5th october london reading group: two views of trade unionism

The next of our London discussion meetings on workplace organising is to be held from 7pm on Monday October 5th at the Lucas Arms, near King’s Cross. We will be looking at the questions:

– Are unions an expression of the self-organisation of the working class, or bodies which seek to win improvements on their behalf?

– What is the difference between ‘trade unionism’ and the revolutionary class struggle?

The recommended reading material and a map of the venue appear below. Email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com or phone 07595 245494 for more details.

Hal Draper – from The Two Souls of Socialism,  The Fabian Model (click here).

Beatrice and Sidney Webb –  from Industrial Democracy 1897 edition ‘ pages 150 on Trade Union Functions, 178-179 on the Method of Collective Bargaining, 253-257 on The Method of Legal Enactment , pages 595- 560 on the Assumptions of Trade Unionism. Click here to download Word file.

Hal Draper – ‘Rank and File Organisation’ from Marxism and the Trade Unions (click here).