Eastbourne, England: Unite the Union Conference

I was given the opportunity, along with eight other students, to attend a Unite the Union conference in Eastbourne, England. Unite the Union is an organization that tries to get different trade unions in the UK to work together and fight for their rights as workers. This particular conference was about globalization in the workplace. It was one course of many that is taken by non-traditional students wishing to pursue a degree in trade union and labor studies. These non-traditional students were mostly men (although there were some women) aged 25-50, who are trade union workers from around the UK.

The conference began on Tuesday, 23 February. We arrived in Eastbourne just in time for lunch, which was provided for us by the conference. We stayed at a very nice hotel/conference center called the Eastbourne Center. After lunch we had some free time to explore Eastbourne, as the lecture that was given that afternoon did not pertain to us. (It was about the Internet, and the center had a very limited number of computers, so we were unable to participate). I took this time to explore as much as I could in the short time that I had. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty crappy (about 45 and rainy), so I felt like it was difficult to truly judge the city, but it was very quaint and pretty. There was not much to "central Eastbourne" besides some furniture shops and restaurants, but I managed to find a cute little sweet shop, where I bought some candies that I had never seen before to try.

After our break, we attended the conference for a lecture. I will be honest when I say that I don't remember the content of this lecture, as it was mostly geared towards those in the Trade Union. Prior to the conference, the idea of trade unions was very abstract to me, so I used this time to read some of the materials that had been given to us about the history and purpose of trade unions so that I could get some perspective on what I would be learning in the coming days. After this lecture, we had dinner, and then headed down to the hotel bar to mingle with some of the Unionists. We still felt relatively out-of-place at this point, so we kept to our own group, and then eventually went to bed at a pretty early hour.

Wednesday we began bright and early with breakfast in the dining room. The day would be full of lectures by speakers from various parts of the world. Our first speaker was from the UK, and he spoke a lot about the history and organization of trade unions, and how they function on a global scale. Afterwards, we were given a 15-minute tea break before coming back together for our second set of speakers. This time, they were a man and a woman from Iraq. The man spoke of the way that trade unions work in Iraq, while the woman gave a much more enthralling speech about women's rights in Iraq. Her speech was compelling, and she was given a standing ovation by the group once she finished. Afterwards, I was able to speak to her for a little while, and she agreed to come speak at Syracuse University London, hopefully in accordance with upcoming Women's Rights Day.

We had lunch after this, and then came back together for the afternoon's speakers. We began with two men from Zambia, who talked about the trials and tribulations they have faced as a result of trying to organize trade unions in their country. Trade unionists are often faced with violence in foreign countries, and if not violence, then of persecution. (I was suprised to find out that this is even true of the United States!) After another brief tea break, we were faced with our fourth and final speaker of the day, who was a woman that briefed us on how to organize yourself and others on a global level, and how to do so successfully.

This concluded our second, and longest, day at the conference. Although it was long, though, it was incredibly interesting and really helped me to learn about the plight that trade unionists face. We were served dinner, and afterwards there was a little "party" in the bar downstairs for Andy, one of the leaders of Unite the Union, who was leaving to work somewhere else the following week. They got someone to come in and play live music, and everyone dressed a little bit nicer. Andy was presented with some gifts as well since the unionists were sad to see him go.

This was the time when we truly were able to mingle with the trade unionists. We had been sitting with a few of them at mealtimes, however, we had not been able to meet the vast majority of them. A few of them came over to us to tell us about things that they had been involved in or things that they had faced in their lifetimes. One man had been a part of the miners' strike in the late 1980s, and he was able to tell us what that was like. We also spoke to many other members of the course who were able to tell us personal accounts of their lives and beliefs. After the party started to die down, the majority of us headed up the street to a local pub where we spent the rest of the evening. Here I was even able to meet some local British boys (including the one who played guitar at the party), who I ended up playing pool with later in the night. It was a truly enjoyable night.

The following morning everything felt much more comfortable with the trade unionists, as they had become our friends and peers the night before. We were able to laugh with them and talk to them much more easily. Instead of having a speaker in the morning, we were asked to split into groups to talk about the Informal Economy and to try to develop a strategy to make sure that members of the Informal Economy are represented. They split our group up to go and work with members of the conference, and we helped give them some perspective on life in America, while they gave us persepctive on their lives in the UK.

After completing this session, we said our goodbyes, had a quick lunch, and then headed to the train station for departure. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Eastbourne (besides the fact that it was free food and no classes!) It gave me a lot of perspective on the lives of those with "blue-collar" jobs. I hope to extend this knowledge to my life, especially in the workforce (if I ever get a job :P).