Christina McAnea, UNISON General Secretary and Tracy Dalling, UNISON Scottish Secretary, formally opened the new Edinburgh Office and the John Stevenson training room on 31st August 2022.
Speaking about John Stevenson’s legacy, Christina and Tracy said the training rooms were named after John because of the tremendous work he done at branch, Scottish and national level over many years. Remembering John’s appearances at National Delegate Conferences, you knew he would be one of the main speakers, whether you agreed with his comments or not, he was always one of the main attractions and was always respected.
Morag Stevenson reminded comrades of how she met John, their family and his love of trade union political education and communication. How he convinced her into designing and making our fantastic branch banner and how was always interested in how the press described him, especially when the article was headed “John Stevenson, angry/happy/chuffed.”
Morag stated, “John would have been proud the training rooms have been named after him and hoped that many more trade unionists would benefit from this training facility.”
Ian Mullen, branch education officer said, “naming the training room after John is a fitting tribute to a friend and comrade who was a stalwart to this branch and UNISON nationally for many years. Having Christina McAnea, the first UNISON female General Secretary and Tracy Dalling opening the office and training facilities would have been a proud day for John given his constant fight for Equal Rights.”