GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

you, which has just been communicated to me by Brother Ronnie Draper, our

new Vice President. “Just to let you know that one of our young female

McDonalds members is addressing the McDonalds shareholders meeting in

Chicago as we speak to ask McDonalds to take the sexual harassment of

women across the world. She has told them that if the global company will not

do anything, the Bakers Union will”. So good luck with that. (Applause) It taps

into some of the issues and motions which we have heard at this conference.

Brothers and sisters, friends, fraternal colleagues, it is a great honour for me to

stand before you addressing you as the incoming President of the General Federation of Trade Unions in this its 120 th anniversary. Before I go any

further, I would just like to congratulate Doug for pulling together last night’s

Parliamentary reception with the aid of Alison Stoecker of John McDonnell’s

office. It was an excellent event and it was wonderful to see Jeremy and John

so enthused about the launch of the new book and so fulsome in their praise of

both the book and the work of the GFTU in general. Everybody was buzzing

off it, Doug. Doug with his characteristic understatement said, “Yes, it did go

rather well”. Well, it was fantastic and thank you. Of course, a special thanks

to Dr Alice Prochaska and Edda Nicholson for their contribution to the evening.

Of course, it was no surprise to see our new Vice President announce himself

on the occasion in his own inimitable manner and I am sure, as always, he left

a lasting impression on all those assembled. For anybody who was not there

and for yourself, Dave, there will be an explanation afterwards!

BRO RONNIE DRAPER (Executive Committee): Cheers!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I have been a member of the Executive Committee for ten

years now and vividly remember attending my earliest meetings under the

chairmanship of former President Joe Marino. Joe is an avid Manchester City

supporter so he will certainly have enjoyed Saturday’s proceedings just over

the road at Wembley where his beloved team completed a historic treble which

probably will never be repeated for a generation. Ironically, I think at the time

our current General Secretary was the outgoing President at that time, so I

have served on the committee under Doug and five other Presidents, as I have

said, Joe Marino, Joe Mann, Ben Marshall, John Fray and most recently John

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