{"id":15693,"date":"2018-07-16T17:09:38","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T16:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=15693"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:37","slug":"unite-gs-salutes-thousands-who-protest-against-trumps-politics-of-division","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=15693","title":{"rendered":"‘Our message is clear \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be divided’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trade unionists joined protestors from across the UK as they flooded London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s streets on Friday (July 13) to march against US President Donald Trump and his politics of division and hate\u00c2\u00a0in one of the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest ever demonstrations.<\/p>\n

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The central London protest \u00e2\u20ac\u201d one of many demonstrations across the UK \u00e2\u20ac\u201d comes as Trump makes his first official UK visit as US President.<\/p>\n

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An estimated 250,000 people marched from Portland Place in central London and descended onto Trafalgar Square for a rally where Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other speakers addressed the crowds.<\/p>\n

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Demonstrators held signs reading \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Dump Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and other messages highlighting the US President\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia, as well as his track record on human rights abuses, his explicit climate change denial and his stance on other issues that harm working-class people and marginalised groups.<\/p>\n

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\"TrumpDemo137\"<\/p>\n

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Unite rep and Port Talbot steelworker Mark \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Pasty\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Turner, who joined the protest, said one major motivation for his attendance was the Trump administration\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recent imposition of tariffs on steel imports which has the potential to cripple steel industries across the world.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut more than that, Trump doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to understand what the rest of society is all about,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe wants to run a country like a business and he seems to think he can do whatever he wants. The bloke is just a businessman and you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have someone like that running the biggest economy in the world.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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‘Trump only understands the rich’<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrump doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand what it is to be a worker; he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand poverty \u00e2\u20ac\u201d he only understands the rich,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf there were only people like Donald Trump and his ilk running things, we as working people wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any rights. We as trade unionists need to stand up against that.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Turner was joined by Unite national officer Harish Patel, who told UNITElive the importance of standing up against all of Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s policies.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here representing my members in our opposition to steel tariffs but it goes beyond just this,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bClearly we need to show that we are united against all of his policies unless he comes in line with a civil society and stops trying to divide us.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite London and Eastern regional co-ordinating officer Sarah Cook said she felt what Trump was doing is \u00e2\u20ac\u015breally frightening\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHis attitude to women, some of the legislation he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brought in around equalities, his stance on climate change and so much more,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI have an 18-year-old son and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m worried about the world he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inherited.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Cook said it was important for trade unions in particular to stand up against Trump.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrade unions represent workers and their families \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s politics affects all of us,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe as trade unionists need to be right up at the front saying our work is not just about a single workplace issue or a grievance with your employer; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about the kind of society as a whole that we want to build and what our values are and what we believe in.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Rousing McCluskey speech<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey (pictured below) gave a rousing speech at the rally after the march to tens of thousands of people.<\/p>\n

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\"LemMcCluskey2\"<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur message is clear \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be divided,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told the demonstrators. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWorking people will always stand shoulder to shoulder.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur members are against Trump because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a racist, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sexist, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a climate change denier and because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a menace to world peace and to world prosperity,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

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McCluskey highlighted the wrongheadedness of Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s steel tariffs which are set to spark a global trade war and which Unite steelworkers are now fighting to protect their livelihoods and communities.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe all know what happens when trade wars begin,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re never a solution for working people. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never a win for workers playing this beggar-my-neighbour game.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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McCluskey said that Unite stands in solidarity with its sister trade unions in the USA \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwho every day have to put up with the excesses of their president.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bComrades we need to stand together,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added, as he highlighted the progressive alternative the UK has in Jeremy Corbyn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Labour Party.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how you put hope back into our communities \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not by spreading hatred and division,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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McCluskey warned the UK government to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bstop holding hands with Donald Trump.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098special relationship\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 with bigotry. Stop being bullied by a racist and semi-fascist warmonger. Give British diplomacy a new start now that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got rid of the ridiculous Boris Johnson. Speak up for peace and sanity. Speak up for equality and decency.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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The Unite general secretary urged the demonstrators to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bkeep believing in your values of justice and fairness.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou are the voice of millions who couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it today and I salute you,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he concluded to resounding applause.<\/p>\n

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Stand up for a fairer world<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn likewise addressed the crowds, urging them to stand up for a fairer and more just world.<\/p>\n

\"JeremyCorbyn13\"<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are asserting our rights to free speech and our right to want a world that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not divided by misogyny, racism and hate,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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Corbyn denounced Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Islamophobia \u00e2\u20ac\u201d most recently evidenced by his criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan \u00e2\u20ac\u201d as well as his withdrawing the US from the UN human rights council and the Paris climate change Agreement.<\/p>\n

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The Labour leader said that all change starts with people coming together \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that it is demonstrations like theirs that form the bedrock of democracy.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur rights to demonstrate in this wonderful square were hard fought and hard won,” he said. “Our rights to vote were hard fought and hard won, the right of women to vote was hard fought and hard won, the right for women to decide their own future and their own lives was hard fought and hard won.<\/p>\n

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“Our rights and our democracy come from people uniting together,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Corbyn added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen we divide ourselves by xenophobia, when we divide ourselves by hatred, we all lose.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\"TrumpDemo128\"<\/p>\n

All photos by Stefano Cagnoni<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trade unionists joined protestors from across the UK as they flooded London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s streets on Friday (July 13) to march against US President Donald Trump and his politics of division and hate\u00c2\u00a0in one of the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest ever demonstrations.   The central London protest \u00e2\u20ac\u201d one of many demonstrations across the UK \u00e2\u20ac\u201d comes as Trump […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[76,242,672],"wps_subtitle":"Unite GS salutes thousands who protest against Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s politics of division","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15693"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15693"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26051,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15693\/revisions\/26051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}