British Airways gets more of its planes airborne as mothers drag children along to the picket party Children, too young to understand the strikes, brandished placards with the words 'Backing BA Cabin Crew'
At the top, the Daily Mail's opening to an online piece about the BA strike. Note in the headline the use of the word 'drag'. Now substitute that for the word 'bring' and notice the difference. It tells you everything you need to know about the DM's attitude towards the strike.
I've no doubt at all that bringing along their children to the protest is a political move on behalf of the strikers. It's a good one and a valid one. To how many people is the image of cabin crew a bunch of long-legged sluttish women and lecherous men (if they aren't gay, or both)? Bringing along their kids reminds the public that a great many of these strikers are family men and women who are fighting for their jobs. It also emphasises that they are picketing peacefully and in accordance with all the rules.
It's a legal strike by desperate people against a management that resorts to dirty tricks and intimidation. I've seen several strikers interviewed on tv with their identities hidden because of their fear of management intimidation.
Me, I say fuck the Daily Mail and support the strikers.
1 comment:
On top of your comments, I would add that the strike is not merely about jobs - it's the crews' objection to management plans to simultaneously increase working hours and reduce pay.
If you remember the last two Tory governments' laws that all but criminalised unions, strike rights and picketing, the Labour Opposition screamed "disgraceful union bashing" and promised to abolish the unfair laws. It is a remarkable fact that the subsequent 13 years of "Labour" (champions of the workers?) have seen no changes: no new laws, no repeals of Tory ones, etc.
Question: Who do unions still bother to fund a party that no longer represents their members' interests?
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