Unite Oral History

Sharon was one of four female trades people in a team of 500. Hear her story of working life and becoming a trade union representative.

Electrician Sharon Bailey, UNITE senior steward at 13 Group housing, describes why local people set up a committee, put up a plaque, made a short film and have organised an annual commemoration event to remember the Battle of Stockton in 1933 when Oswald Moseley’s fascists were chased out of the Teesside town by 2000 local people.

Electrician Sharon Bailey, UNITE senior steward at 13 Group housing, describes how being in 2015 on strike – an action which led to higher wages -- inspired her to become more active as a workplace rep.

In this interview Barbara shares her experiences of working in the NHS, Joining a union and becoming a Workplace Rep for Unite the Union.

“Having been disciplined myself I know why health workers need reps to accompany them to disciplinary meetings.” Nurse Barbara Campbell on some of the reasons why she is a UNITE hospital workplace rep.

Taj Salam describes how the 302/7 branch has successfully sought to get its members involved in political processes including by becoming local councilors.

Taj Salam speaks up on behalf of public transport and what needs doing to boost passenger numbers.

Taj Salam, branch secretary at First Bus Bradford, describes the issues and organisation behind a series of strikes he’s participated in since 1988.

This podcast contains extracts from the three full interviews and outlines the history of Barnoldswick and the disputes at the site.

In this episode David Sproule's views on trade unionism at Barnoldswick Rolls Royce, why he became a steward, why he agreed to join with other UNITE members to twice go on strike, what it involved and what it was like.

In this episode Ross Quinn, Unite NW regional officer for aerospace and shipbuilding, explains how an earlier series of strikes at Cammell Laird nationally helped inspire workers at Barnoldswick in their actions.

In 2020 and 2021, Unite members at Rolls Royce, Barnoldswick took strike action in a long-running dispute to defend their jobs. At the conclusion, members accepted an enhanced agreement that secured the future of the site and included a commitment that there will be no compulsory redundancies for five years and manufacturing will be undertaken at Barnoldswick for at least 10 years.

In this episode Mark Porter, UNITE works convenor at Rolls Royce Barnoldswick, explains the background, including how important the plant is to the local economy, to the long-running dispute there in 2020 and 2021.

In the fourth and final podcast, Great Yarmouth Docker John Smith recalls the ending of the National Dock Labour Scheme in 1989 and the subsequent destruction of pay and conditions that also did nothing to halt the decline of Great Yarmouth Docks as an industry.

To find our more about our Oral history project please visit: - https://theunitehistoryproject.org

There is power in the union! John Smith explains what he means by stopping the job!

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of John Smith on Thursday 23rd September. In memory of John we will publish the last three interviews we captured with John.

This is the first of four interviews with Great Yarmouth docker John Smith was born in 1932 and in the first of our podcasts he recalls his early life including being evacuated during WWII.

Barry Casey shares his observations of how Covid impacted his members.

Barry Casey on how to persuade union members to become workplace reps.

Dublin born Barry Casey is an Operating Department Practitioner and the Unite lead rep at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS. In the past he worked in the NHS in Leeds and Hull, where he became active in MSF, which later became part of Unite..

Dublin born Barry Casey is an Operating Department Practitioner and the Unite lead rep at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS. In the past he worked in the NHS in Leeds and Hull, where he became active in MSF, which later became part of Unite..

Unite NW young member Sarah Doyle on how young workers view unions, how the Unite NW young members committee successfully encouraged the involvement of young members from industrial locations and outlines some of the successes of the committee.

Sarah Doyle of Liverpool describes why the Unite North West young members committee is campaigning against fire and rehire.

Unite young member Sarah Doyle explains why young workers will benefit from joining  Unite

Sarah Doyle of Liverpool explains how the Unite North West young members committee successfully helped a young woman who was being sexually harassed by her boss

By retired bus driver Ronnie Morrison, who was also the TGWU passenger trade group secretary for many years in Yorkshire.

Ronnie Morrison was for a period of almost four years a TGWU agricultural and rural trade group secretary in the 1980s. This is some of his observations.

Stevne Byford, a Unite workplace rep with Sainsbury’s and a branch secretary in York, explains how he has sought to play a role in the local trade union movement and also encourages other Sainsbury’s reps to do so in their own local areas.

In this brief podcast, Steven Byford, a Sainsbury’s Unite rep in York, outlines how his union seeks to link up workers across the food sector.

Mick Rafferty is a former coal miner who also worked at various power stations for 25 years and where he was often elected as an AEU, later Unite steward. Mick was at Orgreave in 1984 and he describes what happened including how the BBC often reversed the footage.

A mine of information

NUM member Mick Rafferty was very involved in the 1984/5 miners’ strike. Never previously arrested before or since, Mick fortunately escaped an attempt by the police to have him convicted for an offence he never committed. In this podcast he re-examines events during the year-long battle for jobs and communities.

There is power in a union

Mick Rafferty on his role as an AEU/Unite shop steward at various power stations for over two decades.

What is collective bargaining?

By a man who knows, Ronnie Morrison, a retired regional senior industrial officer of the TGWU.

Steven Byford the Sainsbury’s Unite workplace rep and branch secretary is a Unite delegate to Workers Uniting. This is a trans-Atlantic trade union created in 2008 by a merger of Unite with the US based North American United Steelworkers.   Byford describes how this international body works to create international solidarity and has had some encouraging successes.

Steven Byford has since 2010 been a Sainsbury’s Unite workplace rep and in this 4-minute podcast he describes how he supports members right across the NEYH region.

Sunderland born Dave Allan describes why and how he got involved in the trade union and labour movement at an early age, why he became a shop steward and a labour councillor plus his role in promoting the rights of disabled people.

In the 1980s stonemason Terry Cunliffe was pleased to start work in the public sector for the Huddersfield Corporation Direct Labour Organisation and he also joined the building workers union, UCATT, where upon being elected as a shop steward he sought to improve workers’ pay and conditions combined with ensuring that council tenants received a good repairs service.

Dick Banks left school with no knowledge of trade unions and he became a plumber with Leeds City Council. Yet when his job and terms and conditions were put under threat in 1980 from central government he witnessed the strength of collective action and was inspired to became a workplace rep and later convenor in an ongoing battle to defend local government public services and the employment of those who work in the sector.

Betty Gallacher, who was an elected Transport and General Workers Union/Unite bus workers’ representative for decades, has throughout her life played a massive part in the ongoing struggle for working people, equality and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender rights.

Betty Gallacher, who was an elected Transport and General Workers Union/Unite bus workers’ representative for decades, has throughout her life played a massive part in the ongoing struggle for working people, equality and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender rights.

Betty Gallacher, who was an elected Transport and General Workers Union/Unite bus workers’ representative for decades, has throughout her life played a massive part in the ongoing struggle for working people, equality and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender rights.

Betty Gallacher, who was an elected Transport and General Workers Union/Unite bus workers’ representative for decades, has throughout her life played a massive part in the ongoing struggle for working people, equality and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender rights.

Unite’s FRANCO VILLANI has been presented with the TUC Health & Safety Wellbeing Representative of the Year Award for the Humber and Yorkshire Region.

It was justly awarded for his work in helping to ensure that procedures have been adopted to protect his fellow workers at Bridlington Hospital during COVID19.

In part 2, Mark describes 2 successful strikes by Unite members in 2010 and 2014.

“I hope I have given you an insight as to how low paid workers can organise…. We need to get into McDonalds, fast food industries… all workplaces have the potential for trade union organisation.”

These are edited exerts of a much longer interview for the Unite Oral History project.

Mark Robertson worked at Tyneside Safety Glass in Gateshead from 1976 to 2020.

In part 1 he describes becoming a union steward in the 1980s and how he was subsequently able to build an effective workplace union organization that in turn improved the wages and conditions of employees at a low paid workplace.

Mohammad Taj was a Bradford worker for over 40 years and in 2013 he was the first Asian person and first bus worker to hold the post of TUC President. In this piece he puts forward the case for a clampdown on tax avoidance. He also examines what he believes are Britain’s ill-fated military operations.

Mohammad Taj was a Bradford worker for over 40 years and in 2013 he was the first Asian person and first bus worker to hold the post of TUC President. In this piece he recalls how, even in the most difficult of circumstances, he refused to accept racism. He also recalls from his early years how he became aware that many older Asian workers felt proud of their roles they had played in rebuilding Britain after WWII.

He recalls his joy at becoming TUC President and what he sought to achieve during his one year in post. Finally In this piece he recalls how in 1981 support amongst bus drivers in Bradford was built for young people who had opposed fascism.

In this piece he recalls how bus drivers at his workplace built a Labour Party workplace branch. This led to a number of workers becoming local councillors, which in turn ensured the issues bus workers wanted to pursue to defend their jobs and conditions were raised on important political bodies. Taj, who retired on a decent pension in 2015, argues for decent pensions for all. He also recalls the largely successful period in the 1980s and 90s when bus workers across West Yorkshire owned 49% of the company they worked for.

Mohammad Taj was a Bradford Bus tworker for over 40 years and in 2013 he was the first Asian person and first bus worker to hold the post of TUC President. In this piece he recalls the struggle to get more Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority members of the TGWU active across the union.

Allyson Daykin of KP Foods in Rotherham was elected to the TGWU women’s regional and national committees from the mid-1980s through to the second half of the 1990s. In this podcast she describes how she won support for a union inquiry on the impact of repetitive workplace practices on women workers. When it was discovered that women were being injured it then proved possible to push some employers into adopting safer workplace procedures.