Amidst complete chaos and confusion a 10-hour long Special General Meeting of ine perrormers Equity, dealt the death blow to the right-wing dominated Equity Council.
The Council, most of whom belong to a secretly operating caucus called for Equity' whose founding members include Lord Olivier, Nigel Davenport and Marius Goring - nad staked everytning on taking union's rule book to the courts. Their aim had been to get a ruling that rules could be changed oy a simpre majority through referenda rather than through the customary two-thirds majority at open meetings of the whole membership.
Their next planned step was to reterenaum to make ine came droper meetings extremely difficult, thus bringsituation would nave tew or no meenues urere are no branches] and would be run entirely through referenda. found in favour of the Council, tney im mediately issued eight referenda on rule changes!
But the Appeal Court reversed the previous High Court decision a few days before the special open meeting, these eight referenda null and void.
two-thirds Ine councH majority at the meeting on its rule change motions if it was to save face and somehow justify spending tens of thousands or nounas ortne unions money on resc proceedings.
There was a huge turn-out of neariy suu members arme soccial mech The membership was incensed at the why wine for bankrupting the union and made imnassioned speech. The nine walked from the stage finally of the huae Coliseum Theatre to join ine ranks of the members on the audience side of the footlights. Nearly a thousand peone stood ano cheered.
Act were thrown in the air, and the chant of Resign! echoed around the enormous auditorium The Council's rule nearly two-thirds and the coffin of were then defeated by for Equity' was sealed.
They WOnd remaining rew months in office nothing, to be finally thrown out of office at the next annual Council elections.
Meanwhile the urgent tasks tor the membership - to tignt for a democratre structure to replace the present archaic to construct a leadership that Equity system. will fight for policies on jobs and wages that break with the Social Contract -courts have been made easier by But the road ahead still cays events. remains an uphill one * Meanwhile workers at ine octagon Theatre in Bolton were planning to noig a picket outside Wednesdav as the audience arrived fo the first night of The scenery for the play scab labour to meet the deadline of the opening night.
Management resorted to using scabs when the theatre's own workers went on work-to-rule following demotion of the theatre's lighting de resionation order papers •change morons majority 'Act or course mey out doing