A SECRET document drawn up by the Unite union, Labour’s biggest paymaster, reveals its plans to intimidate dozens of Crossrail bosses by targeting their homes and those of their families and children.
The confidential paper also suggests sending demonstrators to the home of Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, and proposes targeting a school that the union suspected had been attended by the children of one company director.
The union drew up the 330-page document during its dispute last year with engineering firms involved in the £14.8bn project to build a new train line across London.
It will reignite concerns about the tactics of Unite’s so-called leverage team, which targets managers as part of its special protest tactics.
Coming on the eve of this week’s TUC conference, its disclosure could fuel claims of bullying and intimidation by the union.
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Last year in a dispute at the Ineos refinery in Grangemouth, police were called after Unite activists appeared at a company director’s home with a giant inflatable rat.
The daughter of another director said a “wanted” poster, criticising her father, was sent to her home in Hampshire, hundreds of miles from the Grangemouth plant.
In another case in Skipton, North Yorkshire, members of the union are said to have protested with banners, horns and sirens outside the home of the boss of a kitchen firm.
Unite’s general secretary Len McCluskey, arguably Britain’s most powerful trade union leader, has defended the tactics of the unit, saying they are necessary to protect the interests of his members.
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David Cameron described the Grangemouth tactics as “quite shocking” and called on Labour to investigate the claims about the union, which has given £12m to the party since the 2010 election. The Conservatives say tighter rules on picketing will form part of their manifesto at the next general election.
The latest document was drawn up in March 2013 at the height of Unite’s dispute with a group of Crossrail firms over the alleged “blacklisting” of a union member who had complained about safety.
The dispute was resolved last September but the plans are significant because they shed light on the “leverage unit”.
It drew up plans to target directors of Bechtel, the US multinational responsible for Crossrail’s delivery, and Kier, the UK construction firm.
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Its targets included the firm’s co-owner, Stephen Bechtel Jr, 89, an American billionaire, his wife, Betty, their children and grandchildren. The document outlines plans to “target Bechtel family, including lawful demonstrations”.
It suggests targeting Stephen Bechtel’s interests including the Boy Scouts of America, to whom he has given $50m, and the Augusta Golf Club, which holds the US Masters and where he is a member.
Unite ‘s document states the need for “further research”, adding: “The Bechtel family lived in Atherton [California] in the 1990s and probably still do.
“Menlo School is a private school and is probably where the Bechtel kids went to school. This needs further investigation for potential leverage.”
The document describes Menlo School as a “possible secondary target for lawful demonstrations and communication in co-operation with US [unions].”
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The document also reveals plans to target Bechtel’s wife, whom it refers to as “Grandma Bechtel”. It proposes to: “Investigate Betty’s organisations and charities to identify further leverage. Action: Confirm Betty’s attendance at Chelsea Flower Show (and other suitable high-profile events) and target for lawful demonstrations.”
The leverage unit also targeted directors at Kier, stating it should “attack Kier”.
It said it wanted to send demonstrators to the homes of its key directors and would “target individuals with blacklist history including lawful demonstrations”.
The union drew up plans to send demonstrators to the home of Johnson who, as chairman of Transport for London, has been a key figure in making Crossrail happen.
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Johnson said: “I wasn’t aware Unite was targeting my home — there is no call for direct action of this kind. Crossrail will help to transform London at a time when we face unprecedented demands on our transport infrastructure.”
A Unite spokesman said: “Unite is proud that its campaigning has exposed and helped reverse the scandal of blacklisting, an employer abuse which has wrecked the lives of thousands of workers.
“We will continue to use all peaceful means of protest to secure justice for our members, including denying bad bosses their anonymity, despite this government’s apparent intention to restrict the right to demonstrate.
“However, at no time have we planned to protest at a school. It did not happen during the Crossrail blacklisting campaign or at any other time.”
Kier did not respond to a request for comment and Bechtel declined to do so.