Members win as Sharon Graham's referendum backfires

Sharon Graham decided to make our Executive Council election a referendum with one question: Are you loyal to Sharon Graham above all else? Now that nominations have closed the answer from our union’s biggest branches and workplaces is loud and clear. NO!

Not since David Cameron resigned in the wake of the Brexit result has a referendum become such a self-inflicted injury.

Of the slate of candidates backed by union management many have clearly been made to use identical wording and dedicate their statements to mimicking talking points praising Sharon Graham. A regime which judges even it’s own supporters only on their loyalty to the leader is not fit to lead.

In response hundreds of major workplace branches representing thousands of members have rallied in defence of their union and member-led democracy. These include major branches at Gatwick Airport, Scunthorpe steelworks, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce aerospace, critical construction branches, Grangemouth Refinery, 2Sisters, Liverpool dockers of the CASA, and major NHS trusts and Local Authorities stretching from Dundee to Belfast and Swansea.

While final numbers are still being tallied, the sheer breadth of support across our union’s largest workplaces and branches for the growing movement for change is already a resounding verdict. Support for the united slate of workplace and equality leaders running under the campaign banner Members United and as Industrial Independents is a vote to end the toxic divisions and reunite our union.

This is a damning verdict on Sharon Graham’s leadership. This election has already exposed a regime in panic at the prospect of a grassroots movement from the workplace.

Union employees have been stood down to work on management's campaign full time. Dead branches have been resurrected like Lazarus for the purpose of securing nominations. Unsolicited phone calls from “Mr S. Smith” and other pseudonyms have been made to branch reps – all from the same number. Employees of our union have even had to see off an attempt by figures from their own management to solict a donation of thousands of pounds for the Graham slate from the staff union branch.

This is the toxic behaviour and mismanagement our movement will bring to an end.

As attention now turns to the vote, this Executive Council election is the most important in our union’s history. The real question at it’s heart is: who controls our union: our members or the management?

Reunite has endorsed all candidates committed to working together to rebuild our union’s industrial and political strength, demand accountability with members’ money, and overcome division with unity.

The close of nominations is a major step forward for the growing movement for change within our union.

It’s time our union’s focus was on our members – not the ego of one person.

It’s time for members to take back our union.

It’s time to Reunite.