Dudley General UNISON

• Pete will declare a homelessness emergency on his first day in office
• Pete will bring together the seven constituent local authorities and wider partners to co-ordinate a credible, ethical and effective response
• Pete will relentlessly expose the direct link between cruel Tory austerity and the massive increase in homelessness in our towns and cities

• Pete will take radical action to protect the rights of tenants and leaseholders, holding rogue landlords to account and creating a level playing field for all
• Pete will be hawkish about maximising the amount of social housing in planning deals and will press for accelerated council house building
• Pete will lobby to ensure that every citizen of the West Midlands can lead a long and independent life in their own home

• Pete will act to make sure that public transport is safe, convenient and accessible
• Pete will work with others to bring about a plan to deliver a modern, sustainable and integrated public transport system, fit for the 21st century
• Pete will lobby to bring about municipal oversight and ownership of public transport, including guaranteeing free and affordable travel for the young, old and disadvantaged

• Pete will establish a People’s Bank for the West Midlands
• Pete will challenge the public, third and private sectors to understand and act upon the positive impact their own spending power can have on the local economy
• Pete believes in an economy that enables wealth to be created in a sustainable way and ensures that said wealth is shared fairly; an economy where carers enjoy the same prosperity as entrepreneurs, in a way that nourishes the planet and doesn’t destroy it.

• Pete will take immediate action to ensure the system delivers for everybody. 8,000 young people in the West Midlands are currently not in education, employment or training; that’s 8,000 too many and a scandal that needs to end
• Pete will divert the money the current mayor squanders on his high rolling consultant friends and invest it in projects rooted in our communities
• Pete will argue for a skills and training system that meets young people where they are and encourages them to maximise their potential, including earning a real living wage, regardless of age

• Pete will continue to ensure that the team around him reflects the rich diversity of the West Midlands
• Pete will challenge others to meet and exceed the highest standards of equalities practice in the delivery of goods and services to the public
• Pete will set about closing the health inequalities gap that means some of our poorest citizens live a decade less than their richer neighbours

• Pete will develop a code of conduct for the Office of Mayor that will hold him, and his successors, to the highest standards of public account
• Pete will hold an all members policy conference to involve all Labour members from the outset of his candidacy

• Implement a Green New Deal across the region that works for all of our communities
• How he will use the office of Mayor to fight the far-right and to challenge the use of racially inflammatory language by politicians
• Build on the work he has already done as the former Leader of Dudley Labour Group to improve the representation of women, BAME people and other under-represented groups in the Mayor’s Office and the wider Combined Authority constituent councils.
• Plus a whole host of other ideas

We have a proud record of campaigning with WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) to improve the pension rights of women. If ever there was a time to stand up and be counted as a WASPI woman, it is now. 

WASPI are asking you to give up some time to make a formal complaint to the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) for a case of maladministration. This involves filling in and posting a number of templated letters to the DWP. The more people that join in the campaign, the more likely it is that the Government will be compelled to make remedy for the “grotesque disadvantage” and financial loss that women have suffered. There are 3.8 million affected by the lack of notice of the 1995 and 2011 Pensions Acts. Not all of them even know its happened.

For more information and resources for making your complaint, please look at https://www.waspi.co.uk/2018/09/11/dwp-mass-action-complaint/

Hundreds have taken to the streets to protest against the unnecessary and unwanted closure of Stourbridge College.

Nearly 1,000 students will be pushed to Dudley and Halesowen colleges after it closes this summer. 

Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMet), which runs the site, has tried to argue feebly that the move was needed due to £6m debts and was "in the best interests of our learners".

UNISON maintains that disadvantaged students will be worst affected, with the plans increasing travel times and costs for students. 

Leigh Powell, our Unison national officer, said unions wanted to know exactly how the decision had been reached to sell off the site, and called for another consultation.

"These people are sitting in a room with spreadsheets and they're not looking at what effect it will have on people's lives," she said.

"Suddenly, for students and staff to be told at the beginning of May your college is shutting down was a shock."

The University and College Union (UCU) meanwhile claims staff and students are undoubtedly paying the price for poor management. The UCU also claimed the move made "little financial sense" with millions of pounds being spent refurbishing the Hagley Road campus.

The schools haven't broken up yet, but already we're thinking ahead. For families living on low incomes it can be difficult to make ends meet – especially when the new school year begins and the extra costs hit hard.

But it's not all bad news – help is available. UNISON's welfare charity, There for You, has once again got a limited fund to help members on low incomes towards the costs of school uniforms.

• School uniform grant application form
• School uniform grants Q and A

Please complete our application form and send to:

There for You
UNISON Centre
130 Euston Road
London
NW1 2AY

The closing date is Friday, 19 July.

Campaign to make UNISON’s LGBT group more inclusive by changing the name to LGBT+ #SupportThePlus

UNISON Steward Sarah Carr at Conference. Photo taken by Steward Juliet Parker. 

Friday 5 July 2019 - UNISON Centre

Dear colleagues,

This is a reminder that UNISON is holding a social care seminar for members from across the UK on Friday 5 July 2019 at the UNISON Centre in London. UNISON members delivering frontline services across the whole range of adult social care settings are invited to attend. The seminar is open to all social care members whether they work for a council, not for profit community or voluntary organisation, a for profit company or delivering social care in a healthcare setting.

Members will have the opportunity to hear about UNISON’s future plans for social care, to learn how best to campaign and organise in the sector and to allow people to help shape the union’s work in the area. There will be a mix of excellent speakers, including talks from inspiring care workers who have been involved in industrial disputes and an update on UNISON’s ongoing legal action over the sleep-in issue.

Workshop topics currently include:

• Dealing with violence at work
• How to try and achieving safe staffing levels in care homes
• Campaigning and organising in the care sector across the UK
• Pay and tax issues facing care workers
• Establishing career progression for care workers
   

Places are limited to 90 members. We are keen for a mix of homecare, residential home, nursing home, supported living workers and all other frontline care workers to come along and to ensure that there is fair representation of members at the event. We also want to try and make sure that members who work for private and voluntary sector employers attend.

Seminar fees will be paid for by the Branch. This will cover refreshments, lunch and administrative costs for the event. The Branch will also be responsible for the cost of travel and any accommodation.

The seminar will run from approximately 10:15 until 15:30. A full and detailed programme of events will be available nearer the time.

Please contact the branch to register your interest. 

 Please see our newsletter below:

When it comes to negotiating a trade deal with Britain, Donald Trump’s administration is determined to ‘put America first’, or rather put US multinational corporations first.

This poses a real threat to our food and environmental standards, would mean the opening up of the NHS to private US health corporations and will give his climate change denying administration huge influence over UK energy markets. This panel will discuss these threats and how to resist them.

James Anthony, West Midlands Health NEC member will be speaking at the event on behalf of the union. 

Wednesday, 24^th April at 7pm at Carrs Lane Church, Carrs Lane, Birmingham, B4 7SX. 

Book your free place here. Refreshments provided.

Workers' Memorial Day is held on 28 April every year, all over the world workers and their representatives conduct events, demonstrations, vigils and a whole host of other activities to mark the day.

The annual event in Dudley will commence at 12.30 at the Memorial Gardens, opposite the Council House. There will be a number of local speakers. All welcome.