Harry Bignell

@unitetheunion Organiser with @UniteEconomy
Project Manager @ EQUALShope @Oxfam
Jo Cox Women in Leadership Graduate @LabourWomensNet
Views are my own

She/her

[Brendan Cox @MrBrendanCox]

10 years ago my wife, the mum of our kids & the MP for Batley&Spen was killed by a far right extremist.

At anniversaries I try to be optimistic about the future. But not this time. In the ten years since she was killed we have gone backwards & I fear our democracy is now at risk

[We Own It @We_OwnIt]

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has just blocked a deal letting Thames Water dump sewage illegally until 2030.

We were on BBC News this morning to explain what this means.

We don't want US hedge funds and Trump mega-donors playing fast and loose with the water supply for 16 million people.

107 MPs have signed our MPs’ letter asking Ofwat to drop the deal and take Thames Water into Special Administration.

Has your MP signed the letter? https://t.co/7wSUOUPGvF

[Sharon Graham @UniteSharon]

Under my leadership, together we have taken our union #BackToTheWorkplace putting £billions into the pockets of our members.

👉 https://t.co/x9tKKb4K26

[Unite For A Workers' Economy @UniteEconomy]

National Education Union member and singer Lewis Pugh joined us in Sheffield on Saturday to mark 42 years since the battle of Orgreave and call for truth and justice for the miners who were battered and falsely arrested by state law enforcement on that day.

The inquiry is one step in the right direction -- but the road to justice is long. In the meantime, we will continue to march these important anniversaries, to homage to our history and to instil lessons for our future ✊

Check out some of Lewis' music here 👉 https://t.co/8XsBcxqpd5

@NEUnion @unitetheunion

[Harry Bignell @HarryBignell]

She confronts what many grapple with: tinkering round the edges of entrenched inequality, deliberately created and sustained by international finance institutions and agencies, will never be a lever for genuine change and transformation. In fact, it often does more harm than good

[Harry Bignell @HarryBignell]

Get yourself to the @arcolatheatre at Dalston from 11 June - 4 July to watch A Fine Idea by Christine Bacon based on the work of inequality economist @jasonhickel. I watched it on behalf of @EQUALSHope last night and it was confronting, bold and beautiful https://t.co/DKrt5cjjKS

[Harry Bignell @HarryBignell]

The play gives a visceral critique of the INGO sector through the story of a young, white, idealistic aid worker delivering programmes in Kenya at the time of the 2024 Finance Bill Protests

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

Unite the union gets it, how come govt doesn't?

[Unite the union: join a union @unitetheunion]

The problem with privatised water 💧

Around 90% of the world’s water is publicly owned - but England and Wales still run on a failed privatised system.

For too long, water companies have been aloud to extract cash from a public necessity, all while putting profits before people and public health.
The result? Polluted waterways, high bills and a system that isn’t working.
It’s time to end this failed experiment and bring England’s water back into public hands.

#publicownership #water #privatisation #sewage

[Unite For A Workers' Economy @UniteEconomy]

58 years ago, 187 sewing machinists walked out of the Dagenham Ford Factory to protest pay discrimination. Their jobs had been re-graded so they were classed as “unskilled labour”, whilst men doing a similar job were classed and paid higher, as “skilled labour”.

This strike was the first time that women at Dagenham Ford Factory had taken industrial action. The strike laid the foundation for the Equal Pay Act that came in in 1970.

Despite this, it wasn’t until 1984 that the women at Dagenham Ford finally got equal pay and the same grade as the male workers: 16 years later. And women continue to face pay discrimination today, with a gender pay gap of between 13 and 16%.

That’s why trade unions and the fight for women’s rights is as relevant today as it was in 1968. The fight continues.

Photos from the 2010 film Made in Dagenham, and the TUC blog, How Ford’s striking women drove the Equal Pay Act: https://t.co/Y2XAezuswY

[Sharon Graham @UniteSharon]

I promised 5 years ago that I will always fight for workers. Together we are winning, together we are fighting and together we will continue fighting to deliver on jobs, pay and conditions. #LetsContinueTheChange

[Sharon Graham @UniteSharon]

Together, 5 years ago we began to change our union and took it back to the workplace - back to our reps and members. We have delivered over £700m back into the pockets of our members from successful disputes alone. #IWillFightForYou ✊

👉 https://t.co/cPiqxRKFtq

[Harry Bignell @HarryBignell]

Private equity funds are generating obscene revenue from the NHS and other tax-payer funded services, whilst driving down the quality of care and other services. Elected officials, meant to hold rampant profiteers to account, are caught up in it too. Grotesque.

[Harry Bignell @HarryBignell]

The revolving door between public office and private interests is no secret - but the flagrant way in which these conflicts of interest are being dismissed by higher-ups is an insult to the public's intelligence.

https://t.co/p7k340bv8p

@UniteEconomy

[Unite For A Workers' Economy @UniteEconomy]

‼️Unite needs You‼️

As part of our 90th anniversary of the battle of Cable St, we’re putting together a tabloid newspaper and magazine to be distributed at workplaces on the run up to 3rd October event, and also a magazine to be distributed on the day.

We are especially keen to receive submissions which emphasise class unity and anti-racism.

If you think you have something to share that might be of
Interest then click the link below for more information.

https://t.co/xbSLZD0DAu

[Sharon Graham @UniteSharon]

There is no issue more critical for our broken economy than sky-high energy costs.

The real underlying issue is the eye-watering level of excessive profit being made by energy companies. It’s time to get a grip and rein in the profiteers.

[Unite For A Workers' Economy @UniteEconomy]

Reform's plan to scrap support for renewable energy could wipe out 500,000 jobs within 3 years, according to a new study.

Not an exhaustive list, but jobs in utilities, transport, automotive, renewable energy and ports would all be affected. This is the opposite of what we need: we need the energy sector to grow, a proper workers' transition, increased manufacturing and investment for new technologies, and a clear plan for the future.

[Harry Bignell @HarryBignell]

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff show how in a world of Muskism and Big Tech supremacy, the concept of sovereignty becomes nebulous. It is critical listening/reading. So go and listen to this episode of @EQUALSHope. Then go outside and touch some grass 🙏

[Harry Bignell @HarryBignell]

I approached this concept of "Muskism" - him as symptom of a movement/moment, rather than an indivudal - with a does-it-really-matter? mentality. Why is viewing Musk actions through the lens of an epoch illuminating when the impact of his actions are still the same?

[EQUALS: Reimagining Our Economy @EQUALSHope]

New episode! 'Muskism' with Quinn Slobodian & Ben Tarnoff.

Is Elon Musk an outlier or a signal of a deeper transformation in capitalism?
We explore AI, monopoly power, tech oligarchs, & the growing dependence of governments on #BigTech.

Tune in: https://t.co/dflPZn54uE

[Sharon Graham @UniteSharon]

Our thoughts go out to Sergei Krajev’s family. A father, husband and grandfather, who went out to work and did not come home.

@TfL needs to take immediate action to ensure the safety of all bus workers. No bus worker should be subjected to violence whilst carrying out their duties.

TFL and the bus companies must now swiftly introduce training for drivers on how to respond and deal with violent confrontations.