{"id":27504,"date":"2023-01-19T10:08:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T15:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=27504"},"modified":"2023-01-28T10:09:52","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T15:09:52","slug":"a-fighting-irish-spirit-to-protect-worker-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=27504","title":{"rendered":"A \u2018Fighting Irish Spirit\u2019 To Protect Worker Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Mick Lynch at camera (Peter Kelly)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

PETER KELLY meets the renowned labor union chief, empowered by his Irish roots<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mick Lynch is no ordinary labor union leader. His ubiquitous presence on British TV screens, newspaper front pages, prime time talk shows and national radio phone-ins make him the modern face of trade unionism, recognizable to millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Irish parentage has inspired an extra following in the mother country, while US organized labor leaders voice admiration and issue trans-Atlantic invites and impassioned solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As leader of Britain\u2019s Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Lynch\u2019s name is synonymous with the ongoing strikes halting millions of rail commuters across the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe\u2019s largest city has been ground to regular ignominious halts while frustrated travelers ironically voice their majority support for Lynch\u2019s stance against the chaotic Conservative government, now onto its fourth prime minister in three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born of parents from Cork city in Ireland\u2019s south and rural Crossmaglen in the north, the former railroad electrician credits his Irish upbringing in London for honing his required skills for this very public contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey originated in a lot of family debates and arguments but also the same stuff in the Irish community\u201d he jests. \u201cMost of my training came from the pub. Having to hold your own in the workplace and in the way that our Irish culture works, is a very articulate culture right across the diaspora I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mick Lynch\u2019s 40,000 UK union members have been engaged in nationwide strikes in response to threatened compulsory redundancies, pay freezes and reduced working conditions across Britain\u2019s railway network. Now into its sixth month of turmoil, 22 days (and counting) of stoppages have produced stalemate, with further action planned.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has issued threats of anti-trade union laws, which find comparison in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey’re trying to make us the bogey men of the problems around in Britain at the moment,\u201d says Lynch. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen similar announcements in America in recent weeks, especially with the potential railroad strike there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second-generation Irishman has built links with counterpart unions in the US, and laments that only 10% of the American working population are unionized: \u201cIt\u2019s a shame because there\u2019s a strong history in America of trade unions. I read a lot about it. I\u2019m in close contact with the Transport Workers\u2019 (TWU) in New York, Local 100. It seems to me that those organizations, including the Teamsters are still going strong. I\u2019m hoping for a comeback in American trade unionism, and a comeback in Irish-American support for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lynch reminds his stateside Irish diaspora counterparts of the benefits of organizing. \u201cIf we want a fairer society in America and in Britain, we need a strong trade union. Even if you\u2019re not in the union, you benefit by having union organization in your sector, in your industry, or even in your city. If there\u2019s a strong union in your city, it\u2019s going to have a ripple-effect to other workers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling out right-wing politicians, presenters and pundits in live national media broadcasts has earned Lynch a cult following among not only the politically engaged but hitherto apathetic audiences, startled by his soft delivery yet determined and persuasive reasoning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A regular on national panel shows, the articulate bald-headed union leader effortlessly bats away provocative jabs from partisan presenters ranging from comparing him to \u2018the Hood\u2019 caricature in \u2018Thunderbirds\u2019, to him dismissing as \u201ctwaddle\u201d, punditry efforts to label him as a \u2018Marxist\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Lynch famously called out a UK junior minister as a blatant \u2018liar\u2019 some 15 times across a TV studio desk, which the politician did not rebut. For this and other textbook perfect media performances, actor Hugh Laurie joined with other admirers and shared with his 1.5 million Twitter followers that \u201cMick Lynch cleaned up every single media picador who tried their luck today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 61-year old Londoner admits, \u201cthe media have got this stereotype of trade unionists and trade unions. It makes me laugh. I get elected and the people that own these media conglomerates don\u2019t get elected by anyone. They just have buying power and wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI try to keep things humorous when I can, but I\u2019m serious when it needs to be. But if people ask me stupid questions, to use a cricket term – it\u2019s going to get \u2018knocked over the boundary.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On those serious matters, if Britain is headed for a potential General Strike, Mick Lynch will likely be at the forefront. He calls them \u2018Co-ordinated Phases of Action\u2019 and \u2018National Action Days\u2019 and it remains a prospect contemplated by counterpart labor unions across the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reason why you can\u2019t coordinate what you do once you\u2019ve got the mandate through the ballot of members,\u201d he warns. But with this mood music beating a drum to further confrontation with the Conservative government, an all-out industrial relations war could define Britain\u2019s domestic news agenda in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Characteristically, Mick Lynch is resolute against all odds. \u201cWhat we are going to do is fight and resist. We\u2019ve had all these laws before and my union historically for more than 100 years has been at the forefront of fighting them. When they crushed us between the wars, we came back. When they tried to crush us in the 80s and 90s, we\u2019re still going. So we will come back.\u201d <\/p>\n

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