DISABILITY UNION

THE DISABILITY UNION

BY DAN WHITE

Dan White has discovered an outlet for his political voice, a union that exists to affect change for the disabled community

Political silence: the one thing you would not expect in the disabled community, but it is there. In 2016, new conditions were put into place for charities. Grants from central government departments came with a price. The price being that charities were not able to use the grants for “activity intended to influence - or attempt to influence - parliament, government or political parties”. This amounted to a virtual gagging clause for charities who applied, desperate for funds to survive and assist. The only silver lining was that charities who used privately-raised funds to campaign could be as political as they like, however, these were often smaller charities with little voice.

I am fiercely political in my work. As a parent with a hidden disability who is caring for a 14-year-old child I needed to find with a physical disability, I fail to see how anyone in a similar situation cannot be a union, one politically driven. I see both sides of the that would be spectrum as a carer and a disabled person. To see charities locked into this impasse unafraid to ask of frustrated silence infuriates me and the questions no doubt the hard-working and caring people within. Having a political voice is and rattle the imperative to me; working deep within the locks for disabled disabled and care community it is the zeal running through my veins as I witness the people and apparent state-sanctioned desperation of many. In these times I often turn people carers, a rare to the charity sector, but the charity will is beast indeed blunted, and so help is not as effective as it should be. I needed to find something that lets these frustrated people vent their fury and let it go. Something that would fight for what is right for both groups collectively. What was needed was to have someone fighting back at the equipment manufacturers’ horrendous prices and the cruel legislators of unfair laws, a counterpoint to the great but limited charities’ spirit. For me, I needed to channel my political frustration into something other than a well- meaning charity. I needed to find a union, one that would be unafraid to ask the questions and rattle the locks for disabled people and carers, a rare beast indeed. I needed, for my own mental health’s sake, to be able to unload my angst at the ableism of the system and have someone tell me to channel it productively with like-minded disabled people and carers.

...this union simply wants to change the status quo through words and positive and peaceful activism

Unions can be the channels of your frustrations where you can meet like-minded people and talk to the

teams about wider issues This is not me playing charity off against unions. Both are needed, but only one can kick back. There are similar groups online, but the division is seemingly rife with care and disabled groups separate, sniping at each other, which is odd considering we are all looking for the same thing. If we are not united we fall apart, we get nowhere. So please, support your charity: they are needed, staffed by passionate and probably equally frustrated people. However, don’t think they can rattle the locks of government and demand the changes, that’s where a unity of people comes in. Unions can be the channels of your frustrations where you can meet like-minded people and talk to the teams about wider issues. Charities are vital, we could not manage our lives without them, but it is grossly unfair that their voices should be blunted for political gain. In an ideal world, we would not need charity, but capitalism decrees that we must. There has to be a pecking order of equality apparently, so until equality is an established precedent, unions must always be there, being the counterpoint, the angry sibling of the charity. We all need help but we also have rights: the right to demand as well as to have support. We all must work together politically, carers and disabled people, it just makes progressive sense.

If you are left with anything from this piece, I hope it’s a desire to seek out a union like the Disability Union, so that your burning frustration finds kinship and release. How do I know this? I asked George: “There are lots of people who speak for us, but no real living community of us and by us. That’s what The Disability Union is for. We’re here for the disability community and their carers. Together we will be much harder to ignore. By working together we will win the rights, support, and inclusion we deserve. We’d be honoured if you’d join us. We’ll support you every step of the way.” For more information visit disabilityunion.co.uk.

When people think of unions they assume they’re all about strikes, but no. Union means “the action of joining together or the fact of being joined together, especially in a political context,” and this is exactly what I found in the Disability Union. Formed last year by activist and wheelchair-user George Baker, this union simply wants to change the status quo through words and positive and peaceful activism. This is not just an advert for George and his dream of mass unity, this is me finding my place as a known influencer, finding that much-needed outlet for the pain and frustration that I have held in my burning hand for 14 years as a carer and a father. I needed a home that championed a political view and would let you cathartically run with it, unimpeded, unprejudiced, and amplify it through a collective voice.