Win!
Our Save Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club campaign was the outright winner of the inaugural category of Best Megaphone Petition in a Union Campaign. The judges described the campaign as “a powerful example of rapid response action.” The category focuses on the union-owned platform Megaphone, which is a key tool for campaigns across the movement. For BGWMC, Equity used Megaphone to launch a petition within hours of the venue’s sale announcement, gaining over 10,000 signatures in 48 hours and major media attention. Equity’s rallies and outreach built strong community support, pausing the sale and enabling the creation of ‘Friends of BGWMC’ a group now fundraising to buy the club as a community asset. Judges praised its speed, impact and strategic use of Megaphone.
Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming collected the award on behalf of the union, thanking the Equity comms team, campaigns officer and industrial organiser who had worked on it. Accepting the award, Paul said: “Megaphone is an incredible tool in terms of winning for members. There is no industrial agenda without a serious communications campaign behind it, and this campaign absolutely showed that. It was grassroots, let by our members who work in that club, who depend on it as a safe space for the Queer community in East London. And we are now on the cusp of winning this campaign, so a huge thank you to all the unions who supported our rallies and actions.”
There is no industrial agenda without a serious communications campaign behind it, and this campaign absolutely showed that.
Paul W Fleming, Equity general secretary
Commended
In a highly competitive field for the category of Best Use of Social Media, Equity picked up a commendation for our Demand Better in TV and Film campaign. Judges described our social media presence as “robust” and noted our use of interviews and events “to create content that resonates with both members and the wider public”.
The judges were impressed by how effectively unions have been using the opportunities platforms provide to engage not only with their members, but wider public audiences too. They said “video content was especially engaging and well-produced”.
Best Campaign Communication
Equity landed another ‘commended’ award for our entry to another closely fought category. Our Stop the Cuts campaign activity in Scotland caught the judges’ eyes for the “open letter featuring high-profile members and the impactful speeches by Equity activists”. The judges also praised the union-organised rallies which achieved strong engagement from reps and members. And they recognised that the campaign’s objective was exceeded, commenting “it’s a great example of how coordinated union action can influence government funding.”
All the entries showed the power of collective organising in the workplace. Judges were impressed by the clarity of campaign objectives, the range of campaign tools and techniques use, and the impacts and influence that the campaigns achieved.
The awards were presented by TUC assistant general secretary, Kate Bell, at an awards ceremony at Congress House, the TUC’s headquarters in London. Attending for Equity were general secretary Paul W Fleming, assistant general secretary (communications and policy) Sian Jones, campaigns officer Gareth Forest, press officer Steph Soh, digital comms coordinator Gail McAnena, and organiser Nick Keegan, with digital comms colleague Zoe Ellsmore and Equity designer Tom Greenwood also name checked for their outstanding work.
The winners' booklet is available to view on the TUC website.
