Bernie Sanders backs RMT and the striking UK. Bernie Sanders and Mick Lynch join forces to support rail strikes. The pair embraced at a transport rally in London. Mr Sanders addressed the Save London Transport rally. Unions, including the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), organized the rally in central London on Wednesday, 31 August (the telegraph). The rally was new solidarity between the American and British left parties. Corbyn’s and Sanders’ fans feel close to each other.
Who is Jeremy Corbyn?
According to Politics, Jeremy Corbyn became the Labour MP for Islington North in 1983. Then he was reelected in 2019 with a majority of 26,188. He served as Leader of the Labour Party between 2015 and 2020. After Labour’s defeat at the 2015 General Election and Ed Miliband’s subsequent resignation, there was a leadership race. Corbyn declared his candidacy and his campaign became a surprise hit. He took his left-wing, anti-war, anti-austerity, and pro-nationalisation values to rallies across the UK. Corbyn easily won the leadership, securing 59.5 % of the party membership.
Who is Bernie Sanders?
According to the Telegraph, Mr Sanders, 80, represents the state of Vermont. Mr Sanders competed for the US Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. As it says in Labour Heartlands, Sanders is a democratic socialist. His progressive campaigning helped sharply push the US Democratic Party agenda to the left. He ran to be US president in 2020. Ultimately, he lost out on the party nomination to eventual election winner Joe Biden. As GQ Magazine says, Sanders was an ageing left-wing candidate, popular with students, the young, celebrities and professional urbanites. He was a natural campaigner whose opponents claimed his socialism was an existential threat to the nation.
Bernie Sanders backs RMT and the striking UK
On 24 August 2022, RMT said Bernie Sanders would join an RMT rally on Wednesday 31 August. He would join the rally in solidarity with transport workers and their fight for a decent public transport system.
According to Reuters, Bernie Sanders joined striking British workers at a trade union rally in London on Wednesday, 31 August. He said workers must stand together to fight back at what he called “corporate greed”. RMT union hosted the event. RMT has been at the heart of strikes that have crippled Britain’s transport network in recent months. The workers demand better pay and conditions to counter the high energy price-driven inflation.
In the same line, Macau News Agency says that Bernie gave his backing Wednesday to striking British workers. He urged global solidarity amid surging inequality. He added an international dimension to the growing push for higher wages in the UK.
Inequality in the UK
“People worldwide need to stand together to tell the oligarchs they cannot have it all,” Sanders said. “No one can tell me from a moral or economic perspective that it makes any sense at all that so few have so much and so many have so little.” (Reuters). “I want to convey my belief that millions of working people throughout this country are proud of what you do. They’re proud of your fight for justice, and we stand with you,” Sanders told the crowd. Comparing glaring income inequality in the US and UK, he urged solidarity. Sanders added that the UK is in a surging cost-of-living crisis. Inflation in the UK is at a 40-year high of 10.1 per cent (Macau News Agency). Thus Bernie Sanders backs RMT and strikes the UK in a fight against inequality.
Industrial unrest in the UK
Bernie Sanders backs RMT and the striking UK. Sanders’ support can lead to wider strikes. According to Reuters, British workers across various industries have decided to strike this summer. They will go on strike as double-digit inflation surges ahead of wage increases. The workers are from multiple industries, from refuse collectors to court barristers to postal workers. One transport workers union earlier on Wednesday announced a 24-hour strike next month. Workers of the telecoms group BT, delivery service Royal Mail and journalists at media company Reach all held separate strikes.
In the same line, Macau News Agency says industrial action has been increasing for months. Industrial activity has spread from the railways and aviation to postal services, telecoms and even criminal lawyers. Health service workers, including nurses and junior doctors, are currently being balloted for strike action. On Wednesday, 31 August, the TSSA union announced a 24-hour strike by train drivers on September 26-27.
Corbyn and Sanders are getting closer to each other
According to the Guardian, there are many similarities between Corbyn and Sanders. Both are happy to call themselves socialist. Both have similar political programmes. Defending or arguing for a health service free at the point of use is vital for both. They both believe in social justice. They battle the power of big banks and financial institutions. They both believe in a higher minimum wage and investment in infrastructure. Both were early advocates of action on climate change. Perhaps the most striking thing is vast and enthused following of young people they have attracted. They have mobilised young people in unprecedented numbers.
Bernie Sanders backs RMT and the striking UK, and so does Corbyn. According to Express Mon, 5 September 2022, Jeremy Corbyn has called for “a winter of discontent”. He backed into trade unions grinding Britain to a halt in the coming months. The former Labour leader called for action as he attended a rally with the hard-line RMT boss Mick Lynch. He addressed hundreds of people in Norfolk. He urged workers to cause havoc across the country by taking part in industrial action. He said: “All workers across all industries deserve fair pay, conditions and treatment at work. The audience welcomed his remarks with cheers.
Final remark
Sanders joined striking British workers at a trade union rally in London on Wednesday, 31 August. He said workers need to stand together to fight back at what he called corporate greed. People are sick and tired of often working long hours for low wages. They are sick and tired of their kids having a lower standard of living than them. They are sick and tired of billionaires getting richer while falling behind (User Walls).
Bernie Sanders added an international dimension to the growing push for higher wages in the UK (France24). Sanders said, “What is going on today in the UK is no different than what is happening in the US. “In 2022, we cannot allow that to happen, whether it’s the UK or the US. Speaking ahead of the event, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch made a speech. He said, “it is great that senator Sanders has come over. He is here to express his solidarity for workers in the UK” (ITV). Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour also attended a rally with the hard-line RMT boss Mick Lynch. He gave a call for action (Express). The similarities between Corbyn and Sanders have been long remarked upon (QUARTZ). Now, Corbyn’s and Sanders’ fans show solidarity to fight against injustice in the UK.
