London – Surprise victory for Sharon Graham, who was elected Secretary General of Unite today, becoming the first woman to lead the second largest union in Britain, which has 1.2 million members. Graham, known for her far-left positions, won 37.7% of the vote by beating the favorite, Steve Turner, who had been nominated by outgoing Unite leader Len McCluskey.
“The members of Unite have spoken out in favor of change,” Graham said after her election. Their demand is that Unite return to the field and continue to fight relentlessly for jobs and good wages and working conditions. I promise to fight the injustices our members face every day. ‘
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Graham, who has worked for the union for decades and was nominated by the Socialist Workers’ Party, has positions on the left of the Labor Party. Despite this, the leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, congratulated the first female secretary general of Unite and said he was happy “to work with her to improve the lives of workers across the country”. Unite’s financial contributions are key to the party.
Former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn is even happier for the election of a union member aligned with his leftist positions. Momentum, the movement within the party that supports Corbyn, welcomed the news, saying they agree with Graham’s belief that “workers’ organizations must be stronger than ever.”
Graham’s trade union pedigree is impeccable: after starting a waitress at 16, she organized her first strike at 17 to protest the working conditions and low wages. He has been working full time for the union for over twenty years and according to Unite he “won 100% of the disputes”.