Many types protest outside JJB Sports stores against the sacking of JJB Sports employee and union organiser Chris Riley
The protest outside the Shepherd's Bush JJB Sports store is quiet until mall Security turns up to try and move the protestors on. Security is two weedy-looking, middle-aged guys who are wearing dark jackets, light trousers, plain shoes, and old and cloudy plastic badges.
The protest isn't huge at this point - maybe ten people altogether, at least three of whom are not protestors, but SWP worker-bees, who have clearly been pressed into putting an hour in at the protest, to try and shift leftover copies of this week's Socialist Worker - but the two security guys still look a bit worn on it. Being paid bugger-all to protect JJB Sports stores from people who are protesting about being paid bugger-all to work in JJB Sports stores probably does get on your wick towards the end of the week.
Life doesn't improve too much when they try to assert themselves, either.
'You can't protest here,' they tell the people in the small group of protestors who have started handing out leaflets to people who are going into the JJB Sports store to shop. The leaflet calls for the reinstatement of Chris Riley, the JJB Sports employee and union organiser who was recently sacked after helping to organise a series of (successful) strikes for better pay and conditions. JJB Sports says Riley was sacked for gross misconduct, after making an unsavoury remark to a non-union member. Riley says he was sacked because he was a union organiser.
The group of protestors here at Shepherd's Bush includes Becky Crocker, who is an organiser with the anti-sweatshop campaigning group No Sweat. No Sweat is working with the GMB to try and get Riley his job back.
'Most people we give the leaflets to seem to be in support of what we're doing,' Crocker says. 'We're trying to get different trades councils to vote on motions to support Chris. We want them to vote on support so that we can build a bit of momentum. This is the public face of this protest, which is about working somewhere where somebody is attacked for their trade union work.'
'Well, you can't hand out those leaflets here,' the security guys say again. 'Go outside. You can do this protest outside, but you have to set it up outside.'
'Look at that fucking moron,' says a voice from the fast-growing crowd. 'Look at him. Oh yes. Look at him pointing that finger. Yep, look, there it goes. Look at him point that fucking finger. Fucking security and their fucking fingers. Fuck.' The voice belongs to a large, grinning individual. He steps out of the crowd at this point. He identifies himself as local, and says that his name is Den Maloney. He's had a few drinks, and the plastic shopping bag that he's holding still has a few unopened cans still in it.
'I'm a criminal,' he grins. The security guys watch him, and Maloney watches their eyes move. 'What fucking now?' Maloney asks them. The security guys look at him and turn back to Crocker.
'You can't give out those leaflets here,' they tell her again. 'Take them outside, please.'
'Hey - why don't you two go outside?' Maloney shouts at the two security guys. 'Get-out-fucking-side! Oo,' he says, as a large, male staff member in a lolly-pink shirt emerges from the JJB Sports store and strides towards the protestors. 'Oo, look, here we are. The serious wankers are coming down now. Oo. Look at the guy in the pink shirt.'
'We're not wanting to have trouble,' the smaller of the Security guys says, addressing Maloney. This security bloke is probably in his late 50s. He's thin, and bald, and has a lot of liver spots on his neck and head. He looks tired, and old. 'I'm only doing my job,' he says.
Maloney looks at the little guy, and breathes beer all over him. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' he says. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your job. Doing your job. Well, you can't do this with union stuff,' he says. Then he leaves the mall. The two security guys think about it a bit, and decide that the protestors can stay, as long as they don't cross the line in the floor-tiles that marks, apparently, the beginning of the land area that is the JJB Sports store in Shepherd's Bush.
December 2006