Stop the Cuts Briefing # 4
09 March 2010

The next key event in our campaign calendar will be the stop the cuts March and Rally in Glasgow on 10 April. It is essential that as many UNISON members, community groups and members of the public participate and add to what should be a huge demonstration against cuts in jobs and vital public services.

Click here to get the A5 flyer for use with members and community groups to encourage attendance. This flyer can also be scaled up and printed at A4 for use on noticeboards.

And check the UNISON Scotland blog for updates

Come with your Community
Branches are encouraged to invite local community and voluntary groups in their area to support the March and Rally.

To encourage attendance, see below for a template letter you can use, or adapt, to send to any groups you think might be interested, plus a pdf of a members/community leaflet for the event.

Groups could include any local groups you know of specifically fighting cuts. It is worth checking recent copies of local newspapers to see which ones have spoken out. But a range of other organisations may well be interested in campaigning to protect local services and jobs. Some might not be able to directly support the event but may help advertise it and any buses you run.

You will have a range of your usual union contacts. Organisations it might be worth writing to, who may well have direct knowledge of the impact of local cuts, include:
local community councils, local CVSs (Council for Voluntary Service), branches of national organisations in your area e.g. Age Concern, Women’s Aid, organisations working with refugees/asylum seekers, women’s groups, community groups such as parent and toddler groups or local disability organisations.

You may know of active local church/faith groups that have supported similar events. Similarly, many charities/voluntary sector groups that receive council and other grants may be directly affected by cuts and keen to come along.

To find contact details for them, you can check the local library’s reference department, use Google/another search engine online, use council papers which refer to grants to local organisations. Many national organisations will provide details of local branches on their websites e.g. the CVS network on the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations website www.scvo.org.uk/cvsnetwork/Home/Home.aspx or local Women’s Aid groups on www.scottishwomensaid.org.uk/info-for-women/local-womens-aid etc.

There are also many community websites for local towns/areas that may list organisations. You can select relevant ones to invite.

Event details
The event will take place at 09.30am on Saturday 10 April. Assembly Point is Glasgow’s University Avenue (just off Kelvingrove Park), from where we march around the west end and back to Kelvingrove for the Rally.

You are asked to pledge the number of people you think you can bring along to the march and rally.

For a branch close to Glasgow that could be 500, for branches further afield that could be to fill a bus from each major town in the area. Please let your regional organiser know what your pledge will be.

We want a very visual march with as many members wearing uniform as possible. That may simply be a jacket with your employer’s logo on it. Those in uniforms will be grouped together within the march with branches then marching in groups too. That way there will be an identified branch grouping - you may want to have your own t-shirts printed and placards with your branch message!

Case studies
The media are critical to the campaign and we want to highlight the effect cuts in jobs and services have on members and service users. It is very important that we have volunteers from amongst our membership that would be willing to speak to them. You do not be a media star, just tell your story! Please identify someone willing to do this in your branch and let Chris Bartter have their mobile number — c.bartter@unison.co.uk

‘Community Groups letter template’

TO: ____

Dear _____

Public Works: Not part of the Problem, part of the Solution
March And Rally — Glasgow April 10 2010

As you know, Public Services are currently facing major cuts which will harm communities across Scotland. As a response, UNISON Scotland has launched its Public Works campaign to expose the misrepresentations used by many politicians and media commentators to justify cutting spending on vital services.

We are also organising a major Stop the Cuts/Public Works: March and Rally in Glasgow on Saturday 10 April and we are writing to invite you to join us there. We enclose a leaflet with full details.

UNISON members from across Scotland will be joining with community organisations like your own in demonstrating our opposition to these cuts - cuts that put at risk the most vulnerable in society, cuts that threaten thousands of jobs and cuts that will damage services everyone needs. The rally will stress that none of us caused the recession, that the public, community and voluntary sectors provide essential services and that public spending is vital to economic recovery.

We hope you and your members and supporters will publicise and come to this event and bring banners/placards. You may wish to highlight your own campaign if you are fighting specific cuts locally. Contact [A Named Contact with details] to let us know if you will attend.

Yours sincerely,

INSERT BRANCH CONTACT NAME, ADDRESS ETC

Branch To Do List

• Complete and keep updating your cuts impact assessment form
• Look out for latest Briefing on the Local Government Finance Settlement (P&I Briefing 223) and make sure you send in your three examples
• Write to community groups
• Invite a speaker to your AGM
• Publicise the march and rally to members, community groups and the public
• Set up a street stall one Saturday and publicise the campaign
• Run a series of press adverts in local papers about the cuts campaign and 10 April event
• Advertise that transport is available with pick up and drop off points
• Decide on your pledge for the march and rally and let your RO know how many you think will come along from your area
• Order as many buses as you think you can fill – you may want to liaise with other branches locally
• Check your branch banner is all in one piece – if not this could be the time to order a new one
• Order branch t shirts, hats, flags, sashes – anything that identifies your branch and its message
• Order placards and sticks and start thinking of the slogans you want to put on them about cuts in your area
• Check out the blog – (http://unison-scotland.blogspot.com) – to find out and report what’s been happening in your area