Original article, by Steve Kelly (Unite union), via Socialist Appeal (UK):
It has been said by rank and file trade unionists for many years that a blacklist has been used by employers in the construction industry. Now after intense lobbying by the rank and file forcing their unions to raise the issue in Parliament, it has been proved that there is a blacklist of 3,200 construction workers.
Keep in mind that this report is from Britain. Keep in mind that this blacklist has been maintained not only through the last Tory (Conservative) government, but during the New Labour years as well. The Labour party being ostensibly the party of the working class in Britain. Does it pose any questions for labor activists here in the US? Time will only tell.
Over 40 well known companies such as Balfour Kilpatrick, Crown House, AMEC, Costain and Wimpey were using the services of Ian Kerr Associates. This toerag of an individual provided any company who contacted him with names of so called trouble makers and ex shop stewards. Steve Acheson, an electrician from Manchester, has only worked for 36 weeks in the last 9 years due to being on the blacklist. Many other workers have also been affected. The blacklist can ruin people’s lives, affecting all family members, forcing them into extreme poverty and serious debt. Many have lost their homes and marriages have broken up.
The thing to keep in mind is that there will always be people who will fight the unions to the death, even if what they do is illegal. Not only that, but dissent will be frowned up, also. We see that mindset in the bickering over The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). We saw the mindset through the media as well. Any move to strengthen workers will be met by a well organized and powerful opposition.
Kelly makes a strong final point:
New Labour has played a shameful role. The Employment Relations Act they introduced in 1999 made blacklisting illegal. All they had to do was introduce regulations to make it enforceable. They refused to do so because, they claimed, there was "no hard evidence that blacklisting was occurring." Really they caved in to pressure from the very employers who have been using Kerr’s illegal blacklist. At the stroke of a pen they could have protected workers like Steve Acheson from almost a decade of victimization and hardship.
Blacklisting must stop.
Keep this in mind as our government makes any moves toward 'rectifying' the abuses of the Bush administration. We've already seen a 'truth commission' type hearing which had the effect of saying 'yes, it happened,' but without any movement to stop such actions. For wrongs to be righted, there must be legal action taken against those who committed the wrongs. This is true whether in Britain or the US. If there is no such legal action, we should look upon any posturing as being just that.