unite Life “”


The advantage of being a community member is you have union support behind you and this increases your bargaining power


Sheila Coleman


Sheila Coleman’s fight for Hillsborough justice led her to join Unite


BY MARK METCALF Long walk to justice


It’s only now, nearly 24 years on from the Hillsborough tragedy that the victims’ families can truly begin to mourn for their loved ones. And much of that is thanks to the courageous fight by campaign groups, including the Hillsborough Justice Campaign (HJC). Now seasoned campaigner and HJC spokesperson Sheila


Coleman (pictured), has been appointed by Unite to be our new North West community co-ordinator. Sheila joined Unite after speaking to the Liverpool CASA


branch earlier this year because, “I felt the political climate is right for this type of trade union, as the demarcation between the employed and the unemployed is no longer so clear, and far too many people are out of work and effectively left without a voice.” Being voiceless was also the case in 1989 for Liverpool


supporters, who found themselves blamed for the tragedy in which 96 of them lost their lives. Sheila, a life-long Liverpool fan, was determined not, “to allow


Hillsborough to go down in history as a disaster caused by drunken ticketless Liverpool fans.” She attended many of the subsequent inquests and co-wrote the first critical report into the avoidable tragedy that resulted from a breakdown in police control. Although they often had “no news to talk about,” she and HJC members, families and survivors met every Monday for over two decades.


34 uniteWORKS January/February 2013 Numerous setbacks failed to prevent the ongoing campaign


for justice and in September 2012 the Hillsborough Independent Panel – established by the previous Labour government to ensure the full story was finally told – confirmed much that HJC had been saying for decades. The panel’s findings included revealing that the cover up


extended to police trying to blame Liverpool fans; and shamefully that 41 of the 96 who died could perhaps have survived if the police and ambulance service had responded more effectively. The director of public prosecutions is now conducting the


biggest ever investigation into police behaviour in the UK. This will take many years. Sheila says the HJC will continue as, “the cover up has shaken the nation and it goes to the heart of society if we can’t trust the police as an institution. We must keep up the pressure for everybody’s sake.” In November, Sheila received, on behalf of the HJC, the Long


walk award at Liberty’s human rights awards. She now hopes to persuade many more people to become campaigners in their local communities by joining Unite. “Saving a library, keeping the NHS public or fighting workfare requires collective organisation and campaigning. The advantage of being a community member is you have union support behind you and this increases your bargaining power.”


Mark Harvey


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