It's time for the left to do a Len Murray

The leaders of Britain's trade unions will meet on Tuesday, with popular unrest at a level not seen for twenty years.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) general council has the chance to make history - or to complete a hat trick of missed tricks.
At September's congress unions backed a demonstration against youth unemployment before the end of 2010.
This psychic foresight would have put the trade union movement on the streets with the revolting generation.
The general council kicked the idea into the long grass - deciding to hold an indoor rally in Manchester on January 29 2011.
In October the general council met just before the government's spending review signalled hundreds of thousands of job cuts.
The council decided not to organise a demonstration until next March - despite calls for swifter action from some members.
Next week is another test of the union leaders' resolve and tactical acumen.
COMMENT:
In 1983 the NGA print union - now part of Unite - had its funds seized by the courts over a dispute in Warrington that contravened new anti-union laws.
The employment committee of the TUC general council voted to give the printers their full support.
The then TUC general secretary Len Murray left the meeting and told waiting journalists he would not be implementing the decision.
If - as seems certain - the general council sits on its hands next week the left union leaders need to show as much bottle as Murray.
They should stand on the steps of Congress House and pledge their full support for the students, the lecturers and the wider anti-cuts movement.
They shoud call a day of action - a lunchtime walkout, occupations of public buildings all over the country. Something that gives confidence to the workers who want to join the popular unrest and builds towards more generalised industrial action.
Will anyone be as brave as Len Murray?
If so what action should they call?
Are the general council right to be cautious?
Please use the comments box below.

Pilots win union recognition at low cost airline

The British pilots' union has won the right to negotiate pay and conditions at the low cost airline Jet2.com.
As predicted on The Workers United the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) was awarded recognition without the need for a ballot.
The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) - the quango that adjudicates recognition claims - had already established that more than 60 percent of the company's 247 "flight deck pilots" are members of the union.
At a recent CAC hearing the company argued that a ballot would clear the air given the "heat" there had been on both sides.
Jet2.com also said a vote would provide a democratic mandate for union recognition.
The CAC panel agreed with BALPA that the law - introduced by Labour in 2000 - gave a union with that level of membership the right to conduct collective bargaining for the pilots without a ballot.
There is a full report of the decision on the CAC website.
COMMENT:
Congratulations to BALPA. This sort of victory against a modern and relatively new private sector employer should act as inspiration to the whole trade union movement.
But a public meeting in Manchester heard that BALPA members organised themselves into strike-breaking squads during the ongoing cabin crew dispute between Unite and British Airways.
The airline industry is cut-throat and the workers need unity to defend and improve working conditions.

FA cup heroes are supporting strikers off the pitch

FA Cup giant killers FC United are refusing to take part in the BBC's flagship Football Focus show today in solidarity with striking BBC journalists.
The non-league club was formed by disgruntled Manchester United fans in protest at the running of the Old Trafford outfit.
FC United won three-two at their much higher ranked neighbours Rochdale last night.
Club general manager Andy Walsh, speaking exclusively to The Workers United, said: "I told Football Focus producer David Garrido that we would not be taking part in solidarity with the strike.
"I've told everyone at the club not to take part.
"I'm a trades unionist and it is important that people take a stand.
"We spoke to some BBC reporters last night because of a misunderstanding."
The Workers United understands strike-breaking BBC staff told FC United officials that the dispute only involved newsroom journalists and didn't cover sport.
That is not true. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has 4,100 members at the BBC - in all departments - who are striking over a pension scheme that covers all workers.
FC United boss Walsh is a former member of the national executive of the Banking, Insurance, and Finance Union - now part of Unite.
DECLARATION: I am a member of the NUJ and a former BBC sports journalist. I'm not in the pension scheme. I support Manchester City.

Report from BBC world service picket line

Red Pepper magazine

Pilots union close to winning recognition at Jet2.com airline

The pilots union will today (November 3) try to persuade a hearing in London that it should be granted the right to represent workers at Jet2.com - without the need for a ballot.
The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) is following the UK’s statutory procedure for union recognition introduced by Labour in 2000.
The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) – the quango responsible – has already established that 62 percent of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit are members of the association.
BALPA wants to negotiate pay and conditions for 247 “flight deck pilots” of whom 174 are union members.
Jet2.com is a low cost airline with bases at Newcastle, Edinburgh, Belfast, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, East Midlands, Blackpool and Exeter airports. It employs more than 1.000 people.
Today’s hearing will decide if BALPA can be granted recognition without a ballot.
Under the law a union needs a membership level of 50 percent plus one person to secure recognition – but employers are allowed to argue for a ballot.
Firms that are hostile to unions hope they can pressurise their employees into voting "no" during the balloting period.
But it would be unusual for the CAC to demand a ballot when a union has more than 60 percent membership.
Today’s hearing is at 10.30am in the Hilton London Euston Hotel, Upper Woburn Place, WC1H 0HT. It is open to the public.
The CAC website has a detailed report of the acceptance decision and the bargaining unit decision for BALPA’s application for recognition at Jet2.com.

GUEST POST: Fired up by Manchester anti-cuts meeting

More than 100 people were at the Friends’ Meeting House in Manchester for a public meeting organised by the Labour Representation Committee (LRC).
The line-up of speakers included a trio of general secretaries - Jeremy Dear from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Matt Wrack from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), who both made reference to the action their members will be taking this week, and Steve Gillan, recently elected at the Prison Officers' Association (POA).
They spoke alongside ex-MP Alice Mahon, an array of activists and John McDonnell MP, who gave a brief economic analysis of the crisis, as well as describing in gory detail the scenes he had witnessed in parliament of ministers delighting in an opportunity to tear apart state structures.
Although I am usually in favour of keeping speeches short and sweet, it would have been good to hear more from John McDonnell - his detailed analysis was insightful and thought-provoking.
Two main points appealed to me – first, the need for unquestioning solidarity with those taking action against the cuts.
People will come to these campaigns from an array of backgrounds/factions/viewpoints, but fundamentally the fight is a class one. We should be signing each other’s petitions, attending each other’s protests, and contributing to each other’s hardship funds.
Secondly, the need for a narrative to be created from people’s experiences as a counterpoint to the one constructed by the Tories, a narrative which would unite this struggle with others of the past and bring together all those affected on the same side to expose injustice and ideological attacks on services.
I attended this meeting with several newcomers to the LRC: it was, for all of us, an afternoon to put fire in the belly.
By Sarah Warden, National Union of Teachers member

Other guest posts are welcome.

Trades unionists take alternative economic message to the people

The North West TUC has produced 5,000 leaflets putting the alternative to cuts in public services which will be handed out in Manchester, Liverpool, and Chester on Saturday (October 23).
In Manchester, leafleters will be gathering in Albert Square from 10 am.
In Liverpool, leafleting will begin in Lord Street from 10 am.
And in Chester activists will be outside the Town Hall in Northgate Street from 10am.
The sessions are set to continue at least until noon and help is welcome at all three venues.
North West TUC regional secretary Alan Manning said, on their Proud To Serve The Public website: “There is an alternative to the coalition’s cuts which now put tens of thousands of jobs at risk in our region.
“We can bring back the windfall tax on bankers’ bonuses – after all they caused this mess. We can crackdown on tax avoidance and tax evasion, raise billions through a tiny tax on financial deals, stop spending a fortune on privatising services and introduce a property tax on vacant properties."
The TUC leafleting in Manchester coincides with a rally in a different square which was announced earlier this week by the regional arm of the National Shop Stewards' Network and reported on The Workers United.
A source close to the regional TUC - the official umbrella organisation for unions in the north west of England - said: "We're not aware of any split. There will be lots of activity happening in towns all over the region."

Manchester unions rally against the cuts

Trades unionists in Manchester and Salford will be holding a day of action against government cuts on Saturday October 23.
A whole series of events have been organised by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) Salford Trade Union Council, and the north west arm of the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN).
Leafleters are wanted in St Peter's Square, Manchester city centre, M2 5PD, from 9.45am to 11am and again from 12.30pm to 1.50pm.
Between 11am and 12.30pm there is a demonstration and rally in St Peter's Square backed by branches and regional bodies from PCS, the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT), Unite, and Unison.
Speakers include Andy Beehan from south Manchester RMT, Gavin Hartley a member of PCS executive for the Department of Work and Pensions.
At 2pm there will be a public meeting organised by the north west shop stewards network at the Mechanics Institue, 103 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 6DD.
Speakers include Andy Warnock-Smith, RMT regional organiser, Sarah Robinson of the PCS DWP executive, and Steve Acheson, an electrician and Unite member blacklisted for organising the union on building sites.
There will be also leafleting against cuts in Chester, Liverpool, and Preston.