Andrea Gilbert, IWW BAME officer
Hi Everyone,
I am delighted to be elected the BAME Officer for the IWW. I chose to stand for the role because I noticed there was nowhere for BAME members to self organise. I am looking forward to meeting new faces and strengthening BAME organising in the workplace. I have a really varied background, including organising a campaign week for carers with local activists in my local community. This was supporting campaigns related to the Social care sector and we raised £200 for 19,000 unpaid carers in Wandsworth. I also have experience organising within the workplace, campaigning on Racism and refugees’ rights as well as supporting homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The workers’ needs come first and equipping workers with knowledge and skills is key to getting our union to where it needs to be. I am passionate about BAME members having a voice within the IWW and ensuring they’re heard in the union. My aim is to hold regular meetings with BAME members to find out the issues within the workplace, supporting their needs with action when needed and providing up to date training sessions on local and regional organising.
This month is Black History celebrating the contributions of Black people in the UK. The role of the IWW is key to supporting Black workers in the workplace ensuring that they have tools for fighting discrimination and having organising training for when further action is needed.
On the IWW website we will be having articles written on a weekly basis for the whole month discussing Black organising in the IWW, and on the final week of the month there will be a Black organising session – so please look out for date and time on the website. Look out for more on our social media channels too: IWW Europe on Facebook, iww.europe on Instagram, or @iwweurope on Twitter.
If you would like to write an article for the website or would like to discuss the organising event, please contact me on bame [at] iww [dot] org [dot] uk.
Andrea Gilbert,
IWW BAME Officer
