All change at the top of unions

The GMB general union has appointed Warren Kenny as acting general secretary pending an election for a new permanent leader.

He will replace current acting general secretary John Phillips, who will return to his role as Wales & South West regional secretary prior to his retirement on 31 December.

Phillips had taken over leading the union at short notice following the sudden resignation of Tim Roache earlier this year.

Since then, the GMB has been facing up to a brutal independent report that found the union was “institutionally sexist” (see Labour Research, October 2020, page 7).

Meanwhile, members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) have elected migrant worker Henry Chango Lopez to replace Jason Moyer-Lee as their new general secretary.

The IWGB mostly organises low-paid migrant workers — Lopez himself came to the UK from Ecuador 20 years ago — and outsourced workers and those in the gig economy.

Lopez’s election came days after a major victory for the union, when it won a 10-year battle to end outsourcing at the University of London.

And in the Equity entertainment union, recently-elected general secretary Paul W Fleming has taken over from Christine Payne, who retired in October after 15 years at the helm.

Fleming is thought to be the first LGBTQ+ general secretary of a major UK trade union.

https://www.gmb.org.uk/news/gmb-announces-new-acting-general-secretary

https://iwgb.org.uk/post/henry-chango-lopez-elected-iwgb-general-secretary