Meeting – North London Solidarity Federation

Hospitality Organising Meeting

We will be holding an open meeting on the 29th of March for hospitality workers who want to organise a union in their workplace. We will talk about ways people can organise at work that can actually get results, whether the problem is dodgy contracts, missed breaks, pay, or a wanker boss.

We believe that organised workers taking action into their own hands is what’s needed, not just having to leave your job, having to take it, or going through a big bureaucratic union or HR department. Come along to talk to organisers from SolFed and connect with local workers to discuss issues that face us at work and in the community and what we can do about it.

Although the meeting will be in Camden, London and that is the area we will be flyering in, if you work in a bar, cafe, restaurant, hotel or other hospitality venue and want to organise in your workplace, please get in contact with us wherever you are. We will also need people to help us flyer and otherwise spread the word, so please also get in contact if you want to help.

The meeting will be at 6pm, 29th of March, in the Castle Room at the Castlehaven Community Hub, 21 Castlehaven Road, London, NW1 8RU.

February Drop in Session

Need advice about an issue with your boss or landlord? Want support organising in your workplace or community? Want to talk about anarchism or syndicalism? Want to meet members of the group and find out how SolFed works? Just want to say hi? Then come see us at one of these drop in sessions.

The next session will be on Thursday, February 19^th, 19:00 – 20:00, at the London Action Resource Centre (LARC), 62 Fieldgate Street, E1 1ES. We will be in the upstairs rooms. If you can, please bring a donation for the space.

January Drop in Session

The next session will be on Thursday, January 15^th, 19:00 – 20:00, at the London Action Resource Centre (LARC), 62 Fieldgate Street, E1 1ES. We will be in the upstairs rooms. If you can, please bring a donation for the space.

Accountability and Abolition Discussion Group 02

Unfortunately we had to cancel this event. Hopefully we will hold it later in the month. Apologies for late announcement.

Our first discussion group on accountability and abolition was a success. We discussed the various public examples of “cancellation”, our own personal experiences with various forms of abuse, processes, why abusive behavior is so widespread within our society, and how individuals, radical spaces, organisations and individuals have struggled with holding people to account without either drifting into abuse apologetics on the one hand or recreating authoritarian structures of judgement and punishment on the other hand.

However, the session wrapped up with a lot more left to be said. What are the alternatives to what we do now? What are the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches? How can we reconcile the very different and sometimes contradictory experiences we have all had into a cohesive understanding of the problems? So we are holding a second discussion meeting on the topic.

Join us on the 5th of January at 7pm on the top floor space of the London Action Resource Centre (LARC), 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, E1 1ES. Please bring a donation for the space if you can, as LARC is run entirely off of the the donations of its users.

Discussion Group – Accountability and Abolition

There is no reading group this month, as it would fall to close to Christmas. However, people involved in the reading group wanted to further discuss some of the topics that came up from our reading of What About the Rapists and Abolitionist Voices. So, we will be running a special discussion meeting on what accountability means in radical spaces and movements, and how this fits into the anarchist stance of prison abolition. This may be a one off meeting, or the first of many, depending on what those involved want to do.

While there is no expected reading for this discussion group, some of the people involved have suggested reading We Will Not Cancel Us by Adrienne Maree Brown as a shared point of reference for the discussion.

Join us on Monday the 15th of December at 7pm on the top floor space of the London Action Resource Centre (LARC), 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, E1 1ES. Please bring a donation for the space if you can, as LARC is run entirely off of the the donations of its users.

December Drop in Session

The next session will be on Thursday, December 18^th, 19:00 – 20:00, at the London Action Resource Centre (LARC), 62 Fieldgate Street, E1 1ES. We will be in the upstairs rooms. If you can, please bring a donation for the space.

November Drop in Session

The next session will be on Thursday, November 20^th, 19:00 – 20:00, at the London Action Resource Centre (LARC), 62 Fieldgate Street, E1 1ES. We will be in the upstairs rooms. If you can, please bring a donation for the space.

New Monthly Drop In Sessions

We will be starting a regular monthly drop in session from this month. Need advice about an issue with your boss or landlord? Want support organising in your workplace or community? Want to talk about anarchism or syndicalism? Want to meet members of the group and find out how SolFed works? Just want to say hi? Then come see us at one of these drop in sessions.

The first session will be on Thursday, October 16^th, 19:00 – 20:00, at the London Action Resource Centre (LARC), 62 Fieldgate Street, E1 1ES. If you can, please bring a donation for the space.

Towards a Workers Centre: Building Worker Power in Tower Hamlets?

An event organised by Notes from Below:

Workers Centres have proven transformational for local organising initiatives, ranging from the defence of migrants to the waging of workplace struggles. Across this three-part series of discussions and workshops, we will explore what it would mean to establish a Workers Centre at Pelican House.

Join us to hear about the experiences of worker centres internationally with Janice Fine, followed by a roundtable discussion on the local challenges and opportunities in Tower Hamlets. Worker centres are community-based organisations that provide support and resources to low-wage and immigrant workers. They often focus on campaigning for workers’ rights, providing education and training, and helping workers navigate the law and regulation about work. After the speakers, there will be a practical workshop on building a worker centre in Tower Hamlets!

23 JULY- EVERYBODY WELCOME – NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE NECESSARY !!

Admission is free, though a £5 donations is suggested to support programming at Pelican House!

Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, E1 5QJ

Arrive from 6pm

Discussion begins 7pm

Social from 8:30pm

The venue has level access throughout and an accessible toilet.

Towards a Workers Centre: Fighting to Win – Organise Now, GAIL’s & Starbucks

An event organised by Notes from Below:

The international network of neighbourhood Workers Centres has proven transformational for local organising initiatives, ranging from the defence of migrants to the waging of workplace struggles. Across this three-part series of discussions and workshops, we will explore what it would mean to establish a Workers Centre at Pelican House.

Join us for a workshop to discuss the ongoing Organise Now x BFAWU campaign to unionise GAILs. The panel will feature hospitality workers, union organisers, and volunteers discussing how we can organise in non-union workplaces. We will also hear from a special guest from the Starbucks campaign in the US! Come and join the session if you work somewhere without a union, want to support a new union campaign, or just want to learn more about organising at work today.

25 JUNE – EVERYBODY WELCOME – NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE NECESSARY !!

Admission is free, though a £5 donations is suggested to support programming at Pelican House!

Arrive from 6pm

Discussion begins 7pm

Social from 8:30pm

The venue has level access throughout and an accessible toilet.