Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “I was proud to serve on the TUC Anti-Racism Taskforce, which worked to build the capacity of unions to effectively challenge racial inequality. As a result, as well as strengthening existing programmes, unions are developing and resourcing initiatives to identify and advance Black activists, address under-representation and strengthen networks.
 
“This work must be accompanied by a broader programme to educate and involve all members in the struggle for racial equality.  The fight for racial justice cannot be left to Black workers alone. There remains an ongoing need for senior leaders to be actively engaged with this work. Our challenge is to ensure that we keep the momentum going, we cannot risk failing Black workers by allowing progress to unravel or by leaving Black activists to drive forward change.
 
“It gave me very great pleasure last month, at the Usdaw annual conference, to be able to announce that applications for our new Black Members Development Programme are officially open. This is a new start for a continuing and hugely significant journey for our union, as we seek to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of Black members getting on in our movement.
 
“It is my personal hope that Black members will see this as a steppingstone for their greater involvement in the union and will help to ensure that Usdaw accurately reflects the workers we represent. This weekend’s TUC Black Workers’ Conference provides another important platform towards improving the visibility and representation of Black workers within our trade union structures. I wish delegates well in their deliberations.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk

Breaking Down Barriers: https://www.usdaw.org.uk/Help-Advice/Equalities/Breaking-Down-Barriers
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion