Unison nec election

Slightly poor timing at start of ballot period, but hey we didn't choose timetable!

Local Goverment branches please ask your branch committee to nominate Phoebe Watkins for the Female LG NEC vacancy.

Ta
Mj

From: Phoebe Watkins <phoebe.watkins@btopenworld.com>
To: Undisclosed-Recipient: ;@smtp815.mail.ukl.yahoo.com <Undisclosed-Recipient: ;@smtp815.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>
Sent: Sun Oct 09 23:19:55 2011
Subject: Request for nominations for Female Local Government NEC seat

Dear Branch Secretary,
 
Attached, please find a letter requesting your Branch considers nominating me for the forthcoming NEC elections. 
 
I would be most grateful if you would consider discussing my statement, and whether your branch would be willing to nominate me?
 
My letter details why I am standing, and if you do require me to speak at your branch, I am more than happy to try to attend.  Election rules state that if any candidate is invited, then all declared candidates also have to be invited.
 
If you require any further details, please do email me back at this address.
 
Phoebe Watkins
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Letter

9th October 2011

Dear Branch Secretary,

Request for nomination for the Female Local Government NEC Seat

I am writing to ask you to put this request for nomination to the vacant Local Government Female NEC seat to your branch.

This by-election comes at a vital time for UNISON and the wider Trade Union movement.

The Con Dem Government have already slashed jobs and services and frozen our pay causing untold desperation. Now they are after our pensions.

The possibility of over 3 million public sector workers striking together holds out the possibility not just of protecting our pensions but of turning back the Con Dem's Austerity programme based on making ordinary people pay for a crisis created by the bankers greed.

To do that we need strong and determined leadership willing to organize the extended coordinated industrial action and to build on the strong alliances we are developing across the Trade Union movement and within our communities.

I have a record of building that kind of movement at a local level.

I am a longstanding union member - having worked in Housing for over 30 years - and am currently Convenor of Adult Social Care and the joint Branch Chair for Camden local government branch. I have been involved in local services in different capacities - as a Governor of the Nursery school my children attended in the past, and now as a Trustee of our local community centre. We successfully fought off proposals to completely end our funding last year and proudly, we still offer services to the local community across the generations from infancy to old age.

Locally in Camden, we have built a coalition across unions, parties, and local community organisations (such as tenants' associations) to fight the cuts. We are therefore well placed to build on the positive cross union organization we already have, and is now in a good position to be building the biggest strike across all unions on November 30th.

I am not in the Labour Party, but I believe that we should work with all politicians who stand for and promote the policies of this union. That will include many Labour Councillors, MPs and constituent party members. However, I believe we should also be able to criticise and oppose them, not least through taking action, where we are being attacked and bearing the brunt of the cuts implemented by Labour councils.

Lastly I believe that in order to deal with the attacks we face it is essential to encourage the full involvement of all activists and members and to end attacks on union activists.

Please consider nominating me to stand for the Local Government Female NEC. I am more than happy to come along to speak in your branch if invited, and answer any questions you may have for me.

Yours in solidarity,

Phoebe Watkins
Membership No: 1140421
Phoebe.Watkins@btopenworld.com
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