ladyxxxx
I think this is more or less the story.
Unite is the result of the eventual merger between Amicus and the TGWU a couple of years ago. Each of those unions was in their own turn a merger or amalgamation of other unions. Unite has over two million members and is the largest union in the UK. It exists to further the interests of workers in the UK and also overseas and to better enable them to deal with the challenges presented by the labour markets and forces in the 21st century. BASSA, which is an association of British AirlineS (my big S) Stewards and Stewardesses is a sub group of Unite. Unite also, in its charter, exists to promote its members interests politically. Therefore it is no democratic organization because it is by its own definition a political entity or and membership, for which you pay, presumes adherence to the party political line which is a bit far left or communist.
Hum-Confised? I also. But I think that technically the strike has been called by Unite acting as the protective umbrella for BASSA, the association, in this case the BA part of that association, which has voted by 92% on an 80% turn out, to strike. It is quite conclusive that the vote for a strike on the part of BASSA was overwhelming. Anyone who had done their union research would know that the timing of the strike was then going to be up to the militant factor. Militants are not known for their sense of christian charity. Trotsky deserved what he got all those years ago in Mexico but his venom lives on after him.
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