UK: Unions threaten strikes, civil disobedience and campaign of resistance over cuts

The Telegraph ^ | 9/12/2010 | Christopher Hope

[bruinbirdman]

A “campaign of resistance not seen for decades”

Delegates to Monday’s annual meeting of the Trades Union Congress will be asked to support joint union industrial action as well as other forms of protest.

They will be asked to vote on a motion urging the TUC to “support and co-ordinate campaigning and joint union industrial action, nationally and locally, in opposition to attacks on jobs, pensions, pay or public services”.

The motion, titled “Defending public services”, is signed by most of the country’s biggest unions including Unison, Unite, GMB, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, the Fire Brigades’ Union and the NASUWT.

A national demonstration is being planned for next March which could attract hundreds of thousands of people in the biggest show of public anger in a generation.

Mark Serwotka, the PCS’s general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union described industrial action as “inevitable”.

The public should prepare for “a campaign of resistance the like of which we have not seen in this country for decades”.

He said that unless unions worked together to fight back the future was “bleak”.

Mr Serwotka said the cuts will be on a totally different scale after next month’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

He said: “We ain’t seen nothing yet. People are very worried and demoralised and are just waiting for things to get worse.

“While industrial action may be necessary, it is clear the most effective opposition would be the biggest popular movement we have seen for many years.”

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, suggested a campaign of “civil disobedience” was needed to fight spending cuts.

“Maybe we need Batman climbing up 10 Downing Street, Spider-Man on Buckingham Palace as part of peaceful demonstrations of civil disobedience.

“This is an opportunity for the entire

[rbosque]

Terminally stupid.

[FlingWingFlyer]

The commie union thugs ALWAYS put the union first. To hell with the country and the taxpayers.

[wk4bush2004]

Ah, I see, that Unite is involved here; the thugs who have tried and are trying to take down British Airways...

[JPG]

Sorry, Thugs, the piggy bank is empty. Go cry in your steak and kidney pie.

[pnh102]

I wonder if these unions have ever heard of PATCO? Or if the Brits are ballsey enough to channel President Reagan in handling of such a threat.

[GeronL]

So they want to push the country farther over the edge.

[FrankR]

The very first thing I ever heard about barack obama was, that the "blacks had threatened to riot if he was not elected president".

Immediately I thought of the muslim terrorist who are "gonna do this" and "gonna do that" if we don't appease them in every way.

Now, here comes the home-grown terrorists we've been hearing so much about; NO, not the TEA party movement, but the labor unions, with their version of this shakedown threat.

Here's the question: Are we willing to have our entire country go bankrupt from graft and corruption to avoid some neer-do-wells from breaking a few windows and replenishing their supply of flat-screen TV's?

Threats of violence for not getting "payoffs" is about as MOB as you can get...and our _resident IS from Chicago. He HAS been paying off the union mobsters with big "our" bucks for a long time. However, if he is stopped, let the mob go and break HIS kneecaps, not ours.

They've raped and pillaged Chicago to where it's the pits, and now they seek to expand their territory to the entire country...but, that won't work. That won't work at all.

Anything they do in the way of riots and violence can be laid directly at the feet of barack obama. He USED them to get elected, and now HE owes them...not us. We don't want obama anyway, so "happy horse-heads" to him.

So, if they want to again make with the terroristic threats, let the games begin. They've got some badass thugs, but we've got the whole country...and we don't cow-tow the the "gang mentality"...not that there is anything "mental" about it.

Terrorists, are terrorists...shakedowns are shakedowns; go huff and puff somewhere else.

[Canedawg]

you want to see civil disobedience?

Just wait until the SEIU is told that their benefits and salaries are being cut and rolled back.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

Thatcher broke the Mining Unions in 1984 by stockpiling supplies of coal and then provoking the miners into a confrontation. The striking miners ran out of money before the nation ran out of coal...

[Clock King]

Good. Do it. Maybe when your food supply starts running short, you’ll understand that the union “leaders” are just in it for themselves.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

And the reason we aren’t having the same thing is because? . . . . Obama is shoveling billions to the union pensions to prop them up. Europe is moving toward sanity while we are jumping of a cliff high on Hope and Change.