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Vol. 74/No. 14      April 12, 2010

 
British Air cabin crews walk out
 
BY ROSE KNIGHT
AND JIM SPAUL  
LONDON—British Airways cabin crews, members of the Unite union, went on strike March 20 for three days to protest proposed job cuts, and reduced pay and benefits for new hires. The union organized a second strike of four days beginning March 27.

Eighty percent of the 12,000 cabin crews joined the first walkout. There were four picket lines at locations around Heathrow Airport with strikers holding Unite banners and many drivers honking in support as they drove past.

The opposition Tory Party condemned Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Labour Party, charging he hadn’t sufficiently distanced himself from the strike. Unite is the largest contributor to the Labour Party, giving £11 million ($17 million) in the last two years.

Paul Davies, Communist League parliamentary candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow, joined the picket line March 28. “All working people have a stake in this fight,” he said. “The BA strikers offer an example of how workers can fight when the bosses attempt to cut jobs and deal us blows.”
 
 
Related articles:
Unionists rally behind grocery store strikers
Boston school workers protest cuts, layoffs  
 
 
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