'Mon the Workers: Celebrating 125 Years of the Scottish Trades Union Congress

The postman and the primary teacher, the midwife and the musician. Workers in shops, workers at sea. Solidarity with the Columbian farmer and the Palestinian fireman…   Modern trade unionists in Scotland perform roles in every imaginable location and are drawn from all backgrounds. They campaign to win on issues facing the colleague next to them or a comrade thousands of miles away. ’Mon the Workers tells their stories in their own words. It is a celebration of 125 years of the STUC, and a clarion call for the next generation to agitate, organise and win. This book demonstrates past achievements, explores the ideas trade unionists have fought for and rouses the movement towards future victories. 75 trade union members, reps and officials share experiences of union life from the anti-apartheid movement to Wick Wants Work. Alan McCredie’s charismatic portraits of 50 other activists from the trade union movement provide a complementary visual narrative. This very human book pulses with the energy of Scotland’s trade union movement, which has achieved so much and still has more to do.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Rozanne Foyer   Introduction   1. Victories Justice for Surjit Singh Chhokar Aamer Anwar Teachers’ march for better pay Adine Jones, Alison Beattie, Gillian  []  and Leah Anderson 50/50 Campaign Agnes Tolmie Wick Wants Work Allan Tait   Free school meals Andrea Bradley The battle of Kenmure Street Anonymous   Apartheid, Mandela and Scotland Brian Filling   Freedom From Fear for shopworkers Caroline Baird   Fast food workers rise up Claire Peden   Opposing dockyard privatisation Colm McConnell   Call Centre Collective Craig Anderson   UCS Work-In David Cooper   1985 Teachers’ Strike David Drever and May Ferries   Better Than Zero Eilish O’Keefe   Pharmacists prescribe change Gordon Finlayson and Paul Flynn   Stopping NHS Privatisation Grahame Smith   Responding to Piper Alpha Jake Molloy   Defeating university pension cuts in 2018 Jeanette Findlay   Standing together for equal pay Jennifer McCarey Caterpillar lock-in John Foster   Abolishing fire and rehire John Kelly   Building a winning branch John Neil   Time For Inclusive Education Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson   Menopause policy for railway workers Kim Gibson   Bargaining for NHS workers Lilian Macer   Keeping guards on trains Mary Jane Herbison   Saving the Fife yards Michael Sullivan   From Polaris to a Scottish Parliament Pat Milligan   Saving school kitchens Paul Arkison   Saving skilled jobs in a pandemic Paul Leckie   Blind workers’ rights Robert Mooney   Battle for Royal Mail Tam Dewar   Repealing Section 2A Tracy Gilbert   2. Ideas Worth Fighting For Black Workers’ Committee Anita Shelton   Resistance, unity and pensions Cat Boyd   Fighting for older workers Elinor McKenzie and Helen Biggins   Women’s Committee prison visit Janet Cassidy By artists, for artists Janie Nicoll and Lynda Graham  Helping the firefighters of Palestine Jim Malone   Visiting Palestine Liz Elkind   Michael’s Story and International Workers’ Memorial Day Louise Adamson Another side to the miner’s strike Margot Russell   Playing the union card Michael Devlin   Learning on the job Michelle Boyle   Anti-fascism, then and now Mike Arnott   A workers’ newspaper Ron McKay   Marching against racism Satnam Ner Solidarity with Chile Sonia Leal   Union learning and growth in the taxi trade Stevie Grant   Justice for Columbia Susan Quinn   Solidarity visit to Bhopal Tony Sneddon     3. The Struggle continues Pardon for Miners Alex Bennett Safe Home campaign Caitlin Lee Working together for climate justice Catrina Randall Protecting black workers in a pandemic Charmaine Blaze Climate and unions at COP26 Coll McCail Worker safety during Covid Deborah Vaile Unionising Produce Workers Derek Mitchell A unique LGBT Network Eilidh Milliken Changing the music industry Iona Fyfe Making a stand with Macmerry Keetah Konstant Battling labour casualisation in academia Lena Wanggren Action on Asbestos Phylliss Craig Asda equal pay Rose Theresa Skilling Carers during Covid Shona Thomson From Timex to Better Than Zero Stella Rooney Workers in the gig economy Xabier Vill0ares    

About the Author :
Daniel Gray is the author of Homage to Caledonia, Stramash, Saturday 3pm and Scribbles in the Margins. He has written eight other books on football, politics, history and travel. His recent work has included screenwriting, presenting social history on television, editing Nutmeg – a Scottish football magazine – and writing across a number of national titles. He also presents the When Saturday Comes podcast. Alan McCredie is the author of 100 Weeks of Scotland, Scotland the Dreich, Scotland the Braw and Edinburgh the Dreich. He has collaborated with authors Daniel Gray, Val McDermid and Stephen Millar on books including This Is Scotland, Snapshot, Tribes of Glasgow and Val McDermid’s Scotland. His work has appeared in national and international publications. As well as being a freelance photographer he is a lecturer in photography at Edinburgh College.  

Review :
Mon should grace the shelves of union offices across the country... well worth reading and well worth returning to as a resource. STUART FAIRWEATHER, DEMOCRATIC LEFT SCOTLAND Mon the Workers is not just a piece of commemorative history. It’s also part of the organiser’s toolkit. The power of these stories is that they are told by workers in their own voices. JENNI GUNN, SCOTTISH LEFT REVIEW