In Birmingham today to help train on the second module of this year's TUC Organising Academy, which is being held at South Birmingham College. This years intake are sponsored by unions including Amicus, NUJ, PCS, Community, Prospect, Community and the TGWU.

Although I could only stay for the morning session, I really enjoyed the session and was able to get a good flavour of the campaigns and projects the Academy Organisers are working on - from in-fill recruitment in the civil service to greenfield work in the private service sector.

This year's group are a really diverse mix - some with a great deal of union experience, and others who make up for their relative lack of experience with a real commitment and enthusiasm. One of the best aspects of my job is watching people come through the Academy and seeing how they develop during the 12 months of placements and training. Having been through the programme myself (some 7 years ago or so now) I know how hard, but also how rewarding, it can be.

Next week the TUC will be hosting a seminar looking at the rise of 'union-busters' in the UK. This will be followed by a two day training course - Busting the Busters - which will be held in London on 25/26 January 2005.

Andy Banks, who is an excellent organiser and campaigner, will be helping deliver the programme in January. Andy currently works with the IFPTE, but has a great range of experience having worked with the George Meany Centre, Teamsters and a whole range of other union organisations.

Spent the afternoon planning how best to take forward the development of the TUC Organising Academy with Carl Roper, the Academy's new Director, and Margaret Stephenson from Newcastle College.

Also met up with Paul Willman from Said Business School who the TUC has commissioned to write a report on union resources. One of the key features of the report is likely to be an analysis of the withdrawal of employer support (in terms of facilities, time off for reps etc) for unions over the past two decades.

Met with Tom Wakeford of PEALS yesterday to talk about the work he and his colleagues are doing, and how it might dovetail into the the TUC's priorities. Tom and others are involved in the 'Power Inquiry' which is exploring ways of depening and widening participation ij the democratic process in the UK. TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady is one of the Power Commissioners, who will be taking evidence from up and down the country in 2005.

Also met yesterday with Paul Smith of Social Change On-Line. Paul, who hails from down-under, is pulling together some case study material for us highlighting how unions in Australia are using the internet and new technology to support organising and recruitment, which will be taken to the TUC's Organising & Representation Task Group.

Below is a comprehensive set of articles sent through to me by John Logan at the LSE about Wal-Mart's apparent change of heart on union recognition. Wal-Mart are a notoriously anti-union company who now have a foothold in the UK through ASDA, who currently recognise the GMB in their retail stores (little known or cared about fact: I used to be a GMB rep in ASDA about 15 years ago). Despite this, ASDA/Wal-Mart ran quite a vigorous anti-union campiagn in one of its new distribution centres in the North East earlier this year, which resulted in the GMB losing its claim for recognition. Seems Wal-Mart is happy to recognise the ACFTU but not an independent union in the UK!

John is an expert on union-busting and the tactics employers use to stay union-free, and he will be speaking at the 'Busting the Busters' seminar being hosted by the TUC on 14 December.

Wal-Mart Seeing Red

In an attempt to mask its anti-union, anti-worker policies, Wal-Mart this week trumpeted its decision to allow its workers in China to unionize <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23725-2004Nov30.html> . The company tried to say its decision about China was proof that it "does not have a global anti-union policy <http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-wal-martnov27,0,3534545.story?coll=all-businesslocal-hed> ." The reality: Wal-Mart was compelled to accept the union by the Communist Chinese government. The union itself is nothing but a "toothless management-controlled body that works mostly to prevent conflict." Wal-Mart's anti-union stance is world-famous. It has helped depress its workers' wages and reduce their health benefits – all to pad the company's bottom line. Read more about Wal-Mart's labor practices at PBS Frontline's special website <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/transform/employment.html> .

CHINA'S STATE-RUN UNION IS NOT A REAL UNION: The New York Times notes that "unions in China operate differently from independent unions in the United States or elsewhere <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/business/worldbusiness/25union.html> .." For instance, rarely "do unions in China oppose management or press for higher wages or better working conditions." One Chinese labor expert said, "Setting up a union won't make much difference on workers' wages because in most cases the union in China acts as a subsidiary to the employer and rarely represents the workers and fights for higher wages."

WAL-MART HAS ADMITTED IT IS ANTI-UNION: The New York Times reports that Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer with about 5,000 stores worldwide, "has not acknowledged a single union <http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/25/business/walmart.html> within its operations in the United States, and has vigorously opposed the formation of unions within Wal-Mart." In fact, as an employee handbook documents, Wal-Mart explicitly instructs its managers to bust unions. The company guidebook states that "Wal-Mart is opposed to unionization of its associates. Any suggestion that the Company is neutral on the subject or that it encourages associates to join labor organizations is not true." Read the handbook here <http://www.ufcw.org/document.cfm?documentID=293> .

WAL-MART ADDICTED TO CHEAP CHINESE MERCHANDISE: Wal-Mart's efforts "reflect a bow to Chinese law more than a change in Wal-Mart's approach to unionization worldwide." Why is Wal-Mart so eager to placate the Chinese government? Wal-Mart's "inventory of stock produced in China is expected to hit US $18 billion this year." According to Xu Jun, Wal-Mart China's director of external affairs, "If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China's eighth-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/29/content_395728.htm> .." Wal-Mart imports so much merchandise from China to the United States that it has "largely influenced the US trade deficit in China, which is expected to reach $150 billion this year." (You can get a poster by acclaimed artist Ben Edwards <http://www.benjaminedwards.net/Writings/walmart%20cap.htm> illustrating Wal-Mart's reliance on China with a donation to the American Progress Action Fund <http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66311224754353910211665> .)

WAL-MART AGGRESSIVELY COMBATS U.S. UNIONIZATION: Past efforts to unionize Wal-Mart have met with vicious tactics by the corporate giant. For instance, meat-cutters at a Wal-Mart store in Jacksonville, Texas, won union representation in 2000, but the "company shortly thereafter said it would no longer use meat cutters <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2565946,00.html> and would sell only prepackaged meat in all stores." In Canada, workers successfully unionized a store in Québec, but immediately after, Wal-Mart "announced that the store was not meeting sales projections" and that it might have to close the facility. When other Canadian efforts to unionize were thwarted, Wall Street reacted to the news with "glee <http://www.forbes.com/2004/10/06/1006autofacescan08.html> ."

U.S. WORKERS STILL FIGHTING TO UNIONIZE WAL-MART: The Denver Post reports "a group of auto shop employees at Loveland's Wal-Mart Supercenter are seeking union representation <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2565946,00.html> in their dealings with the retail giant, which has historically thwarted organization efforts by its workers." Specifically, "nine of the 17 workers at the store's Tire and Lube Express had signed cards indicating their interest in unionizing," and the effort will now move to the National Labor Relations Board for certification.

SEIU CHIEF UPS THE ANTE: Despite Wal-Mart's efforts, the labor movement is not backing down. Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), earlier this year "called for setting aside $1 million of SEIU money to finance an effort to organize Wal-Mart <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58969-2004Jun21.html> ." Along with other labor union leaders, "he believes that the Wal-Mart business model - low wages, relatively few benefits and downward pricing pressure on suppliers - poses the most serious threat to organized labor in the private sector." At a meeting of labor, community and academic leaders earlier this year, Stern said, "Wal-Mart provides a chilling example of the damage that low-wage, nonunion corporations can wreak, and their business model is going to set the standards for our children unless we do something now…Wal-Mart is the sewer pipe <http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0512-09.htm> through which good jobs are being flushed."

Met yesterday with Allen Jones from Copernicus, who developed the Labour Party's 'Web in a Box' software. 'Web in a Box' allows MP's and local Labour Parties to get on-line quickly and cheaply. I think there is real potential for developing similar tools for union branches - and this is an area of work that me and one or two others in the TUC will be hoping to develop over the coming months.