I'd very much like to go to the Labor Notes conference next year, but the cost would be prohibitive. Me and a young member from the Hotel Workers' branch in London who also wants to go have set up an appeal to raise money to make it possible.

If you follow this blog you'll know that we'll do a detailed report back, so hopefully if we can go it will be useful for many more activists in the UK.

The text of our appeal is below, and if you want to contribute, please click here: gogetfunding.com/uktolabornotes2016

Help Ian Allinson & Nilüfer​ Erdem go to the Labor Notes conference in Chicago

We're union activists from Manchester and London who need your help to go to the Labor Notes conference, which takes place in Chicago 1-3 April 2016.

Labor Notes Conference:

• Involves thousands of union members, officers, and labor activists who are on the front lines in workplaces and communities, organizing new workers and agitating together. Meet troublemakers from around the country and around the world.
• Comprises more than 100 meetings and workshops include creative organizing tactics, beating apathy, running for local union office, winning contract campaigns, bargaining over technology, understanding the economy, life after “right to work,” and reviving the strike

Why help us?
 
We've already found some of Labor Notes publications useful and think there will be a lot of ideas which can help workers in the UK organise. If your help enables us to go, we will post a detailed report online. If your union body sponsors us we'll do our best to come and give a report in person.

Who are we?

• Ian Allinson is an activist in Manchester, where he's the senior UNITE rep at the IT multinational Fujitsu. In 2009 he led the first national strike in the UK IT industry. Ian served on the union's Executive Council for ten years. Ian is currently on the National Industrial Sector Committee the Graphical, Paper, Media and IT sector. He runs iansunitesite, a blog about union matters. In addition to activism and working full time, Ian is currently doing a part time MA in Industrial Relations at Keele University.
• Nilüfer Erdem is an activist in London, involved in the UNITE Hotel Workers branch. She's active in the Fair Tips campaign and in organising young, migrant and precarious workers. Nilüfer is a member of the London & Eastern region's Young Members' Committee.

What will it cost us?

• Conference tickets will cost $210
• Flights will cost us around £1000
• A shared hotel room will cost us $125 a night, so at least $500 in total

The total is approximately £1500.

Tweet