Last lot of amendments to AWL conference documents: on feminist work, and on organising young workers.

A. Feminist work

Amendment from Cathy on behalf of EC

Add to document, before last section "What we should do"

Then and now

Out of the experience of the 70s women's movement, socialist activist campaigning within that -- e.g. the Working Women's Charter Campaign -- and important disputes involving women workers (the TRICO equal pay dispute) our tendency developed the idea and perspective of "a working class women's movement", i.e. an autonomous movement, based on working class women and their campaigns, which would take socialist feminist ideas into the labour movement.
As last year's document said we cannot will such a movement "into existence nor can we predict when they will emerge or precisely what they will look like." The resurgence of interest in feminist ideas, based as it is on the broad anti-capitalist movement, may signal the beginning of new broad women's movement, but it also may not. When such a movement emerges we would certainly seek to influence and intervene constructively in it to orient it to working class struggles and the struggles of working class women in particular.
What we see in Feminist Fightback is a something rather different than a new broad women's movement. It is a loose grouping of mostly younger women who are keen to be active and discuss ideas. With an emphasis on socialist feminist/anti-capitalist political discussion at it's events it is also attractive to older women, trade union women etc.
Right now our general perspectives are therefore more about propaganda and educational work, though we are positively in favour of limited initiatives that partially embody our basic orientation (e.g. specific strike support work). We should keep an eye out for more such opportunities as the work develops.
We support the network continuing to develop as it is -- emphasising as it does political discussion, direct action, the loose affiliation of a fairly diverse range of people with ideas for activity, and forging an alternative "thread" of socialist feminist activism.

B. Amendment to Daniel R’s amendment on organising young workers

From Martin on behalf of EC: endorsed by NC

Add before "AWL conference resolves...."

Campaiging should include energetic, systematic, sustained agitation in the places where young workers are gathered in the greatest numbers and most accessible to agitation, i.e. colleges, schools, concerts, etc.
a. To establish a well-known public profile; b. To recruit, educate, train, and organise a sizeable initial corps of activists for further organising work; c. By attention to the response to the agitation, to collect information and identify the issues most felt by young workers.
This work can best be done using the banners both of No Sweat and of union bodies if they agree.
It should include colourful stunts, stalls, leafletting, petitions and questionnaires, and lively small-scale protest actions.

In "AWL conference resolves", delete "similar to the one in Sheffield".

C. Further amendment to Dan R’s amendment on organising young workers: accepted by mover

From Mark O

Delete second sentence of (2) under “AWL conference further notes” – “Many AWLers failed….”.