For a fighting union, led by the members I AM asking you to support my campaign to become the first public sector worker to lead our union as General Secretary. I have worked providing services to the most vulnerable almost all my working life in the private, voluntary and public sectors. That is why it breaks my heart to see the Tories trying to eradicate our welfare state through cuts and privatisation. If elected I will fight with you for every job and every service. Leadership should be about what a million-strong union can do—not what it can’t do! UNISON should be at the forefront of the battle to stop the Tories’ Trade Union Bill—if elected I will lead the fight to defy this attempt to shackle us with new anti-union laws. Action against austerity I am currently the branch secretary of Barnet UNISON. Our branch has mounted a seven-year relentless campaign, including strike action, against the Tories’ flagship “Easy Council”. On the many picket lines we have organised in Barnet, members continue to ask me, “When are the trade union leaders going to start a serious campaign to protect jobs and services before they have all gone?” Building an alliance with all the trade unions will be a key task if I am elected. Token one-day strikes over pensions and pay are unacceptable. They undermine the confidence of our reps and members who quite rightly question if our union knows what it’s doing. If elected pay and pension campaigns will be key tasks I will undertake to organise with the support of branches, reps and the wider membership. I am a socialist and a Labour Party member. I have actively supported Jeremy Corbyn for Labour Party leader. Jeremy has ignited the anti-austerity debate that we needed. I am a trade unionist in the Labour Party, not vice-versa. It is UNISON’s job to tell the Labour Party what it wants in return for our support. The recent fiasco of abstaining in the welfare debate was a disgrace. Why are we backing people who are not acting in our members’ interests? We don’t need austerity-lite. As general secretary I will bring our union together and fight alongside others to end austerity. Challenging discrimination, racism and Islamophobia The Tories are using the old tactic of divide and rule to force through their attack on the 99 percent. While the rich get richer they tell us to blame single parents, young people, Muslims, disabled people, and refugees. This government of millionaires wants us to believe that everyone is to blame for the financial crisis—except the bankers and speculators that this government supports. Austerity policies have disproportionately affected women, disabled people and Black people. We need to do a lot more to challenge the negative impact austerity brings to our members’ daily lives. I am proud of multiculturalism and will use the union’s resources to campaign against those who fail to treat all human beings with dignity and respect. John fighting austerity—alongside Jeremy Corbyn Vote John Burgess for UNISON general secretary Support one of your own: a local rep.... Time for a democratic union The lead national negotiators in our union are not ordinary members having to deal with the day to day consequences of cuts, redundancies and privatisation. They do not appear to understand the necessity of winning our national disputes, or have the determination needed to win. If elected as General Secretary, I understand that it would be a five-year term during which I would receive my current wage as a social worker. We need a union leadership that gives hope, energy and builds confidence. I will offer a leadership that encourages debate and democracy. I will ensure that the union is accessible and accountable to you. Our future is at stake—our members’ jobs and services need defending, and now. We cannot continue as we have done and under my leadership I want to release money back into the branches so that they can work with and for workers facing attacks in the workplace. One of my first tasks will be to organise a tour across all 12 regions to meet up with branches, reps and members in order to listen and understand what is required to help all of our members fight for jobs and services. If you are a member show this leaflet to your work colleagues and join our campaign to build a fighting union fully accountable to its members.