Scottish May Day

IN this my first column for the RMT News as SSP National Convenor I want to start by thanking Tommy Sheridan, MSP for the job he did before me. His is a tough act to follow. I know he is immensely proud of the RMT’s support for the Scottish Socialist Party. I am too. I know a little bit about this union’s history and the prominent role it played in founding the British Labour Party a century ago. Many meetings took place then with James Keir Hardie – like me a native of Motherwell – and others pointing out that the Liberals no longer deserved the support of workers and that they needed a party of their own. It is remarkable that in Scotland there are now meetings taking place all over the country with people looking at Tony Blair and the Labour Party in the same way as they once did the Liberals. And they see the SSP fighting for the interests of working people. I also appreciate from history that it was not just in Britain where railway workers led the way in promoting socialist ideas. In the United States for example the leader of the Railroad Employees Union Eugene V. Debs helped establish the Socialist Party of America and ran for President in 1912. He got a million votes. I follow the ups and downs of the socialist movement in the US with interest. The authentic voice of working people there is seldom heard around the world. The Edinburgh May Day celebration, which I help organise, intends to do something about that silence. In recent years many important figures have spoken here – including Tony Benn, Tommy Sheridan, Arthur Scargill and RMT General Secretary Bob Crow. We also had Paul Robeson Junior over from New York in 2001 to lead the parade. He was superb and had us enthralled with stories of his famous father. This year we are absolutely over the moon to have Bernie Sanders address us. Who, I hear you ask, is Bernie Sanders? Never heard of him? He is a socialist who sits in the US Parliament, the House of Representatives. That’s right! A socialist sitting in George Bush’s Congress. Bernie Sanders is the only member of Congress who doesn’t belong to the Democrats or Republicans. Yet he has been re-elected five times by the voters of Vermont. This last time with more than 60 per cent of the votes cast. His website contains a long list of causes he has fought on behalf of working people. G For universal free healthcare – 50 million American have none at all. G A national minimum wage level where people don’t need to have two jobs G Union protection against the corporate agenda for all workers G Opposition to the war in Iraq I believe it is the job of all of us in the labour movement including magazines like RMT News to try to get news of people like Bernie Sanders out to the wider world. I hope all RMT members will get along to support their local May Day celebrations. The Edinburgh one takes place on Saturday April 30 [that’s right May Day is in April this year!]. Come along and meet Congressman Bernie Sanders if you can. New SSP leader on board 26 New Scottish Socialist Party convenor Colin Fox MSP unveils plans for May Day