Organising against FASCISM in the workplace 1: INTRODUCTION JESS HURD/REPORTDIGITAL.CO.UK This booklet has been produced to Why is this a problem? help trade union shop stewards and Fascism is a political philosophy that activists get involved in workplace glorifies the nation, and often race, and community campaigns opposing above the individual. It believes in a fascist politics and extreme far right centralised autocratic government political parties. headed by a dictator and a uniform, rigid economic and social way of Fascist and populist extreme organising society with forcible right-wing parties are becoming suppression of any opposition. The increasingly involved in mainstream philosophy is opposed to the values of politics in Europe and the UK. In democracy and solidarity that are at Europe they have had considerable the heart of trade unionism. success by demonising racial and religious minorities – especially While many fascist parties present those that have come to Europe themselves as nationalist parties, their as migrant workers. campaigns and policies reveal that in fact they subscribe to a fascist At the start of 2007 fascist and philosophy. Increasingly the BNP and extreme right-wing parties formed other extreme far-right parties focus part of governments in Austria, their propaganda on workplace and Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, community issues that trade unions Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. The are campaigning on. They are also election of fascist MEPs in Bulgaria stepping up their campaign against and Romania resulted in attempts to trade unions fighting for the rights of form a fascist group of MEPs in the migrant workers. While many unions European Parliament. If this had have anti-racist policies and campaign succeeded the group would have against fascist parties during elections, been entitled to financial support as it is important that trade unionists a ‘part bloc’. develop an anti-fascism message that is focused on the workplace to counter In the UK the British National Party fascist arguments. (BNP) have targeted local council seats in an attempt to build a political Educating union members about base that could launch them to fascism and why they need to actively parliamentary success. Since 2000 they oppose fascist politics and parties is have expanded rapidly – from fielding 17 essential because workers make up a candidates and receiving 3022 votes significant part of the local electorate and no seats in 2000 to gaining 49 and can become activists in local seats with votes of 238,389 in 2006. community anti-fascist campaigns. The more that we can actively engage trade union members the more effective these key campaigns will be. 02 Organising against fascism in the workplace 2: FASCIST ACTIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE Fascist parties have sought to win Dartmoor, Wandsworth and William Roberts, an open NF popular support from working Pentonville prisons. Workers at the member, was re-elected as a people as a way of obtaining north London Royal Mail sorting convenor for the Amalgamated power and influence at a local and offices of Mount Pleasant and Union of Engineering Workers national level. Building support Upper Street, Islington, were also (AUEW). and influence among trade well known for their support for unionists has always been part the NF. Ninety-six NF activists were This success in unions was one of of their strategy. organised in cells at sorting offices the reasons for the split in the NF in in London and the Home Counties. 1976 and the launch of the National In the late 1960s most British Nazis On the railways the NF was able to Party (NP). The NP took a big chunk had realised they could win some set up its own Railwaymen’s of the NF’s most capable and support by adopting an ultra- Association. These activities were dedicated members, as well as a lot patriotic and racist programme. This co-ordinated by the NF’s Trade of their supporters in the unions. To was the main reasoning behind the Union Association. begin with the NP met with some formation of the National Front success, particularly in the declining (NF) in 1967. Although the This period saw the slow demise mill towns in the North-West of Immigration Control Association of the ICA and its replacement by England, and even had two local (ICA) was originally set up by the Trade Union Anti-Immigration councillors elected in Blackburn, dissident conservatives, it quickly Movement (TRUAIM). NF Lancashire. It also won support in saw an influx of NF members eager members, helped by TRUAIM, were the old racist hotbeds of east to exploit the support that the ICA elected to official trade union London. Fortunately for the labour was finding in many workplaces. positions, such as on Luton trades movement internal problems led The most notorious was Smithfield council and the shop stewards’ to the NP’s rapid collapse. meat market, where the porters committee at Rover in Solihull. were organised in a trade union. MARK THOMPSON Danny Harmston, a prominent union member at Smithfield, was a long-time fascist and former bodyguard to the fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. Under Harmston’s leadership the meat porters formed the core of many ICA marches. Ironically, in 1936 the meat porters were in the forefront of the huge anti-fascist protests against Mosley at Cable Street in east London. By the mid 1970s the NF had started to establish cells in the prison service. They were particularly strong at Strangeways, Organising against fascism in the workplace 03 2: FASCIST ACTIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE The British National Party ASLEF, which had been found to have In recent years the British National acted unlawfully by the British Party (BNP) made a concerted courts after expelling an active BNP attempt to infiltrate the trade union member, took their case to the movement. As well as trying to European Court of Human Rights. In influence workplace attitudes BNP February 2007 the European Court members have sought to confront issued its judgement in the case of trade unions on an individual basis ASLEF v UK, holding that ASLEF’s right by getting expelled from membership to freedom of association under and then taking unions to tribunals Article 11 of the European Convention for breach of the law and their own on Human Rights had been violated rules. This resulted in a number of by UK law, which prevented it from high profile cases where BNP expelling one of its members on the members took different unions ground of his membership of the to court. BNP. The case, taken by ASLEF, was JESS HURD/REPORTDIGITAL.CO.UK financially supported by 12 other TUC affiliates. The court’s decision represented a real advance in terms of the rules governing the kinds of people unions can admit or exclude from membership, including BNP members and activists. As a result the Government is changing UK legislation. Unions are also in the process of tightening their own rules to make anti-racism and anti- fascism clear as objects of the union. Solidarity – The Union for British Workers’ As a response to the failure of their strategy to infiltrate trade unions the BNP and other extreme right-wing parties have attempted to form their own union. ‘Solidarity – The Union for British Workers’ was formed in late 2005 and registered with the Trade Union Certification Officer in early 2006. The union’s General Secretary 04 Organising against fascism in the workplace is Patrick Harrington, an ex-RMT Redwatch disciplined a student who had member, and Clive Potter, ex- Set up in 2001, the Redwatch ripped posters off her office wall, Unison. While stating that it is website publishes the names and shouted at her and attempted to open to all workers from personal information of perceived intimidate her after issues had ethnic, religious and political anti-rascist activists along with been raised about the racist backgrounds, Solidarity describes their photographs and addresses. content of the student’s work. itself as a nationalist union and it The main purpose of the site is I A UNISON activist involved in is, in effect, a front for the BNP. to encourage people to attack or anti-racist activity in the North Harrington is a close friend of BNP harass these opponents of the BNP East had paint thrown over his leader Nick Griffin while Clive and other fascist groups. house after his name and Potter has stood as a candidate for address were published on the the BNP and is a member of a The TUC and its affiliates are website. more obscure fascist organisation concerned that the Redwatch I The chair of the Trades Council in called Third World. Lee Barnes, website, which has links with far Wirral was attacked in his home another member of Solidarity’s right groups including the BNP, by a man and his face cut with a management team, is head of Combat 18 and Blood and Honour, is knife after being featured on the legal affairs at the BNP. a tool to intimidate trade unionists, website. journalists and anti-racist/fascist Solidarity’s main activities so campaigners. The TUC, along with member far have been to organise a trade unions, is pressuring the recruitment campaign in Northern There have been a number of Government to close the website Ireland by distributing leaflets in incidents that have heightened and prosecute those who run it loyalist areas through their links concern. Examples include: with some elements of the Belfast Orange Order. They also have links I Several NUJ-member journalists with Civil Liberty, an organisation who, in the course of their work, with links to the BNP and other investigated far right groups or right-wing extremist commented against right-wing organisations domestically political groups, have been and internationally, targeted by the site alongside messages that indicate a need to There have been reports of find reporters fast and scare Solidarity activists trying to recruit them off.