Previous Stories to September 2006

The election of officers rule was passed by conference over a year ago. Simpson refused to implement it until January this year claiming he needed to re-shuffle redundant posts first. Now, with control of the Executive and the left 'Gazette' organisation, he obviously feels able to ignore it completely. Follow his scheming for yourself, as he explained it to the National Executive:

'An official who looks after SEMA and AMPS 'got himself into difficulties' and it became necessary to remove the officer. This kicks off a chain of consequent decisions.

I decided to ask Ian Waddell to use the skills he has in this sensitive area that could lead to another CMA scenario. [no election]

Also recently in the SW Laurence Faircloth has been covering SW and Defence. I decided I would ask Ian to pick up MOD and Govt Depts as well as SEMA and AMPS. [no election]

Consider the impact on Aerospace...Bernie Hamilton's been playing a lead role, I decided I would ask Doug Collins to pick up Aerospace and ask Bernie to be Lead Industrial Officer, not just for ship building but wider, and with a bit more pay. [no election]

There are 3 others in a similar situation - Bob Rixham effectively covers transport, Tom Hardacre Construction, Brian Boyes Civil Transport [no elections]

Aerospace also exists in the CSEU. Jon Wall still covers on a national basis. He'll be resident in King St, so geographically proximate to Doug. [no election]

The officer that covered SEMA & AMPS Paul Reutur will be transferred to CMA - the same skills are required there. [no election]

We decided - but it is I, in discussion with colleagues in the Senior Management Team - decided there's a significant role in the public sector & developing the politics of that. The most appropriate person for that is the Regional Sec in the NW. This is a significant & growing brief, at the heart of the union, it needs proper handling with Ministers and senior people in Health trusts and professionals in that sector. So Kevin Coyne [the right wing rival for next General Secretary job by the way] will become National Officer for Health. [no election]

That transfers the problem to the NW. My intention is to shift across another regional sec. The easiest person is Graham Goddard from Yorkshire and Humberside. [no election]

This leaves a position in Yorks and Humberside. I put it to the General Purposes and Finance Committee this could be covered in a number of ways... We could accept that we'd finally run out of options in teeming and ladling people (sic) and actually have an election, that's my recommendation. It's very probable that the person who would gain that position is already an employee.... [We happen to know it will be Chris Weldon and there will be no other candidate, hence no actual election]

I do intend that AGSs have an industrial brief. Jennie (Bremner) will oversee transport where Bob Rixham operates almost as the National Officer already. [no election]

This addresses concerns without incurring wholesale elections across the piece.' [as you say, no elections]

Simpson has decreed that Graham Goddard is to be his heir [no election] (hello, did the Gazettte ever get a say in this, let alone members?), hence his appointment to Deputy General Secretary [no election]. Goddard's move to the puppet and large NW region is to give him a base for his career aspirations, with the bonus that the rival candidate Kevin Coyne is removed from his strong NW base. There will only be one candidate in the Yorks election, Chris Weldon, and hence no actual election.

Incredibly Simpson has also appointed Alan Cameron to be political officer in Scotland, on a salary of around £40K [no election]. Cameron was the leader of 'AEEU United', Sir Ken Jackson's election machine and the right wing rival organisation to the Gazette. Many Gazette members still haven't sussed what is going on, but how long can it be? As Simpson once told a supporters meeting in Doncaster: 'Judge me on this one issue, election of officials'.
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: More Two-Legs on the Farm
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: It's Official - No Election of Officers. Ever.
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 7 September 2006 (sorry for the delay Chris, down to our hols not your sackings)

Censorship Gone Mad
Given that the union employs private detectives to spy on its members and bugs its own employees' emails, it's not really news that they censor their members' discussion forums. Now though the size 11 boots of the censor have been automated.

The forums are for members to chat and assist one another, however people have discovered that certain words are being automatically 'starred out'. This was uncovered by 'freedomman' who noticed that the innocent word 'Blackpool' in an earlier post had become 'Black***l'. Freedomman promptly posted a test which was censored to become:

"I first read Winnie the ***h when I was quite young. I used to read it after going to the swimming ***l, in S****horpe. "

Ironically a less automated example of censorship can be seen on the Equal Rights section of the forum, where all the old posts have disappeared (including a contribution by left wing Executive member Ian Allinson). The two remaining threads finish abruptly with comments from the National Officer for Equality, Siobhan Endean. Seemingly everyone is equal but some are more equal than others.
[Amicus Forum] The censored posts (skip to the bottom)
[Amicus Forum] The (so-called) Equalities forum
[amicus.cc] Previous Story - Union Pays Private Investigators to Spy on Member
[amicus.cc] Previous Story - Members attacked by the amicusbod
New! [Guardian] Diary article (skip to 2nd paragraph)
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 19th July 2006

“Shame on Amicus” - TUC LBGT Annual Conference
The TUC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans, (LGBT), annual conference took place last week, traditionally held immediately before the London Pride festival.

Delegates to the conference, from across the range of unions, were shocked to hear that Amicus activist Lesley Mansell had been withdrawn as a nomination to the TUC LGBT Committee.

The Chair announced that Amicus had withdrawn her name, although Lesley has not been notified officially and has had no explanation. The Chair strongly condemned this and pointed out that Lesley was a founder member of the TUC LGBT Committee. Her excellent work was highly valued by members of that committee, TUC officers and delegates from all unions. She has so excelled in the field that the TUC awarded her the TUC Women’s Gold Badge in 2005, which is the first time it has been presented for work on LGBT issues.

Conference responded to the announcement with shouts of: “Shame on Amicus”, much to the embarrassment of the delegates and officers present. As a result Amicus became persona non grata at the conference, with shock waves reverberating throughout the TUC itself, and threatening the proposed merger with the T&G, as members from that union have seen the lack of democracy and principle in Amicus. Not to mention adding weight to the rumour that Simpson intends to dis-affiliate from the TUC after the merger in January 2007.

Siobhan Endean, Amicus Equality Officer, was grilled by T&G delegates and refused to give an explanation as to why she had supported this outrageous action and not the democratic decision of the Amicus LGBT Committee. Apparently Lesley's fate had been sealed by Amicus General Secretary Simpson at the union's last executive meeting, where he proclaimed

"Some people support Lesley but I'm not one of them"

Lesley was elected by the Amicus national LGBT Committee in March for the nomination, however the Executive meeting in May withdrew it on the recommendation of the General Secretary. Her exemplary record was pointed out and ignored by Derek Simpson.

This whole episode does no more than demonstrate the continued usurping of lay democracy. It also has an effect on other unions, who are clear that this is discriminatory and brings Amicus into disrepute.

What happens in the Equality structure is a microcosm of what goes on elsewhere. And what is happening there is complete control by the Equalities officer on behalf of Derek Simpson.
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 4th July 2006

amicus.cc breaking news!

Woodley and Simpson: Now it's Head to Head..

It's Official: GMB out of Megalo-Merger.
As amicus.cc first reported exclusively back in February, the GMB union have today pulled out of the Super Union merger, with an overwhelming conference vote. This leaves just Amicus and the Transport and General Workers union in Simpson's Megalo-Merger project. According to the GMB, many members and branches "have expressed concerns and fears over the potential merger and the loss of power to lay members". A fear that Amicus lay members have long since forgotten.

The news will be a blow to amicus General Secretary Simpson and the Assistant he tasked with the merger, one Les Bayliss.

Lastly there is a rumour within Amicus that Simpson has been in lengthy discussions regarding an international merger, with the German union 'IG Metall'. Such discussions were originally began by Simpson's predecessor, Sir Ken Jackson.
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: GMB Union Out of Merger
[BBC] GMB rejects 'super union' merger
[Guardian] GMB withdraws from plans for superunion
New! [Amicus/TGWU] Joint Statement
New! [Financial Times] 'Amicus and T&G have more centralised command structures'
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 14th June 2006

Preston, Post Coup
Jimmy Warne, the deposed chair of the Gazette organisation, writes this account for amicus.cc of the first national Gazette meeting since Simpson seized control:

"At the last National Gazette Meeting Saturday 6th May, at the start of the meeting the Chairman Steve Davison made the meeting aware that the North East Region of the Gazette had submitted a motion calling for a open and honest debate about the circumstances that had led to the dismissal of the three leading Gazette supporters.

The Chairman went on the explain that it would be very difficult to have such a discussion as the only people who were fully aware of what was going on were the three individuals concerned, on that basis it was put to the vote that the motion not be taken although Jimmy and Des would be allowed to address the meeting. It was agreed that this position be adopted. Jimmy and Des both addressed the meeting, Jimmy made the point that we had not sought to stifle debate when the William Cook Workers or indeed the EC member Jerry Hicks had come to the Gazette looking for it's support when they were in dispute with their employer. Jimmy further went on to state that at the end of the day there was no difference between their situation and the one facing Cathie, Des and himself.

EC member Derek Barlow stated that issues surrounding staff were the due concern of the General Secretary and not the Executive Council, he further explained that the Executive Council would have to take a view if their dismissal resulted in the Union having to payout sums of money.

Jimmy rose on a point of order and said to the meeting that he could accept what Derek Barlow was suggesting, but EC members could not have it both ways, if the Executive Council's position is correct and staff matters are the due consideration of the General Secretary then Why! did EC members allow the General Secretary to launch in to a withering attack on Des, Cathie and himself in all but name.

Little or no further discussion took place and the meeting moved on to the rest of the agenda . If this is about engaging the membership why is it that only ¼ of the people who normally come turned up? "

At the union's last National Executive meeting Jimmy's branch, Newcastle central, were threatened with disciplinary action for donating £50 to him from their hardship fund. The last person to discipline the branch was Sir Ken Jackson who removed Jimmy as treasurer. Jimmy was on the Executive under Jackson and organised the walk out that stopped Sir Ken declaring Simpson’s election null and void.
[Campaign For Democracy in Amicus] Stop the Political Attack
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 7th June 2006

"Psst Tony, tell me what consultation means.."

TGWU Wobbles on Megalo-Merger
Even the Transport and General union is expressing doubts about Amicus General Secretary Simpson's Super Union project. www.amicus.cc have obtained the TGWU Region 1's response to their consultation process. Nb. We provide the following for the benefit of Amicus members:

con·sul·ta·tion    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (knsl-tshn)
n. The act or process of consulting.

The document refers obliquely to Simpson's centralised lurch to the Right in Amicus:

"the T&G has a strong left of centre progressive tradition.....This new union could change all that....The new union would possibly shift to the right. The union would be likely to centralise its power base..."

The TGWU region astutely recognises that the drafting of the new rule book is a key prize. A prize that has been captured by the Right in every recent union merger. They also talk about the importance of "strong lay committee structures to ensure accountability" and argue for a campaigning, organising and member led union rather than a ‘service provider’ (credit cards, insurance, lotteries etc..., you know the stuff) model.

In a clear dig at Simpson (who makes a point of never attending TUC meetings and is rumoured to want the new super union to dis-affiliate) TGWU Region 1 say

"We cannot stress how important we believe our relations with the TUC at every level from local trades union councils to the regional councils and the General Council and the Executive and Congress itself."

[TGWU] London, South East & East Anglia - new union consultation
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: GMB and the megalo-merger
[TGWU] Towards a new union - 'get involved'
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 21st May 2006

Simpson: Arise DGS's Cartmail and Goddard

amicus.cc exclusive!
More Two-Legs on the Farm
More favours have been handed out by Amicus General Secretary Simpson, and big ones: amicus.cc have learnt that at the secret* General Purposes and Finance Committee (GPFC) meeting last week, he appointed a new Deputy General Secretary, Graham Goddard, and two new Assistant General Secrtaries, Gail Cartmail and Jenny Bremner. The decision will be rubber stamped at the Executive meeting next Wednesday.
* Decisions and minutes of the GPFC are only available to the Executive. Accounts of GPFC discussions are even more tightly restricted (well until now leastways).

The move is the most blatant breach yet of the 'election of officers' rule adopted by the unions' lay conference in 2005 (not to mention the key pledge of Simpson's own election manifesto). He had since argued that the union couldn't afford the rule and he refused to implement it.

The choice of Simpson's patronage is interesting. Graham Goddard is currently Yorkshire Regional Secretary. That region played a decisive role in Simpson's recent coup in the members' left 'Gazette' organisation. Moreover Goddard had originally been Yorkshire's candidate for the Executive election in 2003 but took Simpson's silver to become an employee instead. This conveniently freed up the Executive position for one Steve Davison, now chair of the GPFC, of the Executive, of annual conference and, since the coup, of the 'Gazette'.

Gail Cartmail, currently National Officer for Health, is that now common creature, a far-left person defected to the right. She was prominent in the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in her youth, in fact she was an employee. A professional ex-'Trot' no less. Cartmail's big achievement in Amicus has been to push through Blair's 'Agenda For change', against spirited opposition by health members.

It's all slightly reminiscent of deposed General Secretary Lyons' move in his final days to 'bypass' an election and appoint the ill fated Lucy Kelly/Anderson as Deputy General Secretary. She was later suspended in mysterious circumstances by Simpson and left the union.

The cost to members of this promotion will not be insubstantial. The union doesn't declare Deputy General Secretary salary figures but Simpson's own remuneration package was recorded in the 2004 accounts at £162,163 a year. Amicus of course already has two well paid Deputy General Secretaries, Ed Sweeney and Tony Dubbins.

"The pigs eventually learn to walk on two legs, thus imitating the animals' original exploiters, and they teach the turkeys to cluck, 'Two two-legs good, three two-legs better!'" Apologies to Orwell.

Soon every officer who obeys the One may have his name in their job title.
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: Fear, Favour and Apathy Down on Amicus Farm
[amicus.cc] Simpson in 2005: "There will be no new appointments to the officer force"
[Amicus Accounts] Simpson's £162,163 package (very large file)
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 17th May 2006

Get out of bed now.. unless it's a holiday, bank holiday or the day after

Fear, Favour and Apathy Down on Amicus Farm
Amicus General Secretary Simpson's 'fear and favour' techniques have switched to 'favour' for the professionals: From last month all officers (as opposed to just ex-AEEU ones) now receive £20 a day 'getting out of bed' money, taxable, or £13 tax free if they are out of the office. It is only being paid to the officer class and at nearly £5,000 a year is much more than most of their pay rises. So much for Simpson's 'financial crisis' that meant we couldn't elect our officers. New! No wonder members can't get hold of officers - holidays have just been equalised upwards to 6 weeks plus 8 bank holidays plus the day after a bank holiday.

For the unpaid amateurs, apathy has taken over since Simpson seized control of the national grass roots organisation: only 50 people turned up to the Gazette supporters meeting in Preston last Saturday and half of them were from the Simpsonite (and local) NW region. Full report shortly.
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: Financial Crisis - Democracy or Dictatorship
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: Fear - Simpson Sacks Activists
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 11th May 2006

No longer acting

Kenny Declared General Secretary of GMB
On Monday the General Purposes Comittee of the GMB union officially declared Paul Kenny as General Secretary, after a year of acting the part. This only became possible after a recall conference had made rule changes in February, allowing the acting General Secretary to stand and giving the executive the power to decide the number of branch nominations needed (minimum 30 out of 1,500 branches, Kenny got 202).

All this means that the three way megalo-merger of Amicus, GMB and TGWU unions may just be back on. However 5 of the 10 GMB regions have completed their consultation (yes unlike Amicus they were consulted); only one has come out in favour. More damagingly the other four called for immediate withdrawal from talks. The full results will be in for the GMB conference on 10th June but if this pattern continues it's hard to see how Kenny can keep the wheels on Simpson's gravy train: If the GMB pull out the once powerful Broad Left in TGWU may do too - many of their activists supported the merger only if it was three way with GMB.

Merge or not, Kenny will now stay on till his retirement in 2015 (not 2011 as 'Personnel Today' have it), beyond Woodley's (TGWU) best-before date of January 2013 and way beyond Simpson's (Amicus) use-by date of December 2009.
[Personnel Today] GMB union confirms Paul Kenny
[GMB] Returning Officer's Report
[amicus.cc] Previous Story: GMB Union Out of Merger
[Daily Mirror] Previous Story - Probe On 'Spying' by ex-GMB Chief
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 10th May 2006

Big Brother is Watching You

Union Pays Private Investigators to Spy on Member
Not content with spying on its staff (see previous story), Amicus has now graduated to spying on its members. Amicus Hounslow and Feltham branch has written to General Secretary Simpson complaining that the union's Director of Legal Services paid private detectives to investigate member David Beaumont, who belongs to the branch and has been a union member for 20 years.

The branch submitted as evidence a remarkable private & confidential email from Amicus' Legal Director Georgina Hirsch to the solicitors 'Osbourne Clarke', in which she states:

"I think it would be worth instructing an enquiry agent re his financial status. Are you happy to deal with that too?"

The union were forced to disclose the email to Mr Beaumont in a recent Employment Tribunal hearing. They had tried to insist on assurances that he would keep the document secret, but he refused.

In a later email, following a Data Protection Act request by Mr Beaumont, Ms Hirsch confirmed that the report was done and even agreed to send it to him: "I will arrange for the enquiry agent report to be sent to you." However she later changed her mind, writing "We have recently instructed specialist solicitors... we will not be providing you with a copy".

Looking at the timing of Hirsch's action, it must have been done without the permission of either of the two lay bodies of the union, the General Purposes and Finance Committee (GPFC) or the National Executive Committee (NEC). She and her boss Simpson didn't even bother to seek approval for the expenditure from the GPFC after the event, or to seek belated ratification from the NEC, supposedly the governing body of the union. It would not be the first time Hirsch has dispensed union funds without bothering to ask the NEC or to tell them afterwards, e.g. her union financed purchase of the web domains georginahirsch.co.uk, georginahirsch.me.uk, georginahirsch.com, georginahirsch.net, georginahirsch.org, georginahirsch.org.uk and georginhirsch.info

Interestingly there is no provision in the rule book for complaints about union officials, but amicus.cc is aware of a secret procedure disclosed exclusively to NEC members, which requires that a letter is written to the officer's immediate boss, in this case General Secretary Simpson himself, along with copies of all the evidence. It will be interesting to see how Simpson handles this complaint - he is clearly identified on Hirsch's original email as being cc'd in from the very beginning.

The most amazing aspect of this (apart from a union behaving towards its members in a manner we would never tolerate from an employer) is that Ms Hirsch began her Daily Mirror column 'The Rights Stuff' [sic] last week with:

"Do you feel like we live in a Big Brother society where organisations hold detailed information on us? Information that can affect our access to work, goods and services. Well, you're right if you do."

Too right. She continues "Your employer has to let you see the records it keeps on you". But not your union. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. More Orwellian double-speak down on Amicus Farm.
[Georgina Hirsch] 'Instructing an enquiry agent'
[Hounslow and Feltham branch] Complaint Georgina Hirsch
[Daily Mirror] The Rights Stuff
New! [Daily Mirror] Not just Amicus - Probe On 'Spying' by ex-GMB Chief
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 25th April 2006

Red faces, but not hearts and minds

Gazette Re-Launch Cock-Up
Now that the National Left 'Gazette' grass roots group is effectively under the control of the union (see previous story), they have strided out boldly upon the Amicus cock-up path. Today their embarrassed secretary had to send out an apology to the Gazette's entire mailing list: "Apologies.. please spread the word so that supporters have an explanation to hand when the complaints come flooding in". We're always willing to oblige.

To give the Simpson-appointed New Gazette leaders credit, some significant effort and money had gone into the re-launch. A replacement website www.amicusunitygazette.org.uk has been created, albeit a blatant copy of the tedious North West Region's existing site. Plus a four page edition of the New Gazette magazine was produced and mailed to all Old Gazette supporters. Readers were rewarded with articles by all the North West's leading lights, with the main article concluding "get active with the most progressive force within Amicus", which when you think about it is sadly true, given that the old Gazette has been closed down and its leaders have been sacked.

But pride comes before a fall. The article 'Bring Back Our Trade Union Rights' appeared under the wrong heading of 'Why Blair Must Go!'. It also terminated mid-sentence, omitted a long quote from RMT General Secretary Bob Crow and lost entirely the text of the Early Day Motion that the article was urging members to support. Then the real 'Why Blair Must Go!' article was omitted entirely (however you've missed nothing, it was not nearly as exciting as the title, just a call for a 'Warwick 2' agreement with New Labour).

We're not sure if 'New' Gazette are taking their lead from the union's official mag 'the Activist' (see Valentine's Day Mess-Up) or from the notoriously error-prone magazine 'Trade Union Review', whose editor Jimmy 'Warship' Barnes was relocated last year from Carlisle to the Preston environs to assist the Simpsonites. He is known to proudly proclaim his errors are 'part of the charm' of Trade Union Review. Barnes (incidentally chair of TUCND) himself contributed an article to the Gazette publication about, you've guessed it, Warships. This time it was toned down from his motion at the last Gazette meeting which called for the "production of Warships". There remain though the charming typos and errors, we counted seven in his article alone.

The re-launch is well thought out, it contains lots of pleas for activists to get involved and is reminiscent of the attempted launch of the rival ATU Network, also created by the union. There is no mention though of Simpson's less popular (and not democratically decided) policies, e.g. the union's growingly rabid support for Blair's proposed twenty new nuclear reactors. We wonder how long any new innocent activists will remain involved when their motions go in the bin and they realise the Chair of their Gazette group Steve Davison is also the Chair of the union's executive and Simpson's bestest pal.

Disgracefully there was no mention at all of the three removed Gazette leaders, not even a simple thank you. Last Tuesday they finally received their P45s from General Secretary Simpson.
[New Gazette] April 06 - corrected version
[Socialist Appeal] Lobby against witch-hunt in engineering union Amicus
[Socialist Appeal] Political Witch Hunt Against the Left
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 12th April 2006

'The Pack's in the Post'

Valentine's Day Mess-Up
The parallels with George Orwell just don't stop down on Amicus Farm. The cover of the latest Amicus's 'Activist' magazine proudly proclaimed "Result! Amicus halts St Valentine's day euro pay massacre". General Secretary Simpson devoted almost all his page three column, 'Joy and Disappointment', to celebrating the union's efforts, stating "The Joy came from a short campaign to see off the European Services Directive... We aimed a postcard campaign at Downing St". A further two page spread was devoted to the 'success'.

In reality the campaign was an expensive Valentine's Day mess-up. The briefing packages containing the EU Services Directive materials and postcards were not posted to activists until 13th February. They should have been distributed in good time for members to send the postcards to Tony Blair to arrive on Valentine's Day (14th), as was stated in the union's covering letter:

"I ask you to read the enclosed briefing and distribute as many of the enclosed Valentine's Day cards and posters as possible so that the Prime Minister is sent a clear message on 14th February."

Even if activists had forked out first class for the unstamped postcards they would still have minus one day to arrive in time. The pack included a range of colour stickers, glossy colour posters, the postcards, a briefing paper and covering letter, all clearly marked 'Valentine's day'. At least one activist wrote to complain to General Secretary Simpson but, as is common nowadays, has received no reply.

It's quite incredible that Simpson can blatantly Double Plus Good such a cock-up and waste of union funds.
[amicus] The envelope post marked 13th.
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 10th April 2006

Derek why are you sacking my Daddy?

More Show Trials Down on Amicus Farm
It was an unusual sight, 20-30 union activists picketing a meeting of the union executive at a posh London hotel. There was no sign of the cause of it all, General Secretary Derek Simpson - apparently he had slipped in a back way with his long-time lawyer Georgina Hirsch. The three sacked officials were prevented from attending as the union would simply have added it to their charges - bizarrely most of the allegations against them are for defending themselves after their original suspensions.

Later, during the Executive meeting, Simpson launched yet another witch hunt against this web site and against more, unnamed, union officials, on fictitious charges of 'stealing email addresses'. He also abused the small number of executive members who are opposing his megalomergermania. Georgina Hirsch later threatened this site with a 'Norwich Pharmacal' order.

The General Secretary even went so far as to accuse amicus.cc of being anti-trade union. Actually we are very pro-union. It's just that our vision of a good union is an open, democratic, accountable, efficient, honest one, supporting its members. Simpson's preference appears to be secret, paranoid, run in interest of senior officials, incompetent and 'stuff and stifle' the members. For example a union that, according to its last accounts, spends nearly as much on its one General Secretary's 'housing benefit' (£44,752) as on dispute benefit for all its million members (£48,000). Or one where a member ends up having to sue the union's lawyers (who were supposed to be acting for him) for striking a deal with his employers to prevent him from ever suing them. Maybe Amicus's legal department are too tied up at the moment fabricating political witch hunts.
[Campaign for Democracy in Amicus] Picket flyer
[Georgina Hirsch] More Threats to amicus.cc
[Amicus Accounts] Simpson's £44,752 'Housing Benefit'
[Observer] 'Poisoned' worker to sue law firm
[amicus.cc] Previous Story - All Hell Broke loose..
New! [Socialist Appeal] Lobby against witch-hunt in engineering union Amicus
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 28th March 2006

Executive's hotel to be picketed

Simpson Sacks Activists
Last Friday the three suspended officials of Amicus were sacked from their jobs. Jimmy Warne, Cathie Willis and Des Heemskerk had all been instrumental in getting General Secretary Simpson elected. Now Simpson has turned on them in what is undoubtedly a political with hunt, prompted by the union's numerous lurches to the Right, e.g. the organised scabbing fiasco at Wembley, betrayal of the promise to elect full time officials and the Baylissgate cover-up. Mixed in with this was the odd helicopter ride and fitted kitchen. All will no doubt come out at the Employment Tribunals the three will bring, and which the union seems likely to lose.

There is a picket of the Executive meeting this Wednesday March 22nd in support of the three: meeting at 8:30am at the Westminster Bridge Road entrance to the plush London Marriott Hotel County Hall (Map)
[amicus.cc] Baylissgate - start here
[Gazette] Previous story- Wembley
[amicus.cc] Previous story- It's Official - No Election of Officers. Ever.
[amicus.cc] Previous story- Re-instate the suspended Amicus three!
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 21st March 2006

8 unions activists murdered

Union in Coke Disgrace
At the charity "War on Want"'s Annual General Meeting last Saturday, 'delegates' turned up from Amicus, accompanied by a PR person from Coca Cola. We don't know who elected them, or if they were in fact employees of the union. They proceeded to distribute flyers opposing a boycott of Coca Cola and promoting Amicus's wrecking motion to the AGM. This motion was written to defeat a recommendation from War on Want's Council to boycott Coca Cola over of the deaths of eight union activists in Columbia.

New! The New Statesman report:

"Stranger still was the presence of the public relations man Douglas Trainer, seen sitting and chatting with the Amicus bloc. Trainer is a PR man consulted by Coca-Cola (in an advisory capacity, it is keen to stress). So what was a PR man with connections to Coke doing at a War on Want AGM? Was he a member? "Yes," said Trainer. So when did he join? "Thursday." Two days before the AGM."

A similar trick had been tried at War on Want's 2005 AGM when a motion calling for a boycott was referred back to the Council for 'further investigation'. The Council then sent people out to Columbia to meet SINALTRAINAL, the union that called for the boycott and represents the vast majority of unionised workers in Coke. There are other unions but they are very small and in the main are tame unions set up with support from the management. The Council also met with a wide range of interested parties, including non-governmental organisations in Colombia and the UK. They finally decided to support the 2005 resolution calling for a boycott, un-amended. In fact they decided to widen the action to encompass Coca Cola's activities in other parts of the world, especially India.

Fortunately at Saturday's meeting the Council's report on their extensive investigation persuaded most delegates. Amicus's response, seeing that their anti-boycott motion was about to be lost, was to deliberately remove their delegates. Their organiser was clearly heard to say they were 'withdrawing in order to make the meeting in-quorate because we don't want to risk the boycott being endorsed'.

The Amicus team had shamelessly bootstrapped their flyer "The Workers' motion".

62 Amicus branches are affiliated to War on Want, we've not found one which was consulted in this disgraceful manoeuvre.

So there we have it, a UK union trying to sabotage support for fellow unionists in Columbia who are being murdered for their activities. That must be what General Secretary Simpson's Christmas message '1 Union Around the World' was all about.
[War on Want] Council report
[amicustheunion.org.uk] Amicus Anti-Boycott Leaflet
[amicustheunion.org.uk] Amicus's Wrecking Motion
[killercoke.org] The Real Story Leaflet
[killercoke.org] Killer Coke
[colombiasolidarity.org.uk] Columbia Solidarity Campaign
[IUF] United Nations to Investigate Coca Cola in Columbia
New! [New Statesman] Won't give the world a Coke
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 3rd March 2006

New Gazette Chair Steve Davison. Black is Back.

Simpson Seizes Control of the National Left
At the Annual General Meeting of the 'Gazette' Left grass-roots organisation earlier this month, General Secretary Simpson pulled off a carefully executed coup against the activists, using his two tame regions, North West and Yorkshire.

The odds were already heavily stacked against the other regions, Simpsonites having written into the constitution that meetings must always be held in Preston - a short walk for many in NW region but a £70 rail fare for London members.

Nevertheless every trick in the book was pulled: Never seen before young people were bussed in from the Labour Party Spring Conference in nearby Blackpool. The white middle-aged male stalwarts of NW region even brought along their wives to vote. Union employees had extreme pressure applied and some chose not to turn up rather than betray the activists outright. A Stalinist discipline was applied to all NW and Yorkshire members, who consequently voted en-block. In the first vote though the Simpsonites lost by 2 votes. Immediately a NW organiser left the room with mobile in hand and soon half a dozen more Simpsonites arrived.

The worst aspect of the meeting was the complete abandonment of the basic rule of trade unionism, namely don't stab your fellow workers-in-trouble in the back: Two of the union employees suspended by Simpson, the Gazette Chair Jimmy Warne and editor Des Heemskerk, were voted out of their positions by just 2 votes. This pretty well signs the 'sacking warrant' for them ahead of their disciplinary results later this month. Both of them left good jobs to join the union and will find it difficult to ever work again - this should remain on the conscience of the better NW and Yorkshire members. A few had even pressed themselves against the back wall hoping their betrayal wouldn't be noticed.

Jimmy Warne was replaced as Chair by Simpson's henchman Steve Davison, who adds it to his role as Chair of the union's executive and Simpson-appointed Chair of the union's Conference. A very unhealthy concentration of power in one very slick operator.

There were also Mccarthyist tactics deployed, with accusations by the Simpsonites that the 'trots are trying to take over the Gazette'. Actually none of the Gazette board are in the SWP. Des and Jimmy are Labour party members. On a new twist on the Zinoviev letter, Simpsonites waved a fax from a Socialist Workers Party (SWP) member which had been 'found in a pub'. The twist is that unlike the Zinoviev letter the fax was genuine (we have seen it) but it contains nothing sinister whatsoever.

The meeting was not without farce: Simpsonite Jimmy Barnes, editor of the once respected Trade Union Review and Chair of Trade Union CND got up to propose a motion calling for "the production of warships" with no apparent irony or shame. This completes a sad journey for Barnes, whose last edition of Trade Union Review was rabidly 'anti-Trot' and, effectively, defended Les Bayliss. Barnes has received a sizeable sum for TUCND from the union via Les Bayliss the then AGS in charge of Finance. He maintains these two facts are unrelated. TUCND by the way is not part of CND, but is supposedly anti-war, just not anti-warship.

Simpson's move is a severe blow to democracy in the union. Activists will vote with their feet now and stay away from National meetings, after all why bother getting up at 5am to get to Preston just to be shafted? They will drift away in disillusionment, it's all remarkably similar to what Blair did to the Labour Party. The authority of the National Left is now significantly devalued. However what remains to be seen is what Simpson tries to do with his absolute power. Des, Jimmy and Cathie will almost certainly be sacked but will Simpson extend his witch hunts to the SWP executive members and of course to www.amicus.cc? And then who?

New! [SWP] Amicus broad left group falls under Simpson’s control
[amicus.cc] Previous Story - Simpson Slips Up on Grass Roots
[amicus.cc] Previous Story - Baylissgate
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 25th February 2006

amicus.cc exclusive!

Simpson and Woodley. And then there were two..

GMB Union Out of Merger
We can report exclusively that the GMB are out of the super union merger project, leaving only Amicus and TGWU. The information comes from reliable Amicus sources. Seemingly the GMB were unwilling to agree to give Amicus General Secretary Simpson a blank cheque for finances, branch autonomy, pensions, budgets, rule books, staffing etc, all of which are to be 'agreed' after the merger. They may also have been put off by a secret deal whereby ex GMB General Secretary Kevin Curran, Simpson and TGWU GS Tony Woodley committed the new super union to affiliate to the American "Change to Win Coalition", a breakaway from the AFL-CIO, America's equivalent of the TUC. This would be a precursor to a cross atlantic mega-merger with the SIEU services union, a key player in the US breakaway coalition. Here's a description of SIEU, sound familiar?

"Obsessed with size and consolidation, SEIU is notable for the biggest, most geographically outstretched (therefore least participatory) local branches, the most aggressive application of trusteeship (stripping power from an inordinate number of branches), and the heaviest reliance on national staff with no experience in the jobs or culture of the workers. "

SEIU have recently called for the creation of "a new paradigm" of social partnership between global corporations and global unions. Sound like Sweetheart deals with employers and Blair's 'third way'?

The SIEU have already made a vast investment in the TGWU in terms of full time officials, training, research support and political lobbying. In return they demand 20% of the subs of each new member recruited. No wonder Amicus are currently valuing property and only recruiting temporary staff.

Simpson is probably also planning to breakaway from the TUC in a similar fashion to the US "Change to Win" initiative. He is the only union leader to attend not one of the 11 TUC executive meetings and not one of 7 TUC General Council meetings in 2005.
[CounterPunch] Change to Win - Is This Really an "Insurgency " to Shake Up the Labor Movement?
[amicus.cc] Previous Story - Super Union Project Underway
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 23rd February 2006

"'Twas the day before Christmas eve, when all through Hayes Court
Not a creature was stirring, or so we thought."

Get Your Hayes Court Here
The union's massive Hayes Court premises closed up early before Christmas, on Thursday 22nd. However the next day, when all should have been locked up and the car park empty, locals noticed plenty of cars in, and not the usual union Vectras. More like Minis and Mondeos - estate agent type cars. In fact, on enquiring, an employee was told that these were surveyors and valuers, in to price up the building while the staff were away. The sort of thing an unscrupulous employer might do. Under section 188 of the TULR Act, an employer proposing to make redundancies must begin consultation ‘in good time’, i.e. before valuing employees' workplaces for sale!

Hayes Court is only worth £3.5million as is but would fetch more like £14 million if it was converted to residential use. As the merger gets closer many amicus assets are likely to be valued in this way. Including human ones; the union is currently employing only temps and may be gearing up for compulsory redundancies.

"the children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads;
Now dash way! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 23rd February 2006

Turkeys Cancel Christmas - Until 2008
It's official. At last month's meeting of the Amicus Executive the elected members voted massively to extend their period of office until October 2008. This means they will not have to face a ballot in November this year, assuming their rule change is not ruled illegal. Only four members voted against, apparently other left members wanted to but were bound by the Gazette caucus.
[amicus.cc] Previous story - Super Union Project Underway
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 8th January 2006

BNP Trade Union unmasked
The anti-fascist magazine Searchlight has discovered that the British National Party have set up a trade union 'Solidarity – The Union for British Workers'. We have checked and it does appear on the Trade Union Certification Officer's list of unions. Searchlight reveal that Jay Lee is involved, someone who really was expelled from his union for BNP membership.
[Searchlight] BNP trade union unmasked
[Certification Office] Unions beginning with 'S'
[Searchlight] Home page
[amicus.cc] Previous Story - Amicus Member Charged with Damaging £20 of Flowers
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 27th January 2006

Secret NEC minutes Uncovered
Amicus.cc have discovered that the union keeps two written versions of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings. The NEC is the body that supposedly runs the union. Both set of minutes look very similar, both appear to be the final version, neither are marked 'draft' and both are stamped 'private and confidential'. However the two versions contain differences of major political importance. We have established that not only are the amendments in the second version never agreed by the NEC, the prior version is never even disclosed to them. All they see is the final, doctored and edited version.

We obtained secret versions of five NEC meetings from the union under the Data Protection Act. We have put up the most interesting one - the rowdy NEC meeting of 7th September last year (when all hell broke loose over Baylissgate). Alongside it you will see the official version for comparison.

Page 7. The biggest airbrushing of all is the complete removal of a landmark decision to support the Stop The War Demonstration last year. In the secret first version, in response to a branch motion it says succinctly:
"It was AGREED to support the Stop the War Coalition demonstration".
In the edited version this has become weaslyified:
"It was AGREED to permit members to take Amicus banners on the Stop the War coalition demonstration"
Mysteriously 2 other branch motions, not present in the first version, have been inserted into the second one.

Page 3. In the General Secretary's report to the NEC, the first version has no mention of a 'fundamental review into union properties'. However in the second version the NEC have miraculously endorsed this review.

Page 3. In the first set of minutes the union's voluntary redundancy exercise is 'confirmed' as being completed at the end of 2005. After editing, 'confirmed' has changed to 'hoped'. Following this the phrase "any FTO vacancies to be filled after that date would be by election" has been removed entirely. Election of FTOs (Full Time Officers) was the key pledge of General Secretary Simpson's election campaign, and was won dramatically at rules conference last year; most left activists now realise he has no intention of implementing it.

Page 5. The Baylissgate affair also gets the airbrush treatment. A new line has been added to note that "a very full report" had been given to the General Purposes and Finance Committee. Meanwhile a crucial GPFC recommendation that was agreed at the NEC has been removed and the subsequent recommendation re-numbered. It is thought that this editing was done to stop us winning an unjustifiable discipline case concerning the unions ill-fated trade mark action against this website. The removed point '(iii)' was the authorisation for the trade mark legal action and shows it was begun because we exposed Baylissgate, and therefore was unjustifiable discipline.

Page 5. Megalomergiamania pops up too: A statement about a 'strategic alliance' with the International Steelworkers and Machinists is 'to be discussed at the Next NEC' in the first version, in the doctored version it has become 'endorsed and to be copied to the next NEC'. We are left wondering if the NEC ever had a chance to see it let alone discuss it.

Page 6. The touchy phrase 'across Europe' in a motion to the Labour Party has been removed entirely in the second version.

Page 6. Here in the second version the responsibility for convening London regional council's inquorate meetings is specifically allocated to the Regional secretary employed by the union, as opposed to the elected president. No mention of that in the first version.

Page 6. On the equality census demanded by last years's policy conference, in the first version of the minutes it is 'no longer to be a priority' and is recommended for deferral. In the second version mention of the census is omitted entirely.

Page 6. In the first version it is admitted that changes to the NEC's standing orders must now be individually nominated because of a decision of the Independent Trade Union Certification Officer. In the second version mention of the Certification Officer has disappeared.

Page 6. In the first version the NEC agree to discuss a policy on age restrictions for retirement benefits. By the second version this decision, '(d)', has been deleted entirely.
[Amicus NEC Minutes] Page 1
[Amicus NEC Minutes] Page 2
[Amicus NEC Minutes] Page 3
[Amicus NEC Minutes] Page 5
[Amicus NEC Minutes] Page 6
[Amicus NEC Minutes] Page 7
[Amicus the union] Download the official minutes here
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 23rd January 2006

What's in a Domain Name?
You may never have heard of her. But now that Assistant General Secretary Les Bayliss has been relieved of his duties as Head of Finance, and given General Secretary Simpson's chronic megalomergermania, Georgina Hirsch is probably the most powerful person in amicus.

And what has this immense power been used for? Well lately a lot of effort has gone into registering web domain names. In fact we think Ms Hirsch has more domain names than any other person in the union. For example, while no 'Lesbayliss' domain names have been registered (except of course www.lesbayliss.com, which we have), the union has paid to register the following:

georginahirsch.co.uk
georginahirsch.com
georginahirsch.net
georginahirsch.org
georginahirsch.org.uk
georginahirsch.me.uk
georginhirsch.info

We can understand a certain paranoia after Derek Simpson failed to register his own '.com' domain, but really, '.me.uk'? Isn't that a personal domain Georgina? And georginahirsch.info? Even the General Secretary hasn't registered dereksimpson.info (which is still available if anyone wants it).

It's difficult to see why the union's Senior Legal Advisor would want all those domains. Maybe it's to stop them falling into the 'wrong' hands, but who would want them? We wouldn't have bothered to mention Ms Hirsch except for this story, let alone want to set up a website for her. These domains only came to our attention while compiling our defence against the union's trademark action. During that we discovered that the union had secretly registered cma2005.org as a spoiler for the genuine site www.cma2005.org.uk. Isn't that trade mark infringement?

Incidentaly it looks like the union have even reserved www.amicustheunion.cc. As if anyone would ever want a rubbish domain name like that.
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 17th January 2006

£12 - a small price to pay

Union Drops Legal Action Against amicus.cc
The union dramatically dropped its trade mark case against this website yesterday. The announcement was made by the union's solicitor at an Employment Tribunal case brought by amicus.cc editor David Beaumont. We had alleged that their trade mark action constituted 'unjustified discipline' against a union member - it was blatantly a retailiation for our publication of the Baylissgate documents.

The elderly Chair of the tribunal declared our case was 'fascinating' but this didn't stop him halting it on a technicality: Although the union had sent a solicitors letter to Mr Beaumont demanding the union's trade mark action costs, they had not actually posted an invoice, so the Chair ruled that the demand was not a 'completed act'. Therefore it could not be tested at a further hearing. The union will never issue such an invoice and has dropped its demand for these costs from amicus.cc.

During the hearing it emerged that the union produces two sets of National Executive minutes, an initial secret version never seen by most Executive members and the official one which mysteriously acquires subtle changes. The full story will be published here shortly.

New! Having approached the union for their legal expenses figure we now estimate the costs of their little trade mark adventure at about £20,000 of members money. Involved were three solicitors, seven solicitors letters, two hearings with the last one attended by a QC and a solicitor, well over 20 union letters and a 189 page bundle. amicus.cc's costs? £12 in tube fares.
[amicus.cc] Baylissgate - start here
[amicus.cc] Previous story - Legal Action Against amicus.cc
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 13th January 2006

Iraq War Could Cost US $2,000,000,000,000
A US professor and Nobel prize winning economist has calculated that the war on Iraq could cost the US in excess of $2 trillion. This figure excludes the costs to the UK or to Iraq. It averages out at an incredible $13,243 (£7,500) per working person in the USA. The figure is well over 10 times higher than previously thought.

In fact in 2003 President Bush rejected his own economic adviser's estimate of $200 billion. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld estimated the costs in the range of $50-60 billion, some of which he believed would be financed by other countries. US Deputy Defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz said at the time that Iraq 'could finance its own reconstruction'.
[Guardian] Iraq war could cost US over $2 trillion, says Nobel prize-winning economist
[Joseph E. Stiglitz] 'The Economic Costs of the Iraq War'
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 8th January 2006

Esher College - not training, merging

Super Union Project Underway
Whole teams of GMB, TGWU and amicus staff are apparently hard at work at the union's Esher Place training facility, planning the new super union, and they have produced a draft. They still can't agree who will run the super union, the latest idea is to 'go to the market' and recruit a 'CEO' from the world of business.

Historically one of the most prominent features of union mergers (apart from massive payoffs to redundant General Secretaries) is the propensity of officials to use them to try to avoid elections.

The three year term of office of the union's executive members expires in September this year. However at their last meeting they discussed dispensing with new elections on the grounds that the union will be merged in January 2007. A change to the rules of the union would be needed to push this through; such rule changes require the agreement of 75% of all the executive. Now getting 'turkeys to vote to cancel Christmas' would not be difficult to achieve except for the fact that the 75% of the executive who are such turkeys rarely all make it to any one meeting. In what would be an unprecedented move, General Secretary Simpson is considering a postal ballot of the turkeys.

If a merger agreement document is produced, the law allows elected officials to extend their term for an extra year, so effectively we may denied the chance to vote turkey (or otherwise) until 2008.

General Secretary Simpson's evident dislike for elections doesn't just extend to executive members and paid officials, apparently some elected lay members have already been told not to concern themselves about their re-elections due this year, because of the imminent merger.

Simpson's megalomergermania may not stop at his pet super union UK project; his 2005 Christmas card looked like this:

Sadly we didn't receive one, it must have been lost in the post this year:(
[Personnel Today] Draft plan for 'super union' gets under way
[The Times] Global role for super-union
[Derek Simpson] Season's Greetings
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 5th January 2006

Previous News
Bayliss Removed, Libel payout, The New Industrial Tryanny, Union Dirty tricks, Simpson Slips up on Grass Roots, No election of Officers Ever, 'Dear David'... A General Secretary Writes, Amicus Farm, Baylissgate, Another Assistant General Secretary Goes, Censored! (again), 'Bed Blockers' Conference Report, True Membership Figures Revealed, Amicus Theft Scandal Gets Dirty, Member Charged with Damaging £20 of Flowers and of course the full Baylissgate.
[previous news]
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 29th June 2005

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