a M
H kr
yevra
UnITE buildingWORKER at large ‘JOIN THE UNION’
Sixty-five years a member, John Winstanley tells it like it is
In his decades in the union, retired UCATT shop steward and joiner John Winstanley has seen it all.
He was recently presented with an award for his 65 years as a union member, first in ASW, then UCATT and, after both respective mergers, in Unite.
John remembers first joining the union as a young apprentice in the late 1950s.
“There were 12 apprentices, and only two of us joined the union. We were employed by Worthington, which was in financial trouble. When the company went to the wall, me and the other apprentice were told to go straight to the union office.”
John and his colleagues were badly let down by their employer – they were given no notice, no redundancy, nothing.
“But the two of us who joined ASW were given support to find new jobs – the other boys had to make their own way.”
He shows buildingWORKER a badge paying tribute to Mark Allen, the son of a close friend Frank Allen. Mark lost his life after a roof he was working on in Australia suddenly collapsed.
“He was killed instantly.”
John recalls a close call of his own, when he was in the service lift of a 10 storey high building. Little did he know that the scaffolding had been dismantled prematurely, and the lift suddenly went.
He was left dangling in the lift shaft inches from near death. His jumper had snagged on a ‘divvy dag’, or threaded bar, that was sticking out of the concrete, and it was the only thing holding him up. His colleagues then pulled him up to safety.
“I still have the jumper I wore that day, a jumper my wife knitted. I always say the lads saved my life, and my wife did too.”
Other notable moments for John include speaking at union conferences, and the major role he played in a picket at Liverpool Teaching Hospital, during the 1972 national builders’ strike.
While John recounts some of his happier memories, there were dark times too.
Being a blacklisting victim meant he often struggled to find work over his lifetime – he’s worked for a staggering 57 employers. He’s witnessed the transformation of the sector, from direct employment being the standard to the bogus self- employment that dominates today.
Ever the optimist, John continues to attend his branch meetings religiously, at the age of 83. He pays tribute to his personal heroes in the union movement, including Leo McGree, John Thompson and George Guy, among others. And for young people just starting work in construction, he has one message: ‘Join the union!’
n By Hajera Blagg
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
