Hot Mettle: SOGAT, Murdoch and Me
Brenda Dean
Politico’s, 288pp, £17.99
Brenda Dean has achieved in Hot Mettle an inspirational journal that charts the ‘last major industrial clash in Britain’ between print workers and News International. It tells the story of how one young woman rose through the ranks of the trade union movement to lead the print union SOGAT through its most challenging period, in the full gaze of the public eye.
Dean’s election as general secretary was in stark comparison to the old male vanguard that did (and so often still does) represent the public face of trade unionism in the UK. This young, glamorous and highly intellectual woman led the print workers against arguably the most dominant, powerful and, frankly, scary beast of the media world, Rupert Murdoch. With her steely determination, pragmatism, pure drive and compassionate commitment to her members, Dean should be an inspiration to young women activists everywhere.
The beauty of the Brenda Dean described in Hot Mettle is her innate ability to think strategically and politically throughout her career, from administrative secretary in the SOGAT offices in the north west to her work currently in the House of Lords. Reading this book gave me a new angle and context by which to think about the issues facing trade unionists today, as well as providing me with some key organising tactics and tips for political survival – be that local, national or small ‘p’ office politics.