{"id":4117,"date":"2015-05-11T17:28:40","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T16:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=4117"},"modified":"2015-05-12T15:15:00","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T14:15:00","slug":"looking-into-an-abyss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=4117","title":{"rendered":"Looking into an abyss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the Tories swung into power last week \u00e2\u20ac\u201c despite securing little more than a third of the share of the national vote<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they are now unfettered by a coalition government, and have already begun their full-throttled attack on working people<\/a> and society\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most vulnerable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Standing up to the Tories over the next five years is now more important than ever. Their grip on control is virtually complete, and if we are to have any chance at survival as the unprecedented scale of their austerity programme is fully unleashed, solidarity is our only means and continuing the fight our only hope.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what you can do to take on the Tories.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Join a trade union<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Trade unions are organisations specifically designed to represent the interests of working people. In Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Britain, bad bosses have become emboldened by his pro-big business and anti-trade union agenda.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But with 6m members nationwide, unions have the power in numbers to confront the continued assault on working people. Not entirely convinced whether to join a union? Here are a few general benefits<\/a>, and here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a rundown of member benefits specific to Unite<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get\u00c2\u00a0more involved in your union<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A union is only as strong as its members \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this strength is amplified by numbers, but just as important is member involvement. If you are already a union member, getting more involved is the best way to fight Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s assault on social and economic justice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a member of Unite, the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest union, you can become more involved in union work in a number of ways.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite offers free courses<\/a> throughout the year for workplace, equalities and safety reps as well as lay members. You can also get involved with many of the various campaigns that Unite supports in its fight against low-pay employers and the government that subsidises them. You can find out about some of our latest campaigns here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Community activism <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unite has recognised that it is not only in the workplace where justice is often undermined. Those not in work – whether they are full-time carers, disabled, unemployed or self-employed – can also have access to the benefits of union membership through Unite Community<\/a>. Member fees are greatly reduced and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get to be part of one of the most exciting innovations in trade unionism in the UK now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just member benefits that draws thousands to Unite Community – it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the opportunity to organise and become involved in community activism, which has included campaigns against Tory benefits sanctions,\u00c2\u00a0 the bedroom tax, housing inequality and debt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite community member Bernadette Horton wrote about her first year in Unite Community<\/a>, during which time she got involved in campaigning against job centre sanctions among other forms of activism.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of her experience, she said: \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy first year as a Unite Community member can be summed up as exhilarating, educational, dynamic and \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the most wonderful aspect that Tories will shudder at \u00e2\u20ac\u201d empowering. Unite has given me the tools to effect change and enabled me to become a real activist.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You can, too, by finding out more about Unite Community here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tell your friends and family <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But getting more involved in itself, is not\u00c2\u00a0enough to fight the next five years of the Tories\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 onslaught. A coordinated and sustained movement is needed \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely critical that we grow that movement so that those in power have no other option but to listen to us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite head of community Liane Groves made this point exactly, as she explained why groups like Unite Community are needed now more than ever before.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are now looking into the abyss. The Tories\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00c2\u014112bn in planned welfare cuts will have an absolutely devastating impact on people across the country\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe unemployed, the disabled, those in in-work poverty, and the most vulnerable,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe only way to defend what will be people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plunging standard of living under Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s austerity Britain will be to organise and come together to continue highlighting the effects of the most devastating cuts that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve experienced in generations.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The fight, as they say, has only just begun.<\/p>\n

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

As the Tories swung into power last week \u00e2\u20ac\u201c despite securing little more than a third of the share of the national vote \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they are now unfettered by a coalition government, and have already begun their full-throttled attack on working people and society\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most vulnerable.   Standing up to the Tories over the next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[265,131,23,232],"wps_subtitle":"Fight back by getting involved ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117"}],"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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4120,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions\/4120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}