Left’s Bonnie Craven confirmed on TSSA general secretary ballot

Left-winger steeped in union movement has achieved necessary branch nominations

Bonnie Craven, the left candidate who helped expose the TSSA union’s #MeTU scandal of sexual harassment and bullying, has achieved the required nominations for a place on the ballot for the next TSSA general secretary. Nominations closed on Monday and Craven announced the news this afternoon to her supporters, with a video inviting them to get involved:

Good afternoon @tssaunion members!

Thank you so much to all our branches who put your faith in me to deliver the change we need in our union, recover our reputation and build our industrial strength as an ethical trade union.

Now on to the next phase! pic.twitter.com/4v9ltEfESY

— #GetActive #VoteBonnie (@BonnieCraven) July 19, 2023

Craven, the first TSSA staff member to stand for general secretary in the union’s history after being asked by members to make a bid, has a long record of activism in the union and the wider political arena. Also on the ballot are TSSA rep Duncan Bates and Maryam Eslamdoust, a candidate from outside the union movement who has been a Camden councillor for thirteen years.

Ms Craven, who was one of the whistleblowers whose evidence led to the sacking of disgraced former general secretary Manuel Cortes and most of the union’s senior management team and the resignation of its treasurer and president after they were slammed by the Kennedy Report on sexual harassment, bullying and misogyny in TSSA, is running on a platform of transparency, democracy and member empowerment. She spoke to Socialist Telly earlier this month about her plans for the union and to debunk smears against her disability.

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