LGBT SOLIDARITY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2024 :: RMTnews 24 D elegates to the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans (LGBT) advisory committee meeting in Manchester received an invitation to get involved in a new collecting project to record the voices of railway workers from the LGBTQ+ community for the first time. Alison Kay, archives manager at the National Railway Museum, introduced the project called People, Pride and Progress, which will create up to 70 oral history interviews with people from the rail industry to document their experiences and to fill a gap in railway knowledge before it is lost. The rail industry has changed from an often-hostile environment for LGBTQ+ employees in the 19th and much of the 20th centuries to a much more diverse and accepting industry, but as a result of historic prejudice, information is not readily available, and few personal records exist. The project is expected to run until November 2025 and interviews will be added to the museum’s permanent collection and updates and results will be shared with the public throughout the project. Alison said that the huge shift in attitudes in society and the rail industry over the last 50 years is significant. “These changes have not been recorded and risk being lost unless these voices and stories are recorded now. Our work will be guided by the LGBTQ+ community and the rail industry and will enhance the national collection and our understanding of railway history,” she said. For more information, visit the museum website: www.railwaymuseum.org.uk RMT assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the trade union movement should be playing a unifying role in society. “We need to be breaking down issues that may divide us and creating the conditions for working class unity. “Regardless of where we come from and what community we represent we need to be binding together to campaign for the common good of everyone in the country,” he said. He outlined how the Tories had attempted to destroy RMT by attacking ticket offices, the role of the guard and pensions but had failed. “We will be having an election this autumn and we need to be lobbying the Labour Party to act in the interests of workers in Britain. “Whatever government comes to power it is clear that rail privatisation has failed, and a change is coming. We need to be arguing for common contracts, travel facilities for all and decent pensions to attract people into the industry,” he said. Local Labour councillor Sam Wheeler outlined the links between the gay community and trade unionism when he addressed delegates. “As an active trade unionist, I know that trade unionism is a form of love for our fellow workers. “We stand together on the understanding that we will back each other up when we get into trouble and when we want to achieve better conditions together,” he said. TUC equalities officer Quinn Roache said that trade unions needed a more constructive relationship with the next incoming government. “We need an end to hire and fire, more insourcing, removing anti-trade union laws and decent working conditions,” he said. LGBT SOLIDARITY