Our branch nominated the following candidates at our meeting on 12 January 2023.
- Graphical Paper and Media & Information Technology Industrial Sector Seat – Tom Murphy
- National Black and Asian ethnic minority Seat – Kingsley Abrams
- National Women’s Seat – Jane Stewart
- National LGBT+ Members Seat – Jenny Douglas
- National Young Members Seat – Frankie Leach
- London and Eastern Regional Seats (4 seats) – Richard Allday, Paula Brennan, Zimeon Jones, Monica Sorice
- National Retired Members Seat – Phil Wiseman
All candidates’ addresses and other details of the election can be found on the CES website. Ballots are being dispatched from Friday 27 March 2023 and voting closes at noon on Tuesday 25 April 2023. Members who have not received a ballot paper by 13 April 2023 should contact the ballot enquiry service by emailing support@cesvotes.com.
Tom Murphy
Graphical Paper and Media & Information Technology Industrial Sector Seat
Unite Membership No: 32684856
GPM London Print Branch: LE/7031L
Since being elected to the Executive Council in 2014, I have raised many issues, both industrially and politically.
Supporting our members interests in the Publishing, Print, Paper, Ink, Distribution, Broadcasting and IT Sectors.
We need to defend the terms and conditions of our members, making sure we have adequate resources to our organising and recruitment campaigns, and continued support for our representatives and activists when in dispute.
Our Sector is facing enormous challenges, New technology, and developments in print, and trends which are moving away from ink on paper.
At the same time technology is creating new roles and positions, we must make sure our members are trained to move with this technology rather than being discarded, when the Industry diversifies into other areas.
I have been an activist for over 30 years, starting with Sogat82, GPMU, Amicus and Unite. I am the FOC at Antalis, a paper and packaging company, Elected to the National Negotiating committee, ICE forum and EWC. With a strong National agreement covering hundreds of members.
As the Branch Secretary of the London Print Branch, with 1000 members, I have the experience of representing members in various parts of our sector, from the big chapels to the single members, who all play a big part in our Union.
I serve on both the National and Regional committees for our Sector.
Part of my role on the Executive is to promote and raise the interests, and issues of our sectors members, in addition, the EC must govern the union to ensure its future and ability to provide resources to further our aims and services.
If re-elected it will be a privilege to serve another term representing you.
Every Member Counts
TOGETHER-STRONGER-TOGETHER-UNITED
Kingsley Abrams
National Black and Asian ethnic minority Seat
Membership number: 32741831
Email: kingsleyabrams@gmail.com
- Political Officer LE1111 Housing Workers Branch
- Senior rep Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH)
- L&E Regional BAEM Committee member
- National BAEM Committee member
- CYWN4P RISC member
- Vice Chair CYWN4P NISC
- Vice Chair London Area Activist Committee
- L&E Regional Committee member
- L&E Finance and General Purposes Committee member
- L& E Political Liaison Committee member
I am standing for the National BAEM seat on the Executive Council.
BAEM members are being hit severely by the Cost-of-living crises. I will support a combine of BAEM reps across the country to fight for our members’ jobs, pay and condition. Our members deserve a liveable wage. Workplaces that take strike action will get my full backing. I will be your voice on the Executive Council and seek regular meetings with the leadership of Unite.
I will strive to put Equalities at the heart of everything that we do in Unite. I will speak up at EC meetings for BAEM members. I will travel up and down the country to consult with BAEM members. I will seek invitations to speak at least once at every BAEM regional/national committee meetings. I will present written EC reports to the NBAEM committee meetings.
If elected to the Executive Council, I will also campaign for:
- More Equality Impact Assessments.
- BAEM representation in public life.
- Opposition to the far fight
- Unite reaching out to Community Organisations
- Statutory Rights for Equality reps.
- Actions against All Forms of Discrimination.
- Actions to tackle Climate Change.
- Justice for the Windrush Generation
Jane Stewart
National Women’s Seat
Comrades
I am supporting our General Secretary’s Manifesto on Jobs, Pay and Conditions
I am proud to have been elected as women’s EC member and am seeking your support to continue.
I have been at the forefront of women’s issues since the day I started work in the chemical sector, a male dominated workplace.
I have been blocked from training overlooked for promotion,
Elected as a steward, now convenor I have fought for and achieved change, e.g. developing enhanced maternity provision and defending a defined benefit pension scheme.
There is much to do.
All workers particularly women have faced challenges in recent years and with the effects of a cost of living crisis the likes of which has not been seen since 1930’s. We need a strong experienced team to represent our members.
As a defender of lay member democracy, I believe our union should be transparent in its actions, under democratic control and accountable to its members. I can assure you that if elected, I will put the interests of our members first.
As we see our members battling insidious employers and winning, we know it’s time to fight.
It’s time to redress the balance for all workers, but specifically women who have been disproportionately affected by austerity, coming out of the pandemic worse than any other category of workers.
I will:
- Ensure equality issues are firmly on the agenda
- Robustly defend our NHS and public services
- Protect our Manufacturing base
- Campaign for the repeal of anti-trade union legislation
“Back to the Workplace”. Transforming our union. With Equalities at the forefront.
Sisters we deserve better, we are homemakers, we are world shakers. We are the fabric of society, and we will fight to win equality.
Sisters I am you; please Vote Jane Stewart
Jenny Douglas
National LGBT+ Members Seat
Frankie Leach
National Young Members Seat
As chair of the Unite’s national young members, I have worked hard to be a strong voice at a national level for our young workers.
We face a crisis for the future of Unite. The age of reps is getting older, but our membership rate for young workers isn’t growing at the rate we need it to. We have to work hard on the EC to make Unite a union that young workers want to join, and that requires a modern approach to organising the under-30s. I am committed to recruiting as many young workers as we can and will push for this on the EC, fighting for the future of our union.
I have experience in this, as a rep at my workplace in the Community Workers and Not For Profit sector I have led critical negotiations on pay and working conditions – issues that severely impact young members. I know the challenges we face as young workers, not just in our workplaces but in our union, and I’m ready to take them up.
I have had the joy of representing young members across the industrial committees, and youth structures for over 8 years now.
As your EC rep I will push for:
- More resources for our under-30s reps, including training for workers in unorganised workplaces with many young members
- A young workers recruitment strategy to prioritise the recruitment and retention of members under 30
- A close working relationship with the new Young Members officer, to ensure the needs of young members in Unite are championed at every level
I have the experience needed to succeed on the EC, so vote for me to start that work together.
Richard Allday
London and Eastern Regional Seats (4 seats)
I ask for your renewed support to represent London and Eastern Region on the Executive, supporting the manifesto that got General Secretary Sharon Graham elected. I stand for:
- A member-led, fighting-back union, winning in the workplace on jobs, pay and conditions.
- Solidarity – a union that stands by its members
Activists right across our industrial sectors can testify to my active support for members in dispute, in Unite and our sister unions.
- An organising union – that campaigns for workers’ rights
We need a member-led union focused on organising and fighting back. We need this more than ever, in manufacturing, in housing, and in the NHS – where our members are fighting to keep it serving public need, not private greed.
- Unity – a union that refuses to be divided
Having lived and worked on the East Coast all my life, I know the harsh reality in rural areas neglected by successive governments, in health, housing, public transport, and the low wages endemic in the east of our region. I reject the Tories’ crude anti-immigrant attempts to divide us. By standing together we all benefit.
- Against militarism – I reject the government’s continual drive to military solutions and confrontation rather than negotiation – fund welfare not warfare.
- Against anti-union laws – members first, not judges.
- Pro-active- a union preparing for the future
Facing the challenges of automation, we need a union focused on defending jobs. Principled – a union that cares
With the real threat posed by climate change, our union needs to both defend our members in employment, and our children who deserve a world fit to grow up in. I support Unite’s policy on a Just Transition to a Green Economy.
Paula Brennan
London and Eastern Regional Seat (4 seats)
Unite Membership no: 15142768
paulabrenn@aol.com
I am a member of the CYNFP Sector, a workplace rep, branch equalities officer, sit on the RISC and NISC ,I have been elected as the L&E Regional Women’s chair, sit on the L&E regional committee, F&GP and am the Vicechair of the National women’s committee.
My previous experience on the EC and working in the RTC Sector for many years, has given me a wider understanding of how best to support all our members.
I have stood in solidarity on picket lines and will continue to support our members whichever way I can.
If elected as your L&E Territorial EC member, I would be a strong voice for all members and the region, fighting for Equality for all.
I am standing on the Members First platform which believes in:
- A fighting back and organising union where our reps determine its priorities and strategies. Resources focused on ramping up the fight against bad bosses, always remembering that our power lies with the membership.
- A democratic Union where the membership delegates the necessary authority to our reps and activists.
- A united Union working for equality for all its members and within the Union itself.
- A financially sound Union with resources at the coal face, where any financial and ethical wrongdoing is exposed and those responsible held to account.
- A Union that punches its weight politically. It’s only bosses and the Right that benefit when our Union abandons politics. The assault on trade union rights must be confronted loudly, publicly and by working with every ally in Parliament, in our sister unions and on the streets.
Zimeon Jones
London and Eastern Regional Seat (4 seats)
Membership Number 20113942
Constituency: London and Eastern Region
I currently represent the L&E region at the Executive Council.
Unite roles are: Equalities Officer LE/2000 BASSA branch, Regional LGBT+ committee, Civil Air Transport RISC & NISC, London TULO, Unite Future Leaders panel and Unite Trustee. I have helped members in the region facing bullying and harassment, fire and rehire, with financial enquiries, political campaigns, industrial disputes, Unite recruitment, equalities and accountability of staff and improved stewardship of our finances. I believe we are at our best when the power of the membership is harnessed and respected, putting members first.
I am standing on the Members First platform which believes in:
> A fighting back and organising union where our reps determine its priorities and strategies. Resources focused on ramping up the fight against bad bosses, always remembering that our power lies with the membership
> A democratic Union where the membership delegates the necessary authority to our reps and activists.
> A united Union working for equality for all its members and within the Union itself.
> A financially sound Union with resources at the coal face, where any financial and ethical wrong doing is exposed and those responsible held to account.
> A Union that punches its weight politically. It’s only bosses and the Right that benefit when our Union abandons politics. The assault on trade union rights must be confronted loudly, publicly and by working with every ally in Parliament, in our sister unions and on the streets.
Monica Sorice
London and Eastern Regional Seat (4 seats)
I currently represent the L&E region at the Executive Council.
Unite roles are: Full-time H&S Representative for the F&L sector, Branch Chair, L&E Regional and FG&P Committee member, F&L RISC and NISC member and Labour Party member.
Having worked for various sectors such as Civil Aviation, Service Industry, Food and Agriculture and recently Finance and Legal, in these last three years on the Executive Council, I’ve felt privileged to better understand, campaign and support the London and Eastern members.
Through the knowledge acquired via my Unite H&S role, I constantly deal with issues arising from the increase in stressing level, mental & physical abuse and deteriorating working and pay condition which our members have been experiencing in their working environment.
I am therefore standing on the Members First platform which believes in:
- A fighting back and organising union where our reps determine its priorities and strategies. Resources focused on ramping up the fight against bad bosses, always remembering that our power lies with the membership
- A democratic Union where the membership delegates the necessary authority to our reps and activists.
- A united Union working for equality for all its members and within the Union itself.
- A financially sound Union with resources at the coal face, where any financial and ethical wrong doing is exposed and those responsible held to account.
- A Union that punches its weight politically. It’s only bosses and the Right that benefit when our Union abandons politics. The assault on trade union rights must be confronted loudly, publicly and by working with every ally in Parliament, in our sister unions and on the streets.
Phil Wiseman
National Retired Members Seat
Thank you for the massive support in the nomination stage of the election. They have come from all over the Unite the Union family, from Aberdeen to Bristol and from Cleveland to Ireland. It is an absolute privilege to represent this sector and to speak on your behalf. As a trade union and equality activist all my life, I put the retired members of our union first, representing them and across the country. I have a track record of representation across all geographical areas of our union, from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Gibraltar as well as England. With the cost-of-living crisis, impacting on our members more and more, we need to be at the forefront of campaigns to protect the most vulnerable pensioners. From the NHS to pensions payments, from the cost of the television licence to the WASPI campaign, this Government have failed. As your executive member, I will continue to fight back, so that our voices are heard and you have somebody in your corner, who will listen and understand your concerns. We will continue to empower you, as members in our union, through better benefits and more regular events/socials to listen to your concerns. The cost-of-living crisis will continue to impact our members, many of whom are already having to choose between warmth and heat. We live in the 21st century and we must be able to look after those who have contributed to society. All retired members must have a warm home, food on the table and be able to socialise with others as we get on with life. Many vulnerable retired members need our support. I will fight for you on every demonstration, every street corner, in every forum, so you have a voice. I will be there for all retired members.