issue 18 of the commune

The October issue of The Commune is now available. Click the image below to see PDF or use the list of individual articles as they are posted online.

Contact us at uncaptiveminds@gmail.com if you would like to buy a printed copy (£1 + 50p postage) or set up a subscription. (£12 a year UK/£16 EU/£20 international.

News

lib dems to slash council services – David Huckerby reports on Sheffield council, which has announced 8,000 lay-offs

french workers fight for their future – A Rebetiko article on the 3-million strong days of action against a two-year rise in the pension age

progress for UCL cleaners – Greg Brown reports on a partial victory for the Living Wage campaign

‘not one train left the depot’ – Millie Wild speaks to a worker involved in the Madrid Metro strike

ed miliband is no ed militant – David Broder is unimpressed with the left’s reactions to the Labour leadership contest

deadlock in venezuela vote – Claudio Testa explains the weaknesses and remaining power base of the Chávez government

Workplace and local reports

fire brigade: will london burn? – job losses set to hit fire cover, ‘frontline’ staff and support workers alike in London Fire Brigade

cuts to hit hard in peckham – Sharon Borthwick reports on the impact of the crisis in Peckham and the changing social composition of the area

on the picket line at sandwell waste depot – report from a recent strike action by refuse workers near Birmingham

Theory

reports from september 11th conference ‘from meltdown to upheaval’:

– working group on organising ongoing struggles

– working group on community and voluntary organising

– working group on ‘is the university a factory?’ – by Sebastian Wright

are the cuts necessary, and does it matter? – Oisín Mac Giollamóir responds to a debate on whether UK capitalism ‘needs’ to make the cuts

unison stirred by government cuts onslaught – Matt Mansfield reports on an anti-cuts conference in Glasgow staged by Unison

where does resistance come from? – Sheila Cohen reviews Workplace Conflict: Mobilization and Solidarity in Argentina by Maurizio Atzeni

big flame: doing things a different way – Sophie Walker and Joe Thorne revisit the experience of 1970s revolutionary socialist feminist group Big Flame

Our network and events

the commune: a view from the periphery – a letter from Martin Bashforth, from York, on the potential and role of The Commune

political platform of our network

the commune around britain

women at the cutting edge…

the commune issue 2 published

february 2009 – £1 + postage and packing, email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com to order

click here for pdf or see individual articles below

barack obama is lipstick on a pig – by Ernie Haberkern

civil service pay dispute: defeat or victory? – by Steve Ryan, Wrexham PCS

class struggle on the london underground – interview with Vaughan Thomas, RMT London region chair (LUL)

occupations: the way to win? – guest editorial by Gregor Gall

the people’s charter: a charter for change? – by Chris Kane (online only)

militancy and mobilisation in the anti-war movement

the mindset of israelis in the gaza conflict – by Solomon Anker

anti-semitism and the war – by Aled Thomas

unemployment: a view from the front line – by Christine Hulme, PCS DWP

welfare ‘reform’, the brown premiership and the recession – by Chris Grover, Lancaster University

what does ‘socialism or barbarism’ mean today? – by François Chesnais

call centres: the workers’ enquiry – review by Jack Staunton

ukraine’s ‘new left’ and the russian ‘gas war’ – by Milan Lelich

the socialist movement in iran – by Sam Parsa

political platform of the commune

two announcements

Upcoming meetings

We have finalised the line-up for the last in the series of our ‘uncaptive minds‘ discussion series on the 1970s class struggle. Joe Marino (Bakers’ Union general secretary) and Steve Hedley (LUL regional secretary of the RMT) will be joined by John McDonnell MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP for a discussion on the subject “Then and now: where did it all go?”. The meeting takes place in London on Monday 8th December.

There are two meetings before that, however: the next is on the evening of Monday 10th November, a film showing and talk on the 1971-72 Upper Clydeside occupation. Email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com for more details. This will be followed by a meeting about the Grunwick dispute, taking place on 24th November.

Newspaper

The first issue of our newspaper The Commune will be published in the next ten days. It will feature extensive coverage of the economic crisis; articles about state intervention in the economy; about public sector pay; a piece by Gregor Gall on industrial democracy; Terry Liddle’s take on the life of William Morris; news from the class struggle in Iran; and other news from our movement. Email the above address to indicate your interest, and stay tuned.

To take a look at the pamphlets and leaflets we have already produced, click here.