The Cyberunions Podcast: Episode 27 – The Sparks are flying and it’s not even May first!

0:40 Stephen’s updates

Stephen is looking forward to Chelsea vs Liverpool as soon as we finish recording the show
A recent technical issue with video was down to user error!
Stephen is off to Guatemala in a week!
Stephen has become a member of Mayfirst

3:27 Walton’s updates

4:32 Tech update

There are lots of benefits to Mayfirst membership
People in the IRC channel are really helpful
We’ll be moving from Trick to Mayfirst soon, because we need more space
Trick are a great microhost and we recommend them for branch or activist websites
There is a horrible new bill in the US called the Stop Online Piracy Act
It’s unworkable and shifts the Internet balance of power in favour of big corporations and content producers with outdated business models
Get campaigning through the American Censorship website

14:25 Up the Sparks!

The strike on 30 November is likely to be the biggest since 1926
Will this be a repeat of the 1984 Miners’ Strike, and a chance to destroy public sector unions?
Direct Action gets the goods
The Sparks dispute is one of the most interesting and under reported
Construction is covered by national agreements such as NAECI
Pulling out of NAECI lead to the Lindsey refinery wildcats in 2009
Seven major employers, lead by the highly profitable Balfour Beatty, have pulled out of agreements, lowering wages by 30% causing a ruckus
Ironically, trade unions could be the saviours of capitalism – because we ensure people are paid enough to spend into the economy and move us out of recession
National Shop Stewards Network is a rank and file movement
Occupy Wall Street was evicted, leaving Bloomberg looking like another ageing dictator
Towards a permanent occupation!

30:32 Feedback