Last modified: 2009-05-24 by rob raeside
Keywords: unite | trade union |
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Unite is a new trade union, an amalgamation of several former and longer
existing unions; in fact, the British trade union movement in general has
recently undergone a massive restructuring, with many bodies dating from the
19th Century losing their traditional identity and being swallowed up by large
new corporate structures.
The flag of Unite has been much in evidence on
the television this past week. It is a rectangular flag, but although its basic
color is supposedly red it actually more closely resembles the bit of doggerel
dating from the first Attlee Labour government of 1945 and sung to the tune of
the old socialist anthem 'The People's Flag':
The People's Flag is palest
pink.
and not as red as one might think.
The flag of Unite is rose
red, with the name of the union written in large narrow white upper and lower
case lettering in the canton, and with the union motto or slogan (which I have
been unable to read) written in smaller upper and lower case letters above the
union name. There is a large irregularly curved white line which meanders the
length of the flag from hoist to fly. To my eyes at least the entire concoction
seems inspired by a can of Coca Cola. I have also seen the flag with the colors
reversed, which creates the impression of a can of Diet Coke.
Ron Lahav,
17 June 2008
The Unite web shows at least three different coloured variations:
http://www.amicustheunion.org/images/lillets.jpg
Colin Dobson,
17 June 2008
Several variations can be seen in these photographs:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44609000/jpg/_44609828_reflection_getty.jpg
http://www.nancarrow-webdesk.com/warehouse/storage2/2008-w17/img.202606.html
White field:
http://fhdlondon.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/01/unite_mayday_page_2_image_0001.jpg
Jan Mertens, 17 June 2008
I see these as simply variations on the theme, so as to make as much colour
and visual spectacle as possible on the various demonstrations for the campaigns
that the union is involved in. They are great for photographs of such
situations, although I wonder if they are used by the union in other contexts,
as the Transport & General Workers Union (T&G) and Amicus, the two former trade
unions which made up Unite still have their own web sites and corporate
identities. Indeed, these new super-unions obviously have something of a
difficulty when promoting themselves with these meaningless names, as evidenced
by the fact that it is not only a flag with lettering, it has to have both the
name of the entity which it represents and a description of that entity, i.e.,
"Unite the trade union".
Colin Dobson 17 June 2008
