Birmingham Socialist Worker Student Society

Tomorrow will see the biggest strike since 1926. This is exactly the sort of action we need to smash the Tories. And we’re going to be up very early visiting picket lines so this post will be brief…

A one day strike of 3 million workers in an excellent start, but on its own it wont be enough. We need a campaign aiming to win and beat the tories.

To this end, our meeting on thursday at 5pm will be “After N30: How do we bring down the government?” and will include a talk from local NUT member Doug Morgan, who was heavily involved in building the N30 strike in this city.

The meeting will also serve as our AGM as a guild society.

5-7pm, harvey milk room, guild of students, thursday 1st dec.

May 1968 saw the start of a massive student revolt in France, developing into the biggest general strike in history as workers joined the struggle. President Charles de Gaulle was forced to flee the country fearing a revolution, and similar uprisings were sparked across the globe.

The movement eventually died down, and the authorities reasserted themselves – but why? And what lessons can we learn from the events of 1968 today?

These questions are more relevant than ever now, as we approach the national student demonstration on the 9th of November, a year on from the student protest which saw the Tory Party HQ trashed, and as the mass strike of 3 million workers on the 30th of November draws closer – with many in the student movement calling for a complete higher education shut-down on that day.

Join us on the 10th of November, the day after the national protest, to discuss what happened in 1968 and what it means for us now. A local activist will introduce the subject, and then there will be open debate and discussion.

Today around 50 students at the University of Birmingham occupied the corporate conference centre on the top floor of the Staff House in protest against massive cuts to and the privatisation of our education system, and to build the national student protest on the 9th of November. The occupation followed a demonstration in the centre of the university.

Here’s some photos of the demonstration:

More info on the brumoccupation blog.

We are told that the oppression of women is finished, that the fight for women’s liberation is won. 

Yet it only takes a casual glance to see that sexism is still rife in our society. From the ‘ironic’ chauvisnism exemplified by a line of Topman T-shirts making light of domestic violence, to the recent attacks by the Tory government on abortion rights, to the comment by a Toronto policeman blaming victims for rape, which sparked a series of ‘Slutwalk’ protests (pictured)–these are not isolated incidents but are part of an ugly trend.

But the questions remain, why does sexism exist? How can we fight back? And how can we end it once and for all? Come to the meeting and join us in discussing them.

The site is alive again, and the SWSS is back for another year!

Real posts to follow.

A co-ordination meeting in order to plan for the mass strike on the 30th of June. Speakers from the NUT, Unison, PCS and (hopefully) the NUJ on the subject of how to integrate students into the strike and prepare for it will naturally be followed by open debate and discussion.

The 30th of June will see a potentially massive coordinated strike action on a national scale from teachers, civil service workers and lecturers among others striking in defence of their pensions and in the context of massive attacks on the welfare state.

This is the next step in the fightback against the cuts after half a million people took to the streets of London on the 26th of March, and so it is crucial to organise and build support for it on campus where lecturers in UCU will be out on strike.

In Birmingham this has the potential to be the largest and most effective strike seen in decades, and a mass solidarity demonstration is planned. Come along and be a part of it! Invite your friends, and let’s make this a strike to remember!

5:00 PM, Wednesday 25th May, Thompson Training Suite, University of Birmingham Guild of Students

Facebook Event

EDIT: the meeting will now be at 5pm Wednesday, as originally advertised. It turns out the Guild referendum hustings are on Tuesday, not Wednesday, and will not conflict.

As anyone reading this will probably know, the Guild of Students is currently holding a referendum on whether or not it should support the upcoming UCU industrial actions.

So as not to clash with the referendum hustings, the time of our planned meeting has been changed from 5PM to 6PM, in the same place.

A public meeting hosted by the Socialist Worker Student Society.

Last year saw the birth of a mass movement against austerity, with the student revolt shaking the Con-dem government. The 26th of March this year saw half a million people on the streets of London marching for an alternative. And on the 30th of June, a million public sector workers could be out on strike.

But how does the resistance organise itself? Are traditional forms of organisation outmoded and irrelevant? Are decentralised, leaderless networks the way to go, or do we need something more structured? Come along if you’re interested, and join the discussion!

Wednesday 11th March, 5:00 PM
Basement Meeting Room, Guild of Students

All welcome.