ACORN the union: organising and winning in the community
Aidan Cassidy talks about how the union is organising and winning in communities across England and Wales.
Working class people in this country face injustices and a lack of power wherever they are. Workers face it in the workplace, parents face it when paying for childcare and renters who pay through the nose for sub-standard housing face it.
We see it in the rundown or non-existent community services our parents and grandparents relied on, and in the public transport that has been run into the ground. So we need an organisation that can fight on all of those fronts and take back power for ordinary people across the country. ACORN is the community union that does exactly that.
ACORN members spend their time fighting for - and winning - fire-safety measures, holiday school meals vouchers, the re-opening of public toilets, public control of buses, an end to evictions and the abuse of bailiffs. ACORN measures its victories in the hundreds of millions of pounds, but they’re more than just pounds and pence - they have grown from a room full of people in 2014 to a thousands-strong nationwide organisation with nearly 30 branches in every region of the country.
Each of those branches is made up of trained members and leaders who bring the union into conflict with those who hold power over their lives.
Whether it’s physically stopping a bailiff entering a neighbour’s home, occupying a bank to demand fair treatment, or picketing the council for proper services, ACORN members take direct action to win what they need. And you know what? They’re winning.
In Manchester, ACORN's Boot the Bailiffs campaign on council tax won a commitment to £1 million for people struggling with arrears.
In Bristol, ACORN members won big concessions on the use of a sports centre so members of the community could afford to use it amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Members have successfully fought evictions in Coventry, Bristol, and across the country, got overdue repairs done and deposits returned in Bradford, and got illegal “extra charges” of £1,525 cancelled in Cardiff.
And these are only a few of the achievements over the last year.
Join ACORN for one hour’s wage per month at acorntheunion.org.uk/join