The annual general meeting of Hackney TUC will be on 12 February at 7pm (venue to be confirmed).

Fantastic guest speakers

The meeting will also be an opportunity to hear from US trade unionists from the SEIU and the Steelworkers unions who were seconded to work with the Barack Obama presidential campaign and helped to co-ordinate the trade union mobilisation for Obama.

The mobilisation combined issue based campaigning, mapping of voting districts, 'e-organising', one-to-one communication networks and 'block-by-block' organising.

The US trade unionists are here to discuss how their unions addressed the need for political representation of the US workforce, how the Steelworkers in Pennsylvania (almost exclusively a white workforce) challenged racism to win support for Obama, and how the SEIU a union that represents often low paid and marginalised workers (the union responsible for the Justice for Janitors campaign) made sure that its members voices were heard in this election.

Their practical experience will be a valuable contribution to our debates about a) how UK trade unionists mobilise to defeat the growing BNP, b) how the Trade Union movement can mobilise its members to obtain power in the political arena and c) the strategies and techniques of organising.

This is the first time that US trade unionists have been in the UK to discuss the Obama campaign, and we are grateful to Searchlight for their support in arranging this meeting.

The AGM business

Hackney TUC tries to operate as an inclusive network for all trade unionists who live or work in Hackney. All of our meetings are open to anyone who is interested in getting involved. However, like all organisations we need an accountable decision making process and that needs to be done by official delegates. The formal business of the AGM will take place after the main discussion is over and should take very little time, nonetheless, it is a process that is essential.

Our constitution requires that for major policy decisions and at General Meetings only delegates from affiliated trade union branches can vote. Consequently, the more trade union branches that formally affiliate, the greater our democratic accountability.

If your branch is not affiliated, there is still time to get affiliated before the AGM. All that is needed is for your branch committee to resolves to affiliate and to nominate one or more delegates. We can supply a standard resolution and details of affiliation fees (which depend on the size of your branch, but are seldom more than £20 per annum).

We will also elect officers at the AGM. These include the key roles of Secretary, President, Treasurer, Equalities. Anyone wishing to stand for these positions should notify us of their intention to stand by Thursday 5 February. If positions are contested then there will be an election on the evening of the AGM.

We are still trying to confirm a venue for this meeting, but in the meantime, please cascade this email onto trade unionists in Hackney and invite them to attend.

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Jane Holgate
Secretary, Hackney Trades Union Council
PO Box 44656, London N16 5YX
Tel: 07960 798399

jane.holgate1@btinternet.com [1]
www.hackneytuc.org.uk [2]