Activity

From the late 19th century onwards, Britain’s ruling class benefited from the rising productivity in the factories, imperialist domination in the colonies, a gendered division of labour in the home, and the relentless exploitation of cheap natural resources everywhere. These combined to facilitate …

If there is something poetic in these kinds of organising, it is poetry of the kind that Tom Leonard says most people do not think of as poetry: about politics, employment, what people do with their time. It goes far beyond what is considered the normal way of organising in the hospitality industry…

We didn’t go through legalistic routes with our action - it was a wildcat strike. Our walkout lasted less than an hour. But it took place on a Friday evening, so it went from maybe 200 people in the bar, over two floors, to the place being cleared because people weren’t being served for about 45 mi…

While hospitality retailing is significantly affected by both the climate crisis and the cost of living crisis, it is important to maintain sight of the fact that an enormous amount of profit is being made in this industry. Young workers have become the central target of the hospitality industry, a…

The story of Starbucks in the US is an important reference point for understanding organising in hospitality. The current wave of unionisation began in 2021 with the unionisation of a store in Buffalo, New York with Starbucks Workers United. At the start of 2024, Starbucks agreed to negotiate a col…