Bob Crow, 1961 - 2014, RIP

Southgate

He was a great union leader and a workaholic who delivered annual pay rises and better working conditions for his members. In fact, he was so successful the RMT was growing in size and influence each year as more and more railworkers joined. If I needed a advocate and a representative, I know who I'd have liked in my corner: General Secretary Mr Bob Crow.

What I especially admired about him was that he didn't give a flying fcuk what the suited puffed-up 'Nigels' and 'Fionas' of Tunbridge Wells thought of him. He was there to represent his members. Period. And he did a bloody good job of it. If he organised a few strikes and inconvenienced a few commuters, so what? His members voted to strike and that is their democratic right. And most of these whingers and whiners should be pleased that someone finally made them get off their fat lazy arses and walk or cycle for once in their lives.

Bob also made the Daily Mail very angry at the thought of a few thousand ordinary working class people earning a decent wage and having a voice. These right wing wannerbe middle class snobs are always frothing at the mouth about something or other, be it unions, immigrants, whatever. Curiously, they never get angry about the overnight millionaires who were given our public rail industry by Thatcher and the Tories, and who have been fleecing us ever since. Nope, it's the workers that make them crazy! Let 'em froth, I say.

For all the reasons above I am prepared to forgive Bob his biggest crime; that of being a Millwall fan.

He was a decent bloke who stood by his principles. My sympathies go out to his family and friends, and his members. May he rest in peace.

anonymousblackfg

So who gets his Council House?

Southgate

^ The Council. It's public property.

Gazzaputt

anonymousblackfg wrote:

So who gets his Council House?

I'm sure he lived with his family so they'll stay. :roll:

Think he was leading his members down a path they'll regret later (driver-less trains spring to mind). BUT he ensured a decent working standards and pay for them and for that he has to be applauded for. Also sticking 2 fingers up buffoon Boris I'd have bought him a drink.

RIP no age 52.

cookeeemonster

One thing I wanna point out is that the publics perception of him was probably heavily skewed by the constant and never ending sniping and bad mouthing by right wing newspapers including the London evening standard.

Tiny things blown out of proportion in order to muddy his name.

I'm neither a supporter or a hater of the man. But I will say he was a hell of a lot better at his job than most leaders of the private sector...and that riled a lot of people who think the lower classes should get in their place.

bompington

Unlike most union leaders, he was effective at what he did, and deserves some credit for it. However, the special circumstances of having the whole of London over a barrel might possibly have helped a bit?

arran77

Gazzaputt wrote:

anonymousblackfg wrote:

So who gets his Council House?

I'm sure he lived with his family so they'll stay. :roll:

Not necessarily, it depends on the tenancy agreement, if he had a joint tenancy with his partner (don't believe they were married) then it probably will pass to her although not always so.

Koncordski

It'll cripple the influence of the RMT whilst they tear themselves apart in the inevitable power struggle, which is their own fault for allowing a personality cult to develop. Yes he was good for his members but at what long term cost, when you're that antagonistic on a daily basis you'll store up big trouble for the future. On a personal note I don't particularly admire the negotiating style of someone that holds a gun to your temple then puts a pen in your hand. Just quite entertaining watching the Guardian comments section today though, the concept of irony would appear to be lost on the majority of posters over there considering how they responded to another recent high profile death.

fat_tail

Koncordski wrote:

It'll cripple the influence of the RMT whilst they tear themselves apart in the inevitable power struggle, which is their own fault for allowing a personality cult to develop. Yes he was good for his members but at what long term cost, when you're that antagonistic on a daily basis you'll store up big trouble for the future. On a personal note I don't particularly admire the negotiating style of someone that holds a gun to your temple then puts a pen in your hand. Just quite entertaining watching the Guardian comments section today though, the concept of irony would appear to be lost on the majority of posters over there considering how they responded to another recent high profile death.

what rhymes with "witch" ?

drlodge

I struggle to feel sorry for the man. Suffered when the strikes were on, which seemed to be frequent.

To be fair - his members did very well under him, but at what cost to society as a whole. I have admiration for the outcomes he achieved for his members, but zero respective for his methods.

Lets just hope he's replaced by someone a little more "reasonable" and someone who understands the pain the public go through whenver a strike is called.

Paulie W

So because you had a few difficult days getting to work that somehow limits your ability to feel sympathy for someone who died of a heart attack at the age of 52?

notsoblue

drlodge wrote:

To be fair - his members did very well under him, but at what cost to society as a whole. I have admiration for the outcomes he achieved for his members, but zero respective for his methods.

What do you think the cost to society was though?

I think many of the issues we see in society today are caused by the severe decline of the working class livable wage over the past 3 decades. As Ken Livingstone said today of Crow; "His members are one of the few groups of working class people who have still got well paid jobs...".

The fact that the only way he could achieve this is through union brinkmanship is quite telling.

fat_tail

Paulie W wrote:

So because you had a few difficult days getting to work that somehow limits your ability to feel sympathy for someone who died of a heart attack at the age of 52?

"feeling sympathy" for him isn't going to do him any good. It's his family that one should be sympathising with.

Condolences to his family.

menthel

Sad he died at a young age? Yes. I have sympathy for his family.

Sad he is no longer the head of the union? No. His cult of personality and strike tactics gave no thought to the public that his members were paid to serve. The members certainly did well out of it though.

anonymousblackfg

The RMT is in for a rough ride, Bob pushed it so far there is barely a thread of support for them from the commuting public and those proposing to cut their power and conditions have all the ammunition they need.

As for sympathy, yes it's unfortunate anyone dies at 52 but we wll kick the bucket at some point. I don't think anyone should automatically have sympathy for someone who deliberately agrivated them any more than we should have respect for people who rule our country because some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Condolences to his family.

roger_merriman

anonymousblackfg wrote:

The RMT is in for a rough ride, Bob pushed it so far there is barely a thread of support for them from the commuting public and those proposing to cut their power and conditions have all the ammunition they need.

As for sympathy, yes it's unfortunate anyone dies at 52 but we wll kick the bucket at some point. I don't think anyone should automatically have sympathy for someone who deliberately agrivated them any more than we should have respect for people who rule our country because some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Condolences to his family.

Sad that someone died so young, as far as RMT goes they are always going to loose the media battle.

if London commuters don't like the RMT it matters not, what matters is if the RMT can support it's members and as strikes clearly have the desired effect! so I'd guess no change there.

MaxwellBygraves

I daresay many of the posters on this forum are in Bob's age bracket. Only 53, it really brings home the fragility of our own mortality.

In my opinion, Bob was a dedicated leader who really understood the value of sticking to your principles in the face of adversity or pressure. I think what he lacked in eloquence he more than made up for in passion and spirit. Many politicians and business leaders could learn a thing or two from Bob's life.

I for one will miss him.

Polkascott

I must admit I never liked him, but because of him and the strikes he called I got into cycling, I am sure he got a lot of people on their bikes during his tenure at RMT.

RedWheels

My respects go out to his Family

He worked tirelessly for his members, the people who voted for him.
His endless drive and commitment maybe part of what drove him to an early grave.

I Couldn't agree more with the sentiment that our MP's sitting in the Commons have a hell of a lot to learn from him.

fat_tail

RedWheels wrote:

I Couldn't agree more with the sentiment that our MP's sitting in the Commons have a hell of a lot to learn from him.

Who has expressed this sentiment ?

Colinthecop

Bit ironic that blocked tubes finished him off....

:shock:

RedWheels

:shock:

fat_tail wrote:

RedWheels wrote:

I Couldn't agree more with the sentiment that our MP's sitting in the Commons have a hell of a lot to learn from him.

Who has expressed this sentiment ?

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

Many politicians and business leaders could learn a thing or two from Bob's life.

fat_tail

RedWheels wrote:

:shock:

fat_tail wrote:

RedWheels wrote:

I Couldn't agree more with the sentiment that our MP's sitting in the Commons have a hell of a lot to learn from him.

Who has expressed this sentiment ?

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

Many politicians and business leaders could learn a thing or two from Bob's life.

So in your estimation, "a thing or two" is the same as "a hell of a lot" ?

itboffin

dying at 52 makes me sad for any person regardless of their job, religion, politics or anything else for that matter.

MaxwellBygraves

fat_tail wrote:

RedWheels wrote:

:shock:

fat_tail wrote:

RedWheels wrote:

I Couldn't agree more with the sentiment that our MP's sitting in the Commons have a hell of a lot to learn from him.

Who has expressed this sentiment ?

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

Many politicians and business leaders could learn a thing or two from Bob's life.

So in your estimation, "a thing or two" is the same as "a hell of a lot" ?

Happy to upgrade my original sentiment from 'a thing or two' to 'a hell of a lot' to avoid a completely pointless argument

MrSweary

itboffin wrote:

dying at 52 makes me sad for any person's family regardless of their job, religion, politics or anything else for that matter.

Fixed.

itboffin

MrSweary wrote:

itboffin wrote:

dying at 52 makes me sad for any person's family regardless of their job, religion, politics or anything else for that matter.

Fixed.

if you iz like gonna fix my gramma your have a big job ahead of you

:roll:

I blame the teachers strikes of the 70s and a lots of drugs in the 80s-90s

MrSweary

itboffin wrote:

MrSweary wrote:

itboffin wrote:

dying at 52 makes me sad for any person's family regardless of their job, religion, politics or anything else for that matter.

Fixed.

if you iz like gonna fix my gramma your have a big job ahead of you

:roll:

I blame the teachers strikes of the 70s and a lots of drugs in the 80s-90s

Grammar..? Not grammar old chap.

itboffin

their''s know hope fore U

gramma

Monkeypump

Koncordski wrote:

...someone that holds a gun to your temple then puts a pen in your hand.

This perfectly sums up his bully-boy tactics for me, and for that I have no sympathy for him. Said for his family? Yes. Sad for me? No.

RedWheels wrote:

His endless drive and commitment maybe part of what drove him to an early grave.

More likely, however, is the fact that he was rather overweight, since he died from (suspected) heart attack.

And how did he qualify for a council house on a £145,000 salary?

rjsterry

MrSweary wrote:

itboffin wrote:

dying at 52 makes me sad for any person's family regardless of their job, religion, politics or anything else for that matter.

Fixed.

Wasn't broken. Why on earth should you not be sad for the person who's died too? It's sad that he missed out on another maybe 30 or 40 years of life.