Is there a need to organise separately?

I had a long discussion with a distressed Black female activist friend this morning who invited me to a meeting with others where a debate as to whether those of us from different ethnic backgrounds should unite and organise outside mainstream unions. She described this as a move back to the 80s.

I have never believed or subscribed to the need for separate organisation and it is a fact that my own union, Unison, allows and encourages Self Organised groups in fact that is why I joined NALGO and then Unison. I have spoken about the virtues of this previously. But I can see why some of our activists may feel either ignored, left out or bullied. I remember from my own old branch, Lambeth Unison, where there was a systematic campaign of political harassment from sectors of the so called ultra left (very few in number but vociferous never the less) targeting key Black activists. There was a stage when they were been picked up one by one . But I believe that the way to deal with these bullies is to challenge them (and I did this many times ) and deal with people who are not real trade unionists, they join and take up positions through deception to further their own little and pathetic political agendas! So my message is that there is no need to opt out and organise somewhere else we should use the internal mechanism to deal with those who undermine our activists, they may be clever in the way they disguise their tactics but we have right on our side. Stay on and fight!