Getting our house in order: Speaking publicly of failure in left organisation

Abstract:Left movements are far from immune to the harmful dynamics we seek to address in wider society. Sexism, racism, ableism and myriad other kinds of oppression show up with depressing regularity in the ways we organise ourselves in formal institutions and grassroots collectives, as well as our interpersonal relationships. Sometimes these internal problems become more widely known, albeit in messy and incoherent ways. More often, however, such issues remain hidden, with those experiencing harm unable or unwilling to speak out. It is therefore noteworthy when these common organisational issues are revealed and documented in a public forum. The three interviews presented here are with people involved in attempts to make public difficult issues that have arisen within different left-wing organisations - the left-wing news outlet The Canary, the #meTU campaign calling out bullying and sexual harassment in trade unions, and Campaign Bootcamp, a charity which ran trainings for organisers until it shut in 2022.