Marxist. Trade Unionist. Socialist-feminist. Author. Poet. Speaker. Tutor. RMT ex-Exec. Workers' Liberty. Autie. Bi. PUFC fan.
Episodes and anecdotes from the history of moving around
Watch this online event on Facebook here. Locomotion No. 1 Fundraiser – Bring it home… for good! Performing at the event: 6.00pm (BST) -6.05 – Tony Stowers (introduction about the benefit) 6.05-6.20 – Nazim Khan 6.20-6.40 – Singer of the … Read more
Published in Solidarity 588, 14 April 2021 Long before ‘Black Friday’ became the name for the first day of the Christmas shopping season, it was the name that the labour movement gave to the day on which trade union leaders … Read more
Back before barring blacks became banned Bristol buses blocked brown-skinned blokes becoming buscrew But better Bristolians batted back bit the bullet and boycotted the buses Bent-backed, booted bipeds bicycled, as bitter brushes blazed between bile and benevolence Bands of brave, … Read more
A version of this was published in Solidarity 568: This story of colour bars in the UK railway and bus industries begins after the Second World War, when Britain had a labour shortage and people moved to Britain in increasing numbers … Read more
Speaking at an online meeting of rail workers in September, Janine Booth tells the story of the period after the end of the Second World War when black people came to Britain but met opposition from some white workers, until … Read more
Log in via Zoom here Facebook event here In 1966, Asquith Xavier became the first black guard at Euston station, overturning a “colour bar” which prevented black workers from being employed in certain grades. His struggle was not the first … Read more
Janine’s poetic turn at the 2020 online celebration ofthe 1911 Llanelli railway strike.
On facebook live introduced and hosted by Tim Evans Cor Cochion music video Steve Hedley, Assistant General Secretary RMT Tosh McDonald, former President ASLEF Shavanah Taj, General Secretary Wales TUC Mark Serwotka, General Secretary PCS Hussein Said, Stand Up To … Read more
An online discussion on experiences from the resistance against the partial privatisation of the London Tube with: Janine Booth (author “Plundering London Underground: New Labour, Private Capital and Public Service”) Phil Rowan (RMT Finsbury Park International officer) The event takes … Read more
Janine speaks as part of a panel on Covid-19, democratic ownership and the future of the economy in May 2020. – organised by Another Europe Is Possible. Video plus text of speech below. Thank you for inviting me and … Read more
The last issue of RMT News contained a useful pull-out on the historic 1919 railway strike. It captured some of the excitement of the action and its success in beating back pay cuts. The strikers and their supporters are heroes … Read more
Also published on the Workers’ Liberty website, here. With engineers and others taking on the employers, the time was ripe for the other bastions of industrial power – the rail workers, miners and transport workers – to join the fray. The … Read more
What is working life like for women (and men) on the Bucharest Metro? How does it compare to our situation on London Underground? In Bucharest with the ETF Women’s Committee, I spoke with Metro workers and gathered some facts … The … Read more
Join us at The Kitchen @the Bridge, 73-81 Southwark Bridge Road, SE1 0NQ This event is free of charge: please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance so we can ensure that there is enough food and drink! You are invited to an evening … Read more
Janine Booth speaking at a meeting on Public Transit Struggles in London and Toronto in August 2015. The meeting was organised by the Socialist Project and also included speakers from Toronto-based campaigns for better public transport.
Venue: Birkbeck College, London Well-resourced, accessible, safe public transport would be a key component of the infrastructure of a sustainable, rationally-run society. But capitalism is not making such a great job of it. Transport is generally inadequate, profit-driven, understaffed, and not … Read more
Janine will be speaking about the experience of the London Underground Public-Private Partnership at a workshop at the World Social Forum, hosted by Observatoire Tunisien de l’Economie. The workshop will bring together campaigners against PPP, and the London Underground experience is rich … Read more
Presentation by Janine Booth at AutismCon, January 2015
Press release from Hackney Trade Union Council, 6 January 2004 London Underground has revealed that when the East London Line is extended into Hackney, it will not be a Tube line, but a privatised, mainline service. LUL’s Company Council was … Read more
CorporateWatch has an article, Transport for London seeks new powers with developers, reporting that “Transport for London (TfL) is currently seeking to team up with private sector partners to give it new powers, especially regarding land development, putting public land and affordable … Read more