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Dear all, please find message below from Neil Faulkner. If you are interested in joining please do contact Neil directly. Cheers, Umberto On 29 March 2013 20:04, Neil Faulkner <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Dear colleagues Tony Benn and a string of union leaders, MPs, and cultural figures have issued a call for a People's Assembly Against Austerity at Westminster Central Hall on 22 June this year. The aim is to make this an event attended by thousands of delegates and individuals and turn it into a launch-pad for mass resistance to austerity. I've been asked to initiate a letter of endorsement and support within the archaeological community. I am therefore writing to you all asking for names and affiliations/positions on such a letter. The proposed archaeological letter is appended as an attachment and also appears immediately below. Lower down is a copy of the original letter in The Guardian and the lead signatories. Further information can be found at http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/. Kindly email your support if willing. Please circulate to others who may also be willing to sign. The intention is that this letter should in due course be published in the archaeological press (hard copy and online) and used to encourage the archaeological community generally to become part of a national movement against austerity and privatisation. Best wishes, Neil Faulkner THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS' LETTER *Archaeologists Against Austerity: in support of the People’s Assembly* *We, professional and academic archaeologists, wish to endorse the call for a People’s Assembly Against Austerity (PAAA) at Central Hall Westminster on 22 June this year. We congratulate the lead signatories who launched this call in a letter to The Guardian in February.* *With our museums, universities, and heritage services facing cuts, with unemployment and poverty a common experience among archaeologists, we fully support the aim of building a mass campaign against austerity and privatisation. We need a radical alternative based on investment for jobs, homes, public services, and a green transition.* *We hope that the PAAA will bring together thousands of trade unionists, students, political activists, anti-cuts campaigners, minority groups, and others determined to defend our society against the effects of a crisis caused by the bankers, the rich, and the casino-economy they engineered. * *The assembly will provide a national forum for anti-austerity opinion, which, while increasingly widespread, is barely represented in Parliament and the mainstream media. It could also provide a launch-pad for the wave of protests, strikes, occupations, and mass resistance – nationally and internationally – that we are going to need to defend our jobs, incomes, public services, and heritage in the years ahead. * INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORIGINAL GUARDIAN LETTER People’s Assembly launched in the Guardian February 28, 2013 Saturday 22 June 2013, 9:30am – 5pm, Central Hall Westminster, Storey’s Gate, London, Westminster, London SW1H 9NH*The People’s Assembly Against Austerity was launched with a letter to the Guardian<http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/05/people-assembly-against-austerity>by the initial signatories below: * *This is a call to all those millions of people in Britain who face an impoverished and uncertain year as their wages, jobs, conditions and welfare provision come under renewed attack by the government. With some 80% of austerity measures still to come, and with the government lengthening the time they expect cuts to last, we are calling a People’s Assembly Against Austerity to bring together campaigns against cuts and privatisation with trade unionists in a movement for social justice. We aim to develop a strategy for resistance to mobilise millions of people against the Con Dem government.* *The assembly will provide a national forum for anti-austerity views which, while increasingly popular, are barely represented in parliament. A People’s Assembly can play a key role in ensuring that this uncaring government faces a movement of opposition broad enough and powerful enough to generate successful co-ordinated action, including strike action. The assembly will be ready to support co-ordinated industrial action and national demonstrations against austerity, if possible synchronising with mobilisations across Europe. The People’s Assembly Against Austerity will meet at Central Hall, Westminster, on 22 June.* ** *Tony Benn **President, Coalition of Resistance* *Len McCluskey **General secretary, Unite the Union** * *Mark Serwotka **General secretary, PCS** * *Christine Blower **General secretary, NUT* *Michelle Stanistreet **General secretary, NUJ* *Manuel Cortez **General secretary, TSSA* *Billy Hayes **General secretary, CWU* *Bob Crow **General secretary, RMT* *Mick Whelan **General secretary, Aslef* *Kevin Courtney **Deputy general secretary, NUT* *Paul Mackney **Former general secretary Natfhe (now UCU)* *Vicky Baars **NUS union development* *Kevin Donnelly **Trade Union Council JCC* *Caroline Lucas MP* *Katy Clark MP* *Jeremy Corbyn MP* *John McDonnell MP* *Murad Qureshi **London assembly member* *Dawn Butler **Former Labour minister for young citizens and youth engagement* *Tariq Ali **Author* *John Pilger **Journalist* *Ken Loach **Filmmaker* *Owen Jones **Writer* *James Meadway **Senior economist, New Economics Foundation* *Dot Gibson **National Pensioners Convention** Keep our NHS Public* *Merry Cross **Disabled People Against the Cuts* *John Hendy QC **Co-chair, People’s Charter* *John Hilary **Director, War on Want* *Sam Fairbairn **National secretary, Coalition of Resistance* *Imran Khan **Solicitor, co-chair, People’s Charter* *Rachael Newton **People’s Charter* *Romayne Phoenix **Chair, Coalition of Resistance* *Zita Holbourne **Co-chair, Black activists rising against the cuts* *Clare Solomon **Vice-chair, Coalition of Resistance* *Andrew Burgin **Vice-chair, Coalition of Resistance* *Colin Hampton **Co-ordinator, National Unemployed Workers Centres Combine* *Anita Wright **Secretary, National Association of Women* *Joginder Bains **Association of Indian Women* *Shang Gahonia **Indian Workers Association* *Carolyn Jones **Director, Institute of Employment Rights* *Lindsey German **Convenor, Stop the War Coalition* *Kate Hudson **General secretary, CND* *Bruce Kent **Peace campaigner* *Mark Steel **Comedian **Lee Hall* ***Playwright* *Roger Lloyd Pack **Actor* *Josie Long **Comedian* *Iain Banks **Author* *Arthur Smith **Comedian* *Roy Bailey **Folk singer* *Francesca Martinez **Comedian **Richard Wilson **Actor* *John Rees **Counterfire editorial board* *Natalie Bennett **Leader of the Green Party England and Wales* *Fred Leplat **Socialist Resistance* *Robert Griffiths **General secretary, Communist Party of Britain* *Bill Greenshields **Chair, Communist Party of Britain* *Richard Bagley **Editor, Morning Star* -- Umberto Albarella Department of Archaeology University of Sheffield Northgate House West Street Sheffield S1 4ET United Kingdom Telephone: (+) 44 (0) 114 22 22 943 Fax: (+) 44 (0) 114 22 25 109 http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/people/albarella For MSc in Osteoarchaeology see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/postgraduate/masters/courses-available/osteoarchaeology For Zooarchaeology short course see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/research/zooarchaeology-lab/short-course For Archaeologists for Global Justice (AGJ) see: http://agj.group.shef.ac.uk/ "only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught we will realise we cannot eat money" -- Umberto Albarella Department of Archaeology University of Sheffield Northgate House West Street Sheffield S1 4ET United Kingdom Telephone: (+) 44 (0) 114 22 22 943 Fax: (+) 44 (0) 114 22 25 109 http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/people/albarella For MSc in Osteoarchaeology see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/postgraduate/masters/courses-available/osteoarchaeology For Zooarchaeology short course see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/research/zooarchaeology-lab/short-course For Archaeologists for Global Justice (AGJ) see: http://agj.group.shef.ac.uk/ "only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught we will realise we cannot eat money"