Tyne & Wear May Day Brochure 2025 by Martin Levy

SATURDAY 3 MAY 2025 SATURDAY 3 MAY 2025

FOR PEACE, JUSTICE AND DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

CONTENTS

Contents & Speakers........................................ 2

Editorial

Vin Wynne and Martin Levy............................ 3

In unity and solidarity, there is nothing we cannot achieve

Suzanne McSherry............................................. 5

We need to step up our resistance and work together

Daniel Kebede.................................................... 7

No to poverty, no to bad housing, no to racism and no to cuts in disability benefits!

Fran Heathcote.................................................. 9

Falling short on the promised New Deal for Working People

Lord John Hendy............................................. 11

Rise up and demand justice for Palestinian human rights

Rima Hussein................................................... 13 A daily voice for working people

Bernadette Keaveney..................................... 15

Combine workplace struggles with a massive movement for change on the streets

Gawain Little.................................................... 17

The Bicentennial Jarrow Rebel Town Festival Saturday 21 June 2025

Vin Wynne........................................................ 19

Music –on the march, and at the social.......... 20-21

Gallery: Tyne & Wear May Day 2024.. 24-27

In Memoriam Jim Simpkin......................... 29

Centenary of the 1926 General Strike........................................... 30-31

MARCH & RALLY, Saturday 3 May

ASSEMBLE: 11 am, Bandstand, Exhibition Park, Newcastle

MARCH LEAVES: 11.30 am prompt, led by the RMT Fishburn Band

RALLY: 12 noon, Grey’s Monument

Speakers include

Suzanne McSherry Regional Coordinating Officer

Unite the Union, North East, Yorkshire & Humber Region

Daniel Kebede

General Secretary, National Education Union

Fran Heathcote

General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union

Lord John Hendy KC Chair, Institute of Employment Rights, and Vice-president, Campaign for Trade Union Freedom

Rima Hussein Newcastle Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Bernadette Keaveney Circulation Manager, Morning Star

Gawain Little

General Secretary, General Federation of Trade Unions

MAY DAY SOCIAL

immediately after the rally Tyneside Irish Centre, 43 Gallowgate, Newcastle NE1 4SG

Entertainment from Joe Solo

FREE FOOD AVAILABLE

CatwitchCreative https://www.CatwitchCreative.co.uk

WE WISH A warmest welcome to all of the friends, comrades and colleagues gathering together to celebrate International Workers’ Day.

We meet at an challenging time, approaching the first anniversary of the first Labour victory in nearly 20 years, but many will question whether this has been a cause for celebration. The demise of the Conservatives seems to continue, but to the benefit of Reform UK, a party seeking to hide its true self, advocating nationalisation of the steel industry, while committed to privatisation of our NHS. However, Labour’s cuts to disability benefits and the scrapping of the winter fuel payment are leading many working people to look for an alternative. It is our role to demonstrate to them that Reform does not represent their interests. Farage is the supreme snake oil salesman whose party harbours racist and anti-worker values in considerable measure.

Away from domestic politics, we see a world in crisis, with global economics thrown into turmoil through Trump’s obsession with tariffs. To nobody’s surprise, Trump was also unable to solve the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours”, and the signs are that the US will walk away from any peace talks. In Palestine too we see ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, as Netanyahu continues his war on the Palestinian people, appeasing

the extremists in his own government, while backed up by military supplies from the US and Britain.

Despite this ‘pessimism of the intellect’, we come together this May Day with a genuine ‘optimism of the will’. We know that a better world is possible; and speakers, including Daniel Kebede and Fran Heathcote, general secretaries of NEU and PCS respectively, will bring messages of hope. They will be joined by Lord John Hendy KC, Gawain Little GS of GFTU, Rima Hussein from Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Bernadette Keaveney from the Morning Star. As Suzanne McSherry from Unite, our first platform speaker, says: “May Day is not just a date on the calendar, it is a reminder of the power we hold when we stand together in solidarity,” − a message we remember as we gather for Peace, Justice and Democratic Rights.

Vin Wynne and Martin Levy May Day Committee co-chairs

IN UNITY AND SOLIDARITY, THERE IS NOTHING WE CANNOT ACHIEVE

ON INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ DAY we meet to honour the hardfought victories of those who came before us, to celebrate the strength of our unions, and to renew our commitment to the ongoing struggle for justice, fairness, and dignity in the workplace.

cost-of-living crisis that continues to deepen. Wages have stagnated while prices soar. Profits for big corporations keep rising, yet many of our members are being forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table. This is not just unfair, it is immoral.

Unite sends a clear message: We demand fair wages, safe working conditions, and respect for every worker; Jobs, Pay, Conditions. We demand an end to exploitative contracts and insecure work. And we demand that those who hold the power, in government and in the boardrooms, be held accountable.

May Day is not just a date on the calendar – it is a reminder of the power we hold when we stand together in solidarity. It’s a day to recognise that the rights we enjoy today were won through decades of collective action. Paid holidays, the eight-hour workday, maternity leave, paternity leave, workplace safety, none of these was handed to us. They were demanded, fought for, and won by working people.

While we celebrate these victories, we know the fight is far from over. Workers across the UK are facing a

Unite doesn’t just demand change; though collectivism, standing together, Unite members are the change. The future belongs to us, the working class. When we come together in unity and solidarity, there is nothing we cannot achieve.

Unite members are inspired by the courage and wins of past struggles, and are fuelled by the belief that a better world is possible. Together, we will continue to fight. Together, we will win.

Solidarity

forever!

Suzanne McSherry Regional Coordinating Officer

Unite the Union North East, Yorkshire & Humber Region

WE NEED TO STEP UP OUR RESISTANCE AND WORK TOGETHER

THIS IS THE FIRST May Day since the end of 14 years of Tory rule. It would have been good to be talking about the bold moves the new government were taking to address inequality and build a fairer, more just society. Labour promised to end austerity, to make positive changes for working people: a better standard of living, improved public services, job security and a brighter future for our young people. There is little sign of this materialising.

Instead we have an ongoing war on the poor. From the ending of the winter fuel allowance to the continuing two-child benefit cap to taking away hundreds of pounds a year from disabled people, this government is trying to out-Tory the Tories.

This isn’t some wild left-wing rhetoric; this is the proud boast of Wes Streeting.

The disappointment and disillusionment with Labour will find an outlet. Right now, the bigotry and distortions peddled by Reform UK seem to be in pole position to capitalise on this.

Rather than challenge racism, division and hatred, Labour seems to think that aping Reform is the way forward. In reality, all it does is give them more credibility and increase their popularity. Unless Labour breaks with neoliberal economics, it might as well hand over the keys of Downing Street to Farage now.

Worshipping the market has given us growing poverty and inequality. It has brought us the financial crash, sewage in our water supply, a chronic housing shortage, sky-high fuel bills and cuts to the welfare state. These are all detrimental to the majority of the population, but they are all sources of wealth for the superrich. This must stop.

A 2% tax on those with assets over £10 million would raise £24 billion a year. A few modest moves towards a more equitable taxation on the richest 10% of the population – who own 57% of the country’s wealth – would raise £90 billion. So please, let’s stop hearing this nonsense about there being no money and the necessity of cuts.

More than ever, it is the unions who must give hope to working people and show that a better world is possible. We need to step up our resistance and work together. We must try to co-ordinate our actions, to show that we have common interests as workers. There still is a world that we can win.

Daniel Kebede General Secretary

The TUC North East, Yorkshire & Humber sends comradely greetings to all celebrating International Workers’ Day.

Unions have fought tirelessly for higher pay, stronger rights, and a fairer deal for working people. With the Make Work Pay plan moving through Parliament, we are closer than ever to the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation.

NO TO POVERTY, NO TO BAD HOUSING, NO TO RACISM AND NO TO CUTS IN DISABILITY BENEFITS!

THE ORIGINS OF International Workers Day on 1 May date back to a general strike in the USA for an 8-hour day, that was brutally put down by the state.

It was trade unions in Britain that won the weekend for workers, the 8-hour working day and paid holiday leave. It is workers and trade unions that campaigned for health and safety and that are winning a 4-day working week for some workers.

It is a reminder that not only do trade unions fight for better pay and terms and conditions, we have fought for leisure too.

We also fought for employers to fund pensions for workers, and campaigned for the welfare state to provide social security to workers when ill, injured or disabled, for maternity rights for women and for child benefit and free childcare.

Trade unions represent not just workers, but the interests of all working-class people – because today’s workers can tomorrow be unemployed or sick or disabled. When any Government starts attacking jobs, or pay, or pensions, or disability

benefits, it is attacking working-class people – and we must stand together to oppose those attacks.

PCS represents around 200,000 workers and retired members. Our members, who mostly work in the civil service, administer the social security system and they collect the taxes that fund it.

Unions were founded because working-class people learned that we are only strong when we stick together: united we stand, divided we fall. That is why my union has always taken a strong stand against racism, because racism seeks to divide working-class interests.

The enemy of working-class people in Britain does not come here by small boat, but travels by private jet. It is the privatised water bosses hiking your bills, and energy companies too, the rail companies jacking up fares and the landlord hiking your rent.

May Day is a chance to stand together in the interests of workingclass people and say no to poverty, no to bad housing, no to racism and no to cuts to disability benefits.

We stand together for all workingclass people on International Workers’ Day. Solidarity!

Fran Heathcote General Secretary

FALLING SHORT ON THE PROMISED NEW DEAL FOR WORKING PEOPLE

THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS BILL, now in the House of Lords, is welcome. It will confer benefits on many of our 34 million workforce, but it’s a long way short of the policy menu set out in Labour’s Green Paper, A New Deal for Working People, drafted by a committee chaired by Andy McDonald MP (I was the legal advisor). A New Deal was adopted by the Labour Conference in 2021, reaffirmed in 2022, reiterated in 2024’s Labour’s Plan to make work pay: delivering A New Deal for Working People and referenced in both the election manifesto and the King’s Speech.

Two problems stand out amongst many others.

First, the Bill enlarges various individual (and a collective) rights. But rights are valueless unless they can be enforced. And there are problems with the enforcement mechanisms under the Bill.

Secondly, entitlement to each legal right depends on the legal status of the worker. A New Deal committed to a single status with all rights for all workers. Yet this is not in the Bill and has been left to consultation in months to come.

In any event, do workers need rights achievable only by litigation? Might they not be better

off with legal mechanisms to increase their power through negotiations between unions and employers?

The Bill also omits sectoral collective bargaining, ie collective bargaining between unions and multiple employers to reach a collective agreement setting minimum terms across a particular sector, called a Fair Pay Agreement. The Bill is silent on this. It does set up a School Support Staff Negotiating Body and an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body but these do not constitute collective bargaining and their outputs are not collective agreements.

Finally, although the Bill sweeps away the Minimum Service Level Act and most of the Trade Union Act 2016, it does not remove the anti-union legislation of the 1980s which so hamstrings unions and has led to a near collapse in collective agreement coverage. That legislation is incompatible with the UK’s international ratified legal obligations, as the international supervisory bodies have held consistently since 1989. A New Deal committed to bring our law on industrial action into line with our international legal obligations.

We need now to press for amendments and a second Bill to carry out what was promised.

Lord John Hendy KC Chair, Institute of Employment Rights, and Vice-president, Campaign for Trade Union Freedom

CELEBRATING MAY DAY 2025

FIGHTING FOR PUBLIC SERVICES AND A NEW DEAL FOR WORKING PEOPLE

RISE UP AND DEMAND JUSTICE FOR PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS

OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS, through the live televised genocide of Palestinians, much of the world has awoken to the colonial settler project of Israel. Damning reports by the ICJ, ICC, Amnesty International, Save the Children and all UN special rapporteurs acknowledge this genocide. But patterns of silencing permeate Westminster and workplaces, as Labour keeps arming and supporting Israel. As trade unionists we need to stand together in protecting freedom of speech, fighting anti-Palestinian racism, and calling on the government to comply with international law.

As a Palestinian British academic working in a UK university, I see the scholasticide taking place in occupied Palestine, with the West Bank now targeted like Gaza. The deliberate targeting of schools, universities, and educators is a blatant violation of international law and a grievous assault on the future of Palestinian children and youth.

In Gaza at least 27,000 children and more than 500 schoolteachers and university educators have been murdered and maimed. Teachers are running shelters or providing education without basic necessities. A professor who worked at Northumbria University in 2023 is now sleeping on the sand with his family and scrambling to eat and drink. If I lived in Gaza, I would be a target.

It is the student movement that brings me hope. Students have risen on campuses across the globe to say,

‘Not in their name’. In the UK, we have seen some successes, with universities divesting, providing Palestinian scholarships, making statements on this genocide and rethinking their adoption of the controversial IHRA definition. It is also the students suffering police brutality on the frontlines, and arbitrary detention (in the US), whilst the youth of Palestine are kept as hostages without charge in Israeli prisons, enduring torture and terror – all while Western university executives continue their complicity by strengthening ties with Israel. A permanent ceasefire is required urgently as the right to equitable education for Palestinians cannot be deferred. Trade unions supporting staff to speak out about this genocide matters more than ever. Visible support is needed in any spaces we occupy – including our workplaces. How will we use our relative privilege to fight for Palestinians that have lost everything? We need to keep fighting until this genocide ends, until the occupation is over, until Palestinians have the right to life, dignity, peace and sovereignty.

Rima Hussein Newcastle Palestine Solidarity Campaign

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A DAILY VOICE FOR WORKING PEOPLE

I AM PLEASED to be here today representing the Morning Star newspaper which is celebrating its 95th year. The paper has for years been called the ‘Daily Miracle’. When it was launched on the 1 January 1930 as the Daily Worker it was thought it wouldn’t make a second edition but here we are, at the heart of the movement, still the only daily national newspaper giving a voice to working people.

Our paper is owned by its readers through a co-operative model and you too could be a shareholder by investing £10. A shareholding in the co-operative allows you to take part in the democracy of the paper by attending our yearly sectional AGMs. You would be keeping good company by becoming a shareholder, as you would be joining thousands of individual members, many trade councils and trade union branches, along with 14 national trade unions on our management board. Contact shares@peoples-press.com

At this rally you will have had an opportunity to pick up today’s Morning Star for free. Don’t let this be the only occasion that you read us. If you are a trade unionist you will find this paper an invaluable tool to carry out your work. Keep up to date with the struggles and successes of the movement both at home and internationally. Read in-depth articles on peace, industrial matters, equality and green issues alongside sports and arts, all from a socialist perspective.

The paper is available both digitally and in print format. Ask your nearest retailer to stock the paper if they don’t already; it is available from their usual wholesaler, the same as any national newspaper. We are often available at Co-ops and Morrisons Daily. If you prefer to read online here is the link to subscribe: https://www. morningstaronline.co.uk/subscribe.

Not quite ready to commit to buying every day? Then, why not sign up to our Daily Alert which will arrive in your in box every day highlighting articles not to be missed? https:// tinyurl.com/49uv4v7x.

Today let us enjoy the traditions of May Day with the knowledge that tomorrow the Morning Star will be with you in continuing the fight for peace and socialism.

Bernadette Keaveney Circulation Manager Morning Star

COMBINE WORKPLACE STRUGGLES WITH A MASSIVE MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE ON

THE STREETS

“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”

It would be difficult to find a more accurate description of Britain today than these words, written some 90 years ago by Antonio Gramsci, an Italian communist imprisoned and ultimately killed by Mussolini’s fascist regime.

Economically, we have never fully recovered from the financial crisis of 2007-9, with household debt ratios through the roof. Covid and the subsequent cost of living crisis simply added further damage to a broken system. The vast majority of people have experienced declining wages, increasing bills, lack of access to public services and precarious, casualised work, with few if any rights at work.

Coming on the back of 45 years of destruction of public space and community by a neoliberalism perfectly captured by Thatcher’s statement, “There is no such thing as society, only individuals and families,” this economic crisis is combined with a social and political crisis – often manifesting as a crisis of identity.

In response, we have seen the rise of far-right street violence and its counterpart in the racist politics of Reform UK. These charlatans try to paint themselves as a solution for working people, but their real agenda is clear every time they vote against

improving rights at work, and in favour of further deregulation and privatisation. Meanwhile, our broken system lurches towards militarism and the drive to war. Increases in defence spending take money from vital public services while the return of US nuclear weapons to British soil for the first time since the 1980s makes Britain a real target in US and NATO wars of the future.

In the 1930s, Gramsci argued that militant industrial struggle was necessary, but not sufficient, to face the challenges of a system in crisis, awaiting the birth of a new society. Now, as then, working people must combine industrial, political and cultural struggle in order to take back our country from the neoliberal warmongers and the farright racists.

As trade unionists, we must combine our workplace struggles with a massive movement for change on the streets, linking unions, community organisations and progressive campaigns to demand a different future. In doing so, we must not neglect the importance of rebuilding progressive working class culture, rebuilding our communities through what we hold in common.

Gawain Little General Secretary General Federation of Trade Unions

www.fbu.org.uk/regions-nations/north-east

@fburegion3

THE BICENTENIAL JARROW REBEL TOWN FESTIVAL

Saturday 21 June 2025

iN 2025 WE MARK the 200th anniversary of the formation of the United Colliers of Northumberland and Durham, ‘Hepburn’s Union’, as well as the 40th anniversary of the end of the Miners’ Strike. Celebrating the history of this, the first miners’ union, will be the centrepiece of our annual commemorations in Jarrow at the Rebel Town Festival.

For the first time in 200 years Jarrow will see a United Colliers banner. We are also releasing a bicentennial United Colliers badge and a commemorative, comprehensive book on the origins and history of the union, never before completed in such depth and detail.

Our celebratory march will pass sites of tragedy and triumph, marking Jarrow’s history and contribution to our movement. Our first confirmed speaker is Mick Whelan, General Secretary of ASLEF. Others invited, but still to be confirmed include: Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East; Kayle Griffin, Offshore Rig Workers; Alan Mardghum, General Secretary, Durham Miners’ Association; and Heather Wood, Women Against Pit Closures.

David Douglass will give a brief talk, setting the historical context before a wreath-laying ceremony, which will be followed by the march.

We shall assemble by 11am near the Jarrow entrance to the Tyne Pedestrian Tunnel, before marching

past the site of the original colliery and arriving at the Crown and Anchor pub by 12.15. Here we shall host the main speakers’ platform, and there will be stalls and entertainment throughout the afternoon.

Jarrow has its own unique contribution to the early struggles of the miners and their first union, and the Rebel Town Festival has become an annual fixture in the North East labour movement calendar, marking the birth of the miners’ union and the gross violence which accompanied it. Donations to the cost of the event are WELCOME. Please make payments by BACS to Follonsby Wardley Miners’ Lodge Banner and Community Heritage Association, Co-operative Bank, sort code 08-92-99, account number 65442360.

Vin Wynne Festival Committee

MUSIC – ON THE MARCH …

If you are a regular attender at our May Day march, then you’ll be familiar with the tremendous service we always get from the Fishburn Band (www.fishburnband. com) leading out our parade. Founded in the early 1950s, the band was originally known as the Fishburn Colliery Welfare Band. For a number of years, it has been associated with the RMT, fulfilling many events on behalf of the union, including the Durham Miners’ Gala, the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and the Jim O’Connell Festival in Ireland.

The band is regarded as one of the premier bands in the North East, and has qualified several times from this region for the national contests held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This year, it comes hot-foot after its Euphonium & Baritone Section came away with plenty of silverware at the Durham County Brass Band Association’s Annual Solos/Duets, Quartets & Veterans Competition at Easington Lane. The band has issued three CDs, all of which can be ordered through the website above.

… AND AT THE SOCIAL

Joe Solo is an award-winning musician, writer, poet, and activist from Scarborough. His musical odyssey began in 1987 fronting a bash-em-out band at school, and has seen him play nine countries either as lynchpin of pop-punk upstarts Lithium Joe or hammering out his unique brand of folk, punk and blues in his own right.

In 2015 Joe helped start We Shall Overcome (WSO), an organised response to state-issue poverty using gigs as both benefits and protest events under the tag-line ‘A Raised Fist & A Helping Hand’. WSO has since run upward of 1200 events raising more than £1 million in food, cash, clothing, bedding, toiletries, and furniture for food banks, homeless outreach, soup kitchens, refugee support networks, youth projects, and domestic violence units up and down the UK.

Together with his ‘comrade-in-crayons’ Kevin Pearson, Joe has penned a series of children’s books for Unison, covering issues around equality and social justice in a bid to inspire the next generation of socialist imaginations.

Joe’s gigs have become notoriously rowdy celebrations of unity and solidarity, and he rebuts the accusation he is ‘preaching to the converted’ with the words: “Nah, I’m lighting a fire under the arse of the converted, because sometimes

they need it! I want people to leave the place believing they can change the world, because they can. We forget that sometimes. When you hear your voice raised alongside that of everyone else in the room, you begin to understand how exponentially more powerful you are when you work together. To me, they aren’t just songs. They are musical collective action.”

Last year he led a ramshackle choir of former miners, their families, and local children from the pit community around Hatfield Main to close the main stage of Durham Miners Gala, and his album Sledgehammer Songs hit the Official Top 40 in both the Download and the Official Folk Album Charts. Joe continues to donate all profits from his gigs and merchandise to front line community causes, helping fund the 150 food parcels per day handed out at The Station Hotel in Ashton-Under-Lyne, and the trade union-run food bank/help centre Hull Unity Shop.

Website: www.joesolomusic.com

Music: www.joesolomusic.bandcamp.com

NORTHERN

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Greetings to all for May Day 2018

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TYNE & WEAR MAY DAY 2022 | 29

TYNE & WEAR MAY DAY 2023 | 25

career in the arts as writer, performer, musician, actor or artist.

Newcastle Stop the War Coalition

In general, the Government’s politically-driven austerity policies have led to huge cuts in cultural facilities – to libraries, community centres, youth facilities and sports facilities. These cuts are set to continue for years to come, have a greater impact in the North, and are knowingly targeted at sections of society which are the least well-off.

Greetings to all for May Day 2016

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Greetings to all for May Day 2017 Newcastle

Greetings to all for May Day 2018

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cultural facilities, and to promote the development of grassroots, communitybased cultural activities which are owned and managed as democratically as possible.

In solidarity, campaign for Palestinian rights, to end Apartheid & FREE PALESTINE

What is to be done?

Come to our stalls in Grey Street, rallies, speaker events, films, etc..

To help tackle these issues on Tyneside, Newcastle Trades Union Council has launched a project to promote cultural democracy with local cultural institutions and authorities. We aim to improve the access of working people on Tyneside to local

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Come to our rallies, Palestinian speaker & culture events, films etc.

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We need assistance from people in the labour movement with knowledge of the the arts, sport, the media etc. If you want to help us, please contact culture@newcastle-tuc.org.uk.

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Mike Quille is a member of Unison and convenor of Newcastle TUC’s cultural committee. He also edits Culture Matters (http://www. culturematters.org.uk/), a website which publishes creative and critical material on politics and culture.

Secretary:

Chair: Dave Allan

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Secretary: Tom Foster

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Alan Mardghum

Images © Martin Levy

TYNE & WEAR MAY DAY 2024

Liz Blackshaw

Sarah Woolley

Mick Bowman

St Buryan

Ron Brown

Martin Dent

Ben Sellers

Mohanad Elnour

cultural facilities, and to promote the development of grassroots, communitybased cultural activities which are owned and managed as democratically as possible.

We need assistance from people in the labour movement with knowledge of the the arts, sport, the media etc. If you want to help us, please contact culture@newcastle-tuc.org.uk.

Fraternal Greetings on May Day Fraternal Greetings on May Day

Mike Quille is a member of Unison and convenor of Newcastle TUC’s cultural committee.

He also edits Culture http://www. culturematters.org.uk ), a website which publishes creative and critical material on politics and culture.

Secretary:

Chair:

Chair: Dave Allan

Treasurer: Roger

Alan Mardghum Secretary Stephen Guy Chair

career in the arts as writer, performer, musician, actor or artist.

In Memoriam Jim Simpkin (1955-2024)

Jim Simpkin, secretary of both Newcastle TUC and the May Day Committee, died suddenly in September of last year. He had held the Newcastle TUC position for 21 years, and had been a stalwart of the May Day Committee for about the same period.

Greetings to all for May Day 2016

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Greetings to all for May Day 2016

SUNDERLAND TRADES UNION COUNCIL

In solidarity, campaign for Palestinian rights, to end Apartheid & FREE PALESTINE

What is to be done?

Wallsend Memorial Hall and People’s Centre

For a number of years, Jim provided photos for the May Day brochure. When our rallies were held at Exhibition Park, he was first on the field to supervise the installation of the marquee and the stage. He assiduously promoted the sales of the brochure, and was generally among the last to leave after the site was cleared. When we decided to hold our rallies at Grey’s Monument instead, Jim could be relied on to guard the installation and the PA system.

Come to our stalls in Grey Street, rallies, speaker events, films, etc..

We can’t pay - tax the rich!

Workers of the Wear unite!

TUC Sends Day greetings

Join a Union Organise - Fight - Win Tax the Richest

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cultural facilities, and to promote the development of grassroots, communitybased cultural activities which are owned and managed as democratically as possible. We need assistance from people in the labour movement with knowledge of the the arts, sport, the media etc. If you want to help us, please contact culture@newcastle-tuc.org.uk.

Jim was a dedicated trade unionist. He had a strong sense of fairness at work and in the community, and knew that workers needed collective organisation and solidarity if they were to defend and extend their interests. He was a comrade, but also a thoroughly decent chap with a likeable disposition. At a personal and organisational level, he is sorely missed.

Get in touch: newcastlepsc@gmail.com

www.stopwar.org.uk

Find us on facebook and twitter Email: nepeoplesassembly@gmail.com

E-mails: SteveHansom@me .com

fit for

Email: nepeoplesassembly@gmail.com

email: office@northeaststopwar.org.uk

email: stopthewarcoalition@gmail.com www.northeaststopwar.org.uk

email: newcastlestopwar@gmail.com

TYNE & WEAR MAY DAY 2022 | 29

May Day Greetings

May Day greetings from

May Day greetings from NEWCASTLE PALESTINE

PALESTINE

North East Labour History Society

SOLIDARIT Y CAMPAIGN

www.nelh.net

SOLIDARIT Y CAMPAIGN

Solidarity from the Tyne to Palestine sends fraternal greetings

Creating a People’s History of the North East

Solidarity from the Tyne to Palestine

Wallsend Memorial Hall and People’s Centre Sends May Day greetings https://www.facebook.com/ WallsendMEM https://wallsendmem.co.uk

and a fairer world through education Chair: A Hansen • Secretary: E-J Phillips

https://www.facebook.com/ WallsendMEM https://wallsendmem.co.uk

Martin Levy President, Newcastle TUC

people e. info@ncrthemcommunists.org.uk t. 07799 040 570 www.northerncommunists.org.uk

e. info@ncrthemcommunists.org.uk t. 07799 040 www.northerncommunists.org.uk

SOLIDARITYCAMPAIGN

Tyne & Wear May Day 2025 Committee

Tyne & Wear May Day 2024 Committee:

AUSTERITY

Mollie Brown • Ron Brown • Bethany Elen Coyle

• Tony Dowling • David Hamet • Peter Hill •

May Day greetings from NEWCASTLE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN Solidarity from the Tyne to Palestine

Tony Dowling • David Hamet • Peter HIll

Greetings to all for May Day 2017 Newcastle Stop the War Coalition

www.newcastlepsc.org

https://www.palestine.org e. newcastlepsc@gmail.com

www.newcastlepsc.org

e. newcastlepsc.gmail.com

Find us on facebook and twitter

e. newcastlepsc.gmail.com

nepeoplesassembly@gmail.com

Martin Levy • Jim Simpkin • Vin Wynne

Solidarity from the Tyne to Palestine

Martin Levy • Vin Wynne

The Committee thanks all those individuals and organisations who have made this year’s event possible. If you would like to get involved with planning and organising next year’s May Day celebrations, then please:

Newcastle Palestine Solidarity Campaign

at https://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk

Greetings to all for May Greetings to all for May Newcastle

Stop the War Greetings to all for Greetings to all for May

Greetings to all for May Greetings to all for

Stop the War Greetings to all for

Greetings to all for May Day 2016

Greetings to all for May Day 2018

Greetings to all for May Day 2016

Greetings to all for May Day 2017

Greetings to all for May Day 2022

Fraternal Greetings on May Day Fight for a

Contact the May Day Committee

c/o Martin Levy, 13 Shoreham Court

c/o Martin Levy, 13 Shoreham Court, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 2XG

Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 2XG

Secretary: Bob Murdoch Communist Party NORTHERN

www.newcastlepsc.org e. newcastlepsc.gmail.com

email: Maydaycommittee@newcastle-tuc..org.uk

www.newcastlepsc.org e.newcastlepsc.gmail.com Newcastle Palestine Solidarity Campaign

email maydaycommittee@newcastle-tuc.org.uk

people e. info@ncrthemcommunists.org.uk t. 07799 040 570 www.northerncommunists.org.uk

Secretary: Bob Murdock 16 Caversham Road, Chapel House Newcastle upon Tyne NE5 1JP

www.northeaststopwar.org.uk

www.stopwar.org.uk email: stopthewarcoalition@gmail.com

email: newcastlestopwar@gmail.com

www.stopwar.org.uk email: stopthewarcoalition@gmail.com

email: newcastlestopwar@gmail.com

CENTENARY OF THE 1926 GENERAL STRIKE

Dear Colleagues

National museums, libraries, archives, and history groups are collaborating together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the General Strike of 1926.

In partnership with the trade union and wider labour movement, our project aims to develop an interactive map of sites for public visitation throughout 2026. This may include details of a specific exhibition, an educational event, or a unique collection to explore, all part of our rich history of the General Strike.

Accompanying the interactive website, we plan to distribute a printed passport, encouraging public participation in visiting these sites and collecting stamps from each organisation they visit. This will provide discounts on related merchandise (for a mock-up, see below) and foster a desire to visit as many sites as possible throughout the year.

We are seeking donations to help us cover costs. The recommended donation amount is contingent upon the organisation’s size:

National organisation: £100

Regional organisation: £50

Local union branch: £30

Local trades union council: £20 Donations from individuals are welcome too. You can donate by:

1. Online payment at https:// actionnetwork.org/fundraising/ support-the-celebration-of-the100thanniversary-of-the-general-strike1926?source=direct_link&.

2. Bank transfer: Account name: GFTUET, Bank: Unity Trust Sort Code: 60-83-01, Account number: 33025023.

Reference: General Strike 100.

3. Cheque: Please make payable to General Federation of Trade Unions Educational Trust at 86 Wood Lane, Quorn, Loughborough LE12 8DB.

If you want to get involved in the partnership, please contact campaigns@gftu.org.uk.

We express our gratitude for your consideration and eagerly

anticipate collaborating with you to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the General Strike.

In solidarity

Paul Foster, Beamish, the Living Museum of the North Tony Burke and Sarah Woolley, Campaign for Trade Union Freedom Gawain Little, General Federation of Trade Unions

Lidia Letkiewicz-Rush, Kent Mining Museum

Jenny Mabbott, People’s History Museum

Katie Cavanagh, National Coal Mining Museum for England

Luke Pearce, Radical Tea Towel Company

Joan Allen, Society for the Study of Labour History

Henry Fowler, Strike Map

Jeff Howarth, TUC Library Collections - London Metropolitan University

John Lasdun and Matt Jenkins, Working Class History

Les Doherty, Working Class Movement Library

This letter is sponsored by the General Federation of trade Unions Educational Trust, and the project is supported by:

Beamish, the Living Museum of the North; Campaign for Trade Union Freedom; General Federation of Trade Unions; Kent Mining Museum; People’s History Museum; National Coal Mining Museum for England; Radical Tea Towel Company; Society for the Study of Labour History; Strike Map, TUC Library Collections - London Metropolitan University, Working Class History, Working Class Movement Library