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ISS13 Day 3: The Politics of Organising

Politics, Organisation and Education

Dave Spooner, GLI UK, and Teresa Conrow, labour educator and organiser, are leading this plenary.  There will be no recording of this session, but follow the talk at #ISS13 on twitter!

The Fall & Rise of Labour?

New trends in trade unionism. What will the international trade union movement look like in 2020?

Discussion lead by Liv Tørres, Norwegian Peoples Aid and Han Dongfang, China Labour Bulletin, Hong Kong.

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ISS13 Day 2: Global Unions, Global Politics

The Public Service Challenge

Greg Thompson of Unison, UK, Marcela Olivera from the Municipal Services Project in Bolivia, and David Hall of PSI talk about the challenges to public services.

The Anti-Capitalist Challenge

Fatima Aquado Queipo of CC.OO in Spain, and Lefteris Kretsos of Syriza in Greece talk about the anti-capitalist challenge to the trade union movement.

The Climate Challenge

The Political Challenge

Bala Tampoe of the Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers’ Union of Sri Lanka and Dan Gallin of the Global Labour Institute in Geneva talk about the challenges facing the movement.

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Introduction to the Summer School

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Pre-School Briefing: A Starter Kit for International Trade Unionists

#ISS13: Pre-school briefing

The opening session of the Global Labour International Summer School. Dave Spooner of Global Labour Institute, UK presents a Starter Kit for International Trade Unionists: A brief guided tour around the political and organisational landscape of the movement – for participants new to international trade union discussions.

Watch the session here:


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Live Broadcasting of the 2013 International Summer School

The GLI 2013 International Summer School (8-12 July) will be broadcast live on the internet by our partners, Union Solidarity International.  The summer school sessions will be available through the GLI and USi websites, with further information about each session available at usilive.org/gli.

You can join the discussion live by commenting on the page, or using #ISS13 on twitter. We look forward to your contributions!

 

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Cornell GLI coordinates new Trade Unions for Energy Democracy Initiative

The Cornell Global Labor Institute is coordinating the Trade Unions for Energy Democracy initiative.  The initiative aims to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and the repression of workers’ rights and protections.

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Join a global conversation on the future of worker representation

The AFL-CIO has partnered with the Global Labour University to develop a global online conversation about the Future of Worker Representation.  GLU is moderating an open discussion forum regarding five key questions on the future of worker representation, and encourages all interested parties to join the conversation in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

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Summer School Invitation to Durham Miners’ Gala 2013

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All non-UK participants in the GLI 2013 International Summer School are invited to the Durham Miners’ Gala, taking place in the city of Durham, over the weekend immediately after the summer school.

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The Durham Miner’s Gala is the biggest and most colourful celebration of trade union and community spirit in Britain. Held on the second Saturday of July, the Durham Miners’ Gala sees trade unionists from across the country descend on Durham city and the event has developed into the largest gathering of trade unionists in the country.

Highlights include wave after wave of banners, each typically accompanied by a brass band, which are marched to the old Racecourse, where political speeches are delivered. In the afternoon a miners’ service is also held in Durham Cathedral which may include the blessing of any new banners. See durhamminers.org.

Your visit will be hosted by Unite the Union, including transport from Northern College on Friday 12 July, an invitation to the big Unite social event on the Friday evening, two nights shared-room accommodation in Durham, and transport return to Manchester Airport on the morning of Sunday 14 July.

To take part, please contact: annie.hopley@31.172.241.170.

Please note that a return coach will drop participants at Manchester Airport at 12:00 noon on Sunday 14 July. Please book your return flight accordingly.

An invitation flyer is available to download here.

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2013 International Summer School – “The Political Agenda of the International Trade Union Movement”

The draft programme for the GLI 2013 International Summer School is now available to download here. GLI welcomes all comments and suggestions on the draft programme, and interested participants should submit these to gli-uk@31.172.241.170.  A brochure is also available for circulation within the Trade Union movement and affiliated organisations.

All non-UK participants in the GLI 2013 International Summer School are invited to the Durham Miners’ Gala, taking place in the city of Durham, over the weekend immediately after the summer school.

If your Trade Union or organisation wishes to participate in the ISS 2013, please do contact us at gli-uk@31.172.241.170. As places at this years International Summer School are limited and allocated through participating unions, we suggest that individuals interested in a place at the Summer School get in touch with their trade union. Young activists are particularly encouraged to attend.  

The second GLI International Summer School – the event to debate and question what are, and what should be, the politics of the international trade union movement.

8-12 July 2013, Northern College, UK

ISS2012(1)The Big Picture – The New Capitalism

Financialisation, the banks and the state.   

Global Unions – Global Politics

What are the political challenges facing the international trade 

ISS2012(2)

union movement?

The Politics of Organising 

New trends in trade unionism; the future workforce; politics, organisation and education.

ISS2012(3)

Our Common Purpose

 Do we share the same perception of the world?

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Trade unionists throughout the world are organising and fighting hard to defend workers’ livelihoods and rights against unprecedented attack from financial markets, corporations and governments, in the context of economic, ecological and political crisis. There are some causes for optimism: a new international agenda for strong industrial organisation, evidence of increasing corporate vulnerability to well-organised and targeted campaigns, and a new generation of activists emerging from unions and movements for democracy and climate justice.

Yet there is a political vacuum. Union members want an international political alternative to neo-liberalism and corporate capitalism, but little emerges beyond rhetoric. Many of the formal institutions of the international labour movement have retreated into a bland, lowest common denominator of politics, shy of even basic principles of social democracy, let alone any mention of democratic socialism. But this is precisely the time when radical political solutions – and a new sense of political direction for the international trade union movement – are needed.

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Up to 90 participants – delegations from national unions and global union federations, invited trade union activists, labour movement researchers and educators. Invited participants and discussion leaders include:

Sharan Burrow, International Trade Union Confederation; Alana Dave, International Transportworkers Federation (ITF); Plamen Dimitrov, Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB); Jennie Formby, Unite the Union, UK; Dan Gallin, Global Labour Institute, Switzerland; Susan George, Transnational Institute, Netherlands; Leonard Gentle, International Labour Research & Information Group (ILRIG), South Africa; Cedric Gina, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA); Sam Gindin, Socialist Project, Canada; Károly György, National Confederation of Hungarian Trade Unions (MSZOSZ); David Hall, Public Services International Research Institute; Peter Hall-Jones, New Unionism, New Zealand; Han Dongfang, China Labour Bulletin, Hong Kong; Gary Herman, National Union of Journalists, UK; Tony Higgins, FIFPro; Vicky Kanyoka, International Domestic Workers’ Network, Tanzania; Boris Kravchenko, All-Russia Confederation of Labour (VKT), Lefteris Kretsos, University of Greenwich, UK; Khalid Mahmood, Labour Education Foundation, Pakistan; Nasir Mansoor, National Trade Union Federation, Pakistan; Josua Mata, Alliance of Progressive Labor, Philippines; Roger McKenzie, Unison, UK; Jim Mowatt, Unite the Union, UK; Nalini Nayak,  SEWA, India; Ann Orjebu, Industri Energi, Norway; Rosa Pavanelli, Public Services International (PSI); Vasco Pedrina, Unia, Switzerland; Krastyo Petkov, GLI Bulgaria; Ai-jen Poo, National Domestic Workers’ Alliance, USA; Fátima Aquado Queipo, Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO), Spain; Peter Rossman, International Union of Foodworkers (IUF); Ashim Roy, New Trade Union Initiative, India; Dave Spooner, Global Labour Institute, UK; Lara Skinner, Global Labor Institute, USA; Elizabeth Tang, International Domestic Workers’ Network; Bala Tampoe, Ceylon Mercantile Union, Sri Lanka; Liv Torres, Peoples Aid, Norway

Venuebanner

Northern College                                                                  NorthernCollege
Wentworth Castle, Stainborough
Barnsley, 
South Yorkshire
S75 3ET
Phone: 01226 776000 
www.northern.ac.uk

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There is no fee, and food and accommodation are provided free of charge, although unions are encouraged make a financial contribution. Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses.

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Global Labour Institute (GLI Network Ltd),

Room 541, Royal Exchange, Manchester, M2 7EN, UK

Phone: +44 161 835 9103

www.global-labour.net

Further details from

dave.spooner@31.172.241.170

Further details on registration, travel and visas from annie.hopley@31.172.241.170

 

Please note that regrettably the Summer School will be in English only