NOTICE
BOARD
munity
The GMB com
Farewell
ROSE!
National communications
officer Rose Conroy retires
A
fter 36 glorious years of service
to GMB, head of communications
Rose Conroy has retired. Her skills
with the media will be missed as
much as her drive, enthusiasm and smile.
Rose was press officer for London Region
and moved to the Euston Office with Paul
Kenny when he became General Secretary.
If Paul told employers that they could choose
between welcoming the union through the
front door or get a brick through the window,
Rose’s work was that metaphorical brick.
“No-one tells it like the members,” was
TAKING IT EASY
Wishing Rose a happy retirement
after a lifetime of service.
Rose’s motto and her
approach to getting press
coverage for GMB was based on the
thousands of people who form the union.
Her views on dealing with journalists were
equally democratic. Rose didn’t take the old
fashioned line that journalists needed to be
cultivated and cossetted. Instead, she focused
on the news GMB had to share – its ongoing
campaigns, the facts it uncovered, the details
of its members. “There are 8,000 media
outlets in the UK,” she used to say, “and all of
them will cover GMB stories if they are news.”
Feeling festive!
After moving to National Office in
2005, Rose spent 11 years as head of
communications. During that period, she
revamped the union website – adding the
facility for new members to join online –
and launched and edited GMB’s regional
magazines, including Candid. GMB’s average
weekly reach via media outlets grew to
10 million, while Rose’s efforts helped
membership grow from 560,000 to 640,000.
The facts say it all. Rose will be missed.
FIGHT FOR LIFE
GMB L43 branch remember
those who died due to work.
GMB raises awareness at
the Ealing Road Festival
A stall was set up at the recent Ealing Road Festival to inform the
public about the work being done by GMB in the local community.
The popular festival was the perfect place to spread the word
about GMB’s work in the area, which includes the Park Royal
industrial estate.
The event was organised by the Wembley Central C22 branch
and supported by UNIONLINE, the law service for GMB members.
Thanks to Hiten Vaidya, GMB community organiser, branch reps,
and local MP Barry Gardiner. Thanks also to Brent Labour Party
leader Mohammed Butt.
A place to
remember…
New bench for IWMD
FESTIVAL TIME!
GMB spreads the word
on Ealing Road.
GMB L43 branch placed a commemorative bench in Sparrows
Nest Park, Lowestoft, Suffolk, in memory of all those who have
died due to negligence at work.
The bench is set in a place where friends and families can sit
and remember those loved ones who have died in workplace
accidents, or of ill health, or for other reasons due to their work.
As the International Workers’ Memorial Day slogan so
eloquently puts it: ‘remember the dead, fight for the living’.
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