Category Archives: Reels

Issue 31, Feb 2012 *** Watch Trailer ***

Thanks to your support, the DVDs are now printed and ready to go out. We’ll send the preorders out before we leave for Greece. Check out the trailer, and see below to order. If you like it, why not take out a subscription?

ReelNews31 Cover

 

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1. Balfour Beaten! (Reel News, 17:02) Historic victory for the rank and file sparks in the most important industrial dispute for 25 years.
2. Blacklisted – new 2012 version (Reel News, 21:00) As the sparks go on the offensive, this will be one of the main demands – an end to the illegal blacklisting of building workers for trade union activities.
3. CHICAGO Schools: Shutdown at the CPS Board Meeting (Labor Beat, 22:00) A new regular slot on Reel News from Labor Beat in Chicago, this film is about the campaign to save community schools.
4. Banner Theatre: Fighting The Cuts! (Reel News/Banner Theatre, 8:00) An extract from their latest inspiring show. Banner’s survival is itself under threat from cuts, please help them out!
5. Jet tanker drivers dispute (Reel News, 3:45) Strike over a 20% pay cut from a firm making $3.2 billion profits.
6. BULGARIA Fracking Victory! (Climate Action Coalition Bulgaria, 9:00) Huge demos in Bulgaria force the Government to ban the dangerous process of fracking.
7. MEXICO Arte Urbano (Reel News/The Treatment Rooms, 23:10) The Treatment Rooms work with excluded youth in Mexico to make a beautiful ceramic mural.
8. MEXICO Zapatistas: March for Peace (Alaghom Films) The Zapatistas march against Calderon’s drug war.
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Reel News is going to Greece; help us get there

Reel News have been asked to go on a solidarity trip to Greece in two weeks time. The delegation trip will last three days, but we are planning to go for two weeks in order to report about different aspects of the Greek resistance on film and photo.

We need to raise £1,500 very quickly to cover the costs and to pay the bills we have this month before we go. We put together a newsletter, please share with anyone you think may be interested.

UPDATE: Thanks very much everyone for the amazing response to our appeal. We have now received £568 in cash, cheques and via Paypal, which means we’ve been able to buy our tickets out to Greece. Now we need the money to get home again! Another £560 has been pledged, but may not arrive in time before we leave on the 16th – and even if we include that money we’re still £372 short of our target. So if you or your union branch has promised money, please try and send it as soon as possible – and please keep sharing this appeal to anyone you think might help. Thanks again!

Greece general strike

We plan to meet up with:

  • Hospital workers who are occupying their hospital
  • The steel factory that has been in occupation for over three months
  • Media workers producing their own newspaper
  • Students occupying their universities
  • The electricity workers who refused to implement a supplement on electricity bills to pay the deficit
  • Migrant workers and the situation at the greek borders

Let us know if you know of anything else we should be covering.
Greece general strike2

Our first funding appeal by text message has raised £470 – some of which hasn’t come through yet. We need another £1,000 to make this trip happen! Help us by making a one off donation, buying DVDs or taking out subscriptions. We’ve got the flights covered, but will have other expenses for travel, food, phone bills and additional equipment.We will undertake to provide a full reportback on the trip to all trade unions or other organisations and institutions who can sponsor us, as well as of course producing a film of the trip.
In addition to the support we have so far gotten to go to Greece, we have raised the £350 necessary to produce the upcoming issue 31. The DVDs should be ready to send out by the end of this week, so if you haven’t got it yet, pre-order now.

 

ReelNews31 Cover
1. Balfour Beaten! (Reel News, 17:02) Historic victory for the rank and file sparks in the most important industrial dispute for 25 years.
2. Blacklisted – new 2012 version (Reel News, 21:00) As the sparks  go on the offensive, this will be one of the main demands – an end to the illegal blacklisting of building workers for trade union activities.
3. CHICAGO Schools: Shutdown at the CPS Board Meeting (Labor Beat, 22:00) A new regular slot on Reel News from Labor Beat in Chicago, this film is about the campaign to save community schools.
4. Banner Theatre: Fighting The Cuts! (Reel News/Banner Theatre, 8:00) An extract from their latest inspiring show. Banner’s survival is itself under threat from cuts, please help them out!
5. Jet tanker drivers dispute (Reel News, 3:45) Strike over a 20% pay cut from a firm making $3.2 billion profits.
6. BULGARIA Fracking Victory! (Climate Action Coalition Bulgaria, 9:00) Huge demos in Bulgaria force the Government to ban the dangerous process of fracking.
7. MEXICO Arte Urbano (Reel News/The Treatment Rooms, 23:10) The Treatment Rooms work with excluded youth in Mexico to make a beautiful ceramic mural.
8. MEXICO Zapatistas: March for Peace (Alaghom Films) The Zapatistas march against Calderon’s drug war.

We rely for our funding on DVD sales, subscriptions and donations. This allows us to maintain our independence and reflect the concerns of the ordinary worker. Although we are growing steadily, we still struggle to meet running costs, and can’t afford to pay ourselves more than expenses as yet.

To subscribe for 1 year (6 issues), send a cheque for £50 payable to Reel News to the address at the bottom of this letter; any additional donation you’d like to make would be very gratefully received. Individuals can subscribe for £30 a year, or take out a standing order for £3 minimum a month. You can download the standing order form here.


Arthur Scargill speaking at The Battle of Saltley Gate 40th Anniversary Commemoration

On 10th February 1972, 30,000 Birmingham engineers walked out on strike in solidarity with striking miners. Up to 15,000 of them marched to join 2,000 miners in a mass picket of Saltley Gate coke plant, where 100,000 tonnes of coal were stored. The blockade forced the police to surrender and close the gates, and a Tory government to concede the miners’ demand for a 27% pay rise. Arthur Scargill speaks on the 40th anniversary of one of the great moments of working class history.


Issue 30, Dec 2011

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1. Sparks 1: Kings X (Reel News) 11:45

In the battle to stop a 35% pay cut and the tearing up of national agreements, sparks block roads and occupy Kings Cross station.  ***PLAY***

 

2. Liverpool: Fighting gentrification (Reel News) 10:04

The residents of Granby, Toxteth have come up with a novel way to stop their homes being sold off.

3. Sparks 2: London protests increase, power station walk out (Reel News) 12:50

Sparks walk out on unofficial strike at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, while the London protests get more militant.  ***PLAY***

4. Sparks 3: Rank and File Sparks & Occupy LSX unite (Reel News) 9:44

The two most significant movements in the country unite to shut down a Balfour Beatty site.  ***PLAY***

5. FOSBR: Unite the City! (Reel News) 6:20

Having won extra funding for Bristol railways, FOSBR are now campaigning to improve the service even more.  ***PLAY***

6. Sparks 4: National Day of Action (Reel News) 12:29

Mass pickets, direct action and occupations as the sparks run the police ragged all over London. ***PLAY***

7. November 30 (Reel News) 8:00

Millions of workers take action over pensions in the largest UK strike for 85 years.

8. Sparks 5: UK wide unofficial strike (Reel News) 10:00

Who needs a ballot? Sparks defy the law to pull off the most important unofficial strike in decades.  ***PLAY***

9. Argentinazo: Comienza la Revolucion (Ojo Obrero) 16:36

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Argentinian uprising when the economy and the banks collapsed, this brilliant film of the events of 19/20 December 2001 – rarely seen in this country.

 

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Blacklisted 2012 ***NEW UPDATED VERSION***

Reel News and Blacklist Support Group present: Blacklisted 2012 Multinational construction companies have been illegally blacklisting trade unionists in the UK building industry for years using the Consulting Association blacklist – the successor to the notorious Economic League with allegations about involvement by M.I.5, Special Branch and the UK security services

The good guys: Ricky Tomlinson, Des Warren, John Hendy QC, Professor Keith Ewing, Gail Cartmail, Glenis Willmott MEP, Stephen Hughes MEP, Jim Lafferty, Steve Hedley, Steve Acheson, Steve Kelly, Brian Higgins, Mick Dooley, Terry Renshaw, Jill Warren, Kath Warren, Colin Trousdale, Tony Jones, Darren O’Grady, George Fuller, Tony O’Brien, Mick Abbott, Frank Morris, Graham Bowker, Ray Morris, Jim Grey, Mick Holder, Roy Bentham, Kev Homes, Dave Smith, Unite the Union, UCATT, RMT

The bad guys: Consulting Association, Economic League, Ian Kerr, Carillion, Tarmac Construction, John Mowlem Ltd, Amec, Amey, Balfour Beatty, Balfour Kilpatrick, Haden Young, Kier Ltd, Laing O’Rourke, Bam Construction (HBC Construction), Bam Nuttall (Edmund Nutall Ltd), Costain UK Ltd, Crown House Technologies, Emcor (Drake & Scull), GLovell Construction (UK) Ltd, Miller Construction Limited, Morgan Est, Morrison Construction Group, N G Bailey, Shepherd Engineering Services, Sias Building Services, Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, Skanska (Kaverna / Trafalgar House Plc), SPIE (Matthew Hall), Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd, Willmott Dixon, Vinci PLC (Norwest Holst Group), C B & I, Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd

The video covers the Shrewsbury Pickets, Rank & File Sparks, Jubilee Line, Pfizers, Olympics, Fiddlers Ferry, Construction Safety Campaign, Joint Sites Committee. This brand new version updated for 2012 shows those recent struggles, Employment Tribunals, Human Rights, demonstrations and direct action, to the most powerful challenge of all – the rank and file electricians’ action.
Soundtrack by Alabama 3 and The Redskins
s those recent struggles, from legal challenges and victories to demonstrations and direct action, to the most powerful challenge of all – the rank and file electricians’ action.


Sparks Unofficial action shuts down Balfour Beatty sites all over the UK

***FULL RESOLUTION VERSION AVAILABLE ON REEL NEWS 30 ***

After 81% of Balfour Beatty electricians vote to strike against a 35% pay cut and national agreements being torn up, the company threaten a court injunction and UNITE call off the strike – but it makes no difference. Rank and file sparks break every anti-trade union law in the book and pull off a brilliant unofficial strike across the UK. Here’s all the action from London. For more info, email siteworkers@virginmedia.com


Sparks national day of action: police run ragged all over London

***FULL RESOLUTION VERSION AVAILABLE ON REEL NEWS 30 ***

In the continued battle over a 35% pay cut and the tearing up of the national agreement, rank and file sparks battle through police lines to hold pickets at 5 building sites, visit the occupation at St. Pauls, occupy Cannon St. station themselves and almost join the student demo before being stopped by huge numbers of police…or were they?? Email jointsitescommittee@gmail.com to keep up with the most important industrial dispute for years.