Marxist. Trade Unionist. Socialist-feminist. Author. Poet. Speaker. Tutor. RMT ex-Exec. Workers' Liberty. Autie. Bi. PUFC fan.
Stuff about the city where I (used to) live and (still) work!
You can't say that on the 333
Believe you me
The inspector will check
and kick you off the upper deck
I heard some dude once said it and he
had his card well marked for all to see
He had to flee
So you can't say that on the 333
You'd get away with it on the 159
That'd be fine
That's a much more tolerant line
Janine will tell the story of one of Holloway prison's former residents at this event to mark the seventh anniversary of the prison's closure and promote proposals for a progressive Women's Building in its place.
Venue: entrance to HMP Holloway, Parkhurst Road, London N7 0NU.
A fortnight back, complaining about
having to wait behind two others
to use the cashpoint
Now, happy to stand all day and night
to file past a box
with a crown and a cushion on top
and inside, the body of
someone you never knew -
it's the nearest you could ever get to her
It's the ultimate display of Britishness:
an awesome combo of
queueing and deference
… and why it matters today
By Janine Booth, published in RMT News.
The two biggest employers in the east London borough of Poplar one hundred years were the railways and the docks. Our forerunner unions had plenty of members there. Their jobs involved long hours and low pay, but they were unionised, so they were fighting for, and winning, improvements.
At this year's TUC Women's Conference, one of the motions we debated was about working shifts, particularly women's safety on late shifts. This was my contribution to the debate.
You can watch the video of this speech here.
I'm Janine Booth, RMT, and I've worked on London Underground for over 25 years.
In 2011, Janine spoke at an event hosted (and filmed) by Reel News, about the Poplar Rates Rebellion.
Published in Solidarity 610, 20 October 2021.
The Night Tube in London will resume on two lines from 27 November, in a move promoted as ensuring safety for women. However, the reality is more complex, and women’s safety requires increased Night Tube staffing.
At Labour party conference, I spoke in the debate about local government, shortly after London Mayor Sadiq Khan had spoken. This is the second part of what I said.
This information panel (picture), written by Janine, has been posted by Tower Hamlets Council to accompany the newly-renovated Hale Street mural, which pays tribute to the Poplar councillors. The text is below.
After the ‘Great War’, London’s East Enders lived in extreme poverty.
One hundred years ago, a big movement grew in the east London borough of Poplar, headed by thirty councillors who went to prison rather than levy extortionate rates or cut services to the working-class population that elected them. ‘Poplarism’ won.
Is this just a dusty-but-interesting episode from history? Or does it contain inspiration and lessons for today?