{"id":1859,"date":"2016-07-05T18:30:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T17:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2016-07-05T21:09:46","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T20:09:46","slug":"unprecedented-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/?p=1859","title":{"rendered":"Unprecedented President!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0was once Camden Ambulance Station Shop Steward and now I am\u00a0President of UNISON.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am the first ambulance worker\u00a0ever to hold this position.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On the day I was elected President (24th June 2016) the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, stock markets around the world tumbled\u00a0and the Labour Party went into meltdown! <\/strong><\/p>\n

Now I’m not saying my election had anything to do with all this, but…….cue dramatic, mysterious music (da da daa)!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am proud to be an ambulance worker, I am proud to work within the National Health Service, I am proud to belong to UNISON, I am proud to be a member of LAS UNISON and I am proud to be an employee of the London Ambulance Service. A Service full of good people trying to do their best under difficult circumstances.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It has never been easy to work for the LAS. There has never been a ‘golden age’.\u00a0Ambulance work is tough. It is tough now, and it was tough in the past. When people in mess rooms\u00a0reminisce about ‘the good old days’ they forget to mention the bad bits. What’s the point in mentioning\u00a0really (really)\u00a0low pay, primitive equipment, carrying stretchers backwards up the ambulance steps, dangerous fogging out, DIY second hand car repairs, Margaret Thatcher, scoop and run, anti-women….<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyway, the point is that the more we lose ourselves in the past, the more we forget the future. The more we forget the future, the more we let those who are ruining the present off the hook. The more we let them off the hook, the more chance that in the future we will be looking backwards\u00a0for a golden age!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m dizzy now! I need a sit down!<\/strong><\/p>\n

When historians look back on 2016 they will know that Friday 24th June was a momentous day (El Presidente apart!). <\/strong><\/p>\n

Which ever way you voted (or didn’t)\u00a0in the EU referendum, there is no doubt that UK working people shook the world on 24th June 2016.\u00a0Whatever happens it\u00a0will never be the same again. Political parties know it, politicians know it and Trade Unions\u00a0know it. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The fall out and the squabbling will end. Life will go on.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We shouldn’t look back to what may have been, or was. We have a brave new future to win. Let’s grasp it, however difficult, and make today a real golden age.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cue John Lennon and Imagine!<\/strong><\/p>\n

____________________<\/p>\n

Support Your Union<\/strong><\/p>\n

____________________<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Information on all issues can be found elsewhere on our website.<\/strong><\/p>\n

___________________<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are reading this, work for the London Ambulance Service or are eligible to join, and are not yet a member of UNISON Join Today!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are stronger together. We are all Frontline.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eric Roberts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Branch Secretary<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0was once Camden Ambulance Station Shop Steward and now I am\u00a0President of UNISON. I am the first ambulance worker\u00a0ever to hold this position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1859"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1868,"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859\/revisions\/1868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericsblog.lasunison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}