Comments on: We are those lions

We are those lions

Abiezer — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:33:14 -0800

Jayaben Desai passes away. Ms. Desai came to national prominence in the UK for her leading role in the 1976-78 strike at Grunwick Processing's photo processing labs in North London, a dispute that shattered stereotypes about south Asian women workers in Britain, in the face of police violence, the antics of the McWhirter brothers and ambiguous support from the official trade union movement.

(The strike also inspired this dub number from Dennis Bovell).

By: msjen

msjen — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:38:36 -0800

I read her obit this morning in the Guardian and found myself very encouraged by such a courageous woman.

By: Ritchie

Ritchie — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:06:14 -0800

Wow, she sounds amazing. I'm long out of union involvement, but I remember occasionally I'd come across someone in the movement with the most breathtaking combination of arrogance and defiance in pursuit of worker's rights, and it was always those people I admired the most. Don't know so much about the UK union movement. The early labor movements in Australia were very racist (as opposed to today when they're just kind of racist). It was factions of the Labor Party that supported a nascent version of the White Australia Policy. Migrant workers are terribly vulnerable to exploitation, so it's good to read about Desai's example.

By: runincircles

runincircles — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 23:41:37 -0800

By: Katjusa Roquette

Katjusa Roquette — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:31:31 -0800

Early unions in the U.S. also were racist. Eventually that changed. I always admired strong trade unionists.

By: chunking express

chunking express — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:25:25 -0800

Sepia Mutiny on her death.