Our strength comes from standing together in our differences, as one organised working class!” – Nelly Ospino, UVW General secretary
Ninety years ago, thousands of East London workers and migrant communities came together to prevent Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists from marching through the East End. On Sunday, 4 October, UVW members returned to Cable Street to commemorate that historic anti-fascist resistance and reaffirm its message for today.
We arrived armed with our iconic handmade banners, vibrant music, and our history of serving migrant workers through class empowerment. Niijor Manush, a community organisation for Bangladeshis in the UK, also marched hand in hand with our members down the street as we traded chants in different languages. The swell of surrounding comrades marching in solidarity sent a clear message to all onlookers: No Pasarán! – fascists shall never pass.
UVW’s General Secretary, Nelly Ospino, spoke at the rally, reminding the crowd that UVW members – cleaners, security guards, caterers, care workers, housekeepers, hospitality workers, and more – keep London running.
Ospino said: “Cable Street teaches us something fundamental: Justice is not handed down by the powerful. It is won by the organised. Every time UVW members walk onto a picket line, challenge discrimination or fight racist outsourcing, we carry the spirit of Cable Street forward. We must stand alongside migrants, Muslims, LGBT+ communities and everyone scapegoated by this government and the far right. Our strength comes from standing together in our differences, as one organised working class!”
The Battle of Cable Street demonstrates that when we unite as one working class, we as workers, migrants, and comrades have the collective power to rise above to resist hatred and division.