
For 4 months after the statement of November 3
Graham did nothing to campaign against Israel’s genocide. There was no national
Unite presence on any London demonstration.
Demonstration Outside Unite HQ
On March 11 we organised
a demonstration outside Unite HQ to coincide
with an Executive Committee meeting. About 50 Unite members attended from 3
regions.
At the
meeting there were two motions on Palestine. Graham
and her supporters ensured that the motions on Palestine were not discussed
with the aid of the Chair Andy Green.
Graham said
this because ‘Palestine is not a service we offer members.’ This one
phrase sums up everything about Graham.
Sharon Graham's letter
attacking Palestine solidarity & anti-war activists & supporting NATO
& AUKUS
On March
7 Israel bombed the
headquarters of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza City. Their five story building contained a kindergarten that
served 380 children, as well as a large automatic bakery.
Letter today from Sharon Graham expressing solidarity with Shahar Saad, General Secretary of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions. pic.twitter.com/3iYINx9sXQ
In a letter of 25 March to PGFTU
General Secretary, Shaher Saeed, Graham boasted
that Unite had donated £50,000 to Medicin Sans Frontiere. Although condemning
the bombing of their headquarters Graham failed to mention the word ‘Israel’.
It was as if the bombing happened by itself. I wrote:
it is of course welcome that Graham has, at last, written expressing
her solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. But it is long overdue. It is
also welcome that she has, for the first time, condemned Israel’s ‘war
crimes’ but we will never forget that this only came nearly 6 months
after Israel’s attack and with deaths and injuries over 100,000.
Little did I know the
depths of cynicism which Graham is capable of. The PGFTU HQ was bombed on March
7. Graham’s letter was sent on March 25.
One day later, 26 March 2024, Graham issued a letter
condemning attempts to stop the manufacture of arms for Israel. Graham attacked
‘groups that look to build networks
inside trade unions to undermine the defence industry or demand the disbandment
of NATO and AUKUS’.
She held that it was ‘a core principle of Unite’ to support Unite members producing arms
to kill other workers. Graham wrote:
to alert and inform you about a number of
extremely troubling actions being undertaken by a tiny minority of individuals,
inside and outside of our Union.
Some of these individuals are linked to the past
leadership and a small number are linked to groups who want us to make
decisions detrimental to our membership and their jobs.
Unions Abroad Did What Sharon Graham Refused to Do - Embargo Arms Shipments to Israel
Graham could have told Unite workers that she would
support them refusing to handle arms destined for the genocide in Gaza in the
same way as happened with Rolls
Royce workers in East Kilbride in 1973 when they refused to service engines
for Pinochet’s airforce.
The
language was McCarthyist, aimed at witchunting the left and Palestine
solidarity activists. It was also aimed at climate and anti-war activists
deemed a threat to jobs. In other words what happens in wider society, with
growing militarisation and reduced spending on the NHS is irrelevant. We must
tie our fortunes to the military-industrial complex.
None of this stopped Graham claiming
that Unite ‘was the first major union to
publicly and unambiguously call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.’ This too
was a lie.
UNISON called
for an immediate ceasefire on October 26. UNISON also condemned Israel for its
attacks on civilians unlike the even handed Unite statement a week later.
"We are Fighting Animals" Israel Announces Blockade of Gaza
The
rest of her letter suggested that those who oppose the production of arms for
Israel are targeting the workers in those factories. Instead of trying to
persuade workers in arms factories to take action themselves and defending them
she was pitting workers against Palestine activists.
Instead
of supporting the diversification of production with arms factories being
retooled to produce useful things Graham represented the most backward section
of workers who a few generations before believed that opposition to the British
Empire spelt doom for British workers. Graham suggested
there is no contradiction for a trade union to
hold a position of solidarity with Palestinian workers, while at the same time
refusing to support campaigns that target our members' workplaces without their
support.
In
Marx’s day the burning question was Ireland. Marx wrote:
Every industrial and commercial centre in England now possesses a
working class divided into two hostile camps, English proletarians and
Irish proletarians. The ordinary English worker hates the Irish worker... he
regards himself as a member of the ruling nation and consequently he
becomes a tool of the English aristocrats and capitalists against Ireland, thus
strengthening their domination over himself.... His attitude towards
him is much the same as that of the “poor whites” to the Negroes in the former
slave states of the U.S.A.. The Irishman pays him back with interest in his own
money. He sees in the English worker both the accomplice and the stupid tool of
the English rulers in Ireland.
This antagonism is artificially kept alive and intensified by the
press, the pulpit, the comic papers, in short, by all the means at the disposal
of the ruling classes. This antagonism is the secret of the impotence
of the English working class, despite its organisation. It is the secret
by which the capitalist class maintains its power.
If
you want a good example of the British left’s national chauvinism then read the
SP’s article
which transforms criticism of Graham over Gaza into a dispute between the
United Left and the ‘industrially militant ‘transformation’ agenda’ of Graham. For
a more informed article see here.
Sharon Graham’s Conflicts with
Unite’s Staff
On 11 April 2024 the Officers National Committee submitted
a collective grievance concerning the flouting of grievance procedures and the
victimisation of workers who challenged Graham’s repressive regime. They wrote:
Graham and her management team were accused of
contempt for Unite staff’s collective agreement on grievances – and of a string
of other abuses, including the use of legal action to silence and intimidate
workers and avoid transparency, banning workers from their workplace under an
implied threat of dismissal – and putting people into ‘special measures’.
Among Graham’s other innovative employment practices
there was the threat that anyone submitting a grievance would be treated as in
breach of the duty of trust and confidence entitling the employer to dismiss
the employee.
Neither
the SWP, SP or Counterfire has had anything to say about this. This election is crucial – make
sure you vote.
Tony Greenstein
These
are the blogs I have written on Graham dictatorship in Unite
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