What is wrong with the present Union Movement?
Today's mass unions don't have a strategy for fighting in
this the most difficult time for workers in the last 50
yrs due to falling living standards.
What should unions be doing about privatisation, loss of
jobs in the public sector and unemployment? If they were
serious, what sort of campaign would work best?
For sure its not the present campaigns of threatened
stoppages, one day stoppages, half day stoppages,
negotiation (mostly in secret), that are going to reverse
the situation. Unions have to have their workers prepared
to fight the good fight. They have to prepare and toughen
them mentally so that they will be willing to strike
indefinitely until they achieve whatever it is they want
to achieve.
The question is however, how many unions have their
workers onside for such a campaign? This is at a time when
pure economic reasoning, lack of job security and
unemployment would have made it easier to bring them on
board than at most other times in the recent past.
Large sections of the rail workforce are disillusioned
though and have formed the opinion that the union
leadership has "sold out". The leadership has lost touch
with the aspirations and plight of the rank and file.
All of the unions have accepted the principles of
enterprise bargaining, AWA 's workplace reform,
privatisation, unemployment all of which hurts their
constituency, the membership.
Not one has been game to break out of this mould and set
the pace or present their own log of demands.
Deregistration and breakup of the union awaits any union
that dares to go it alone. In the meantime they still
train their new delegates in the latest market driven
theories and dispute resolution procedures.
Training of union delegates is akin to studying the
managers Human Resource Manual. They are taught about
efficiency, saving money, balancing budgets, cutting the
labour force to cut costs because its fashionable textbook
economics. It's about Worlds Best Practice and
Benchmarking. Today's delegate has to imbibe the full
vocabulary of right wing market dogma.
One thing their training is not about is people, their
needs, their fears, their anger, their day to day
struggles.
If you were to go down to the Labor Council Headquarters
(and these are the people that represent the workers case)
you could find a bunch of high paid officials done out
like barristers or solicitors in their flash suits who
work in palatial surroundings, where walls are decked out
with Labor memorabilia. What would they know about our
daily struggles on the shop floor or balancing the budget
at home? And what really gets me is that are these people
are not even elected. Who gave these people the right to
represent me or you? All of these positions are
appointments. So how democratic is the trade union
movement ultimately? Yet in NSW most union policy, the
decision to take even minor industrial action, wage case
determinations etc are vetted by the Labor Council.
In much of the public sector and especially in the SRA the
unions have formed another tier of management that
provides intelligence about work practices and efficiency
gains to be made by cutting this or that job. All this is
achieved within the framework of Work and Job Redesign,
Staff Reviews, and Enterprise Bargaining. By continually
having to justify this or that position in these meetings
with management workers and worker numbers become mere
statistics to be bandied about. Often union reps are sent
out on information gathering expeditions paid for by their
employers. Compromise in the interests of industrial
harmony is the overriding consideration. Is it any wonder
that SRA staff numbers have been able to be reduced from a
figure around 40,000 ten yrs ago to around 15,000 today.
And now there is talk of getting the workforce down to
7,000.
In this era of management unionism they cannot afford to
be democratic. Information has to be tightly controlled.
Most information is withheld or bulletins are issued only
within their sphere of influence at a specific workplace.
This makes it difficult for activists to get a grasp of
the larger picture, they only see what is happening in
their own area. Mass meetings are discouraged for the same
reason. Workers have been compartmentalised and are only
given information on issues which immediately effect them.
It is difficult to break out of this self centred unionism
when workers don't see the bigger picture. It is the Union
executives way of limiting dissent.
Their lack of democracy shows when we examine the gender
composition of these right wing unions. With the PTU as an
example, it is clear that women don't get a look in.
Despite the SRA and STA's commitment to a policy of equal
employment opportunity women are not represented on the
executive or amongst the 21 divisional officers of the
union.
I think this is pretty much the same picture through all
of the NSW right wing unions.
As most people are aware these yellow unions work closely
with Labor governments and are therefore hamstrung when it
comes to action simply because they are the ones
delivering for their labour mates. In the upcoming round
of David Hill's job cuts which are substantially aimed at
CountryLink ( the country train services) 60 people will
be left working out of a total of 460. These cuts come
following a recommendation to the Carr government after
their commissioned report by the Independent Pricing
Tribunal (which is far from independent).
Following the "economic rationalists" line that everyone
must pay their way and that public utilities must produce
a profit the authors deduced that there were too many
pensioners using concessions on the long haul country
services and there were too many country booking offices.
The response of the government is to close the booking
offices and reduce customer service, despite the fact that
a majority of customers are elderly and need the extra
services. Throughout State Rail there has been a figure of
1,700 put forward as the number of people to be made
"redundant".
The problem is that right wing unions like the PTU go
along with these economic rationalist arguments. Their
arguments are permanently framed within the limits of
costs and balancing of budgets etc; rather than the public
good or good of their own members. They don't have a
vision of the future - just more of the same. They do not
have vision for tomorrow let alone where they want their
members to be in 5 or 10 yrs time. Simply because their
game is about power and holding onto that power the best
way they can.
Whatever happened to the workers vision? The vision that
one day they could be liberated.
Socialism has become a taboo word an unspeakable deed. It
is not the ideology of the working class that is to the
fore in these yellow unions but the ideology of their
masters that we must combat right down on the shop floor.
Despite the unions best intentions their members don't
trust them and have no time for them. There is a level of
loathing that bubbles along at all times and occasionally
erupts at branch meetings. Although there is nowhere that
this anger can be redirected into an opposition movement
at this stage as the leaderships throttlehold on power is
able to snuff out any mini rebellions using the tactics
of intimidation and fear. In the last PTU elections less
than 25% of members voted and many probably only voted
because their form was filled out by some badgering union
official.
What the leadership can't make up for though is the
total lack of leadership. During the recent coal miners
strike at Coal and Allied in the Hunter Valley train
drivers belonging to the PTU were asked by Freight Corp
to cross the picket line and carry coal. Statements
made by Nick Lewocki on behalf of the PTU make it clear
that it was up to individual drivers to make the
decision about crossing the picket line. That's an
appalling lack of leadership. There was no information
distributed amongst PTU members, no debate. Most of
what we learned we learned was through the daily
papers.
Here there were basic principles of unionism at stake.
Whether unions had coverage of workers in a given
worksite, or put another way, could workers have the right
to organise themselves into unions and could those unions
represent them on the job.
The PTU executive should have sent a clear message to the
mining company, the workers on site and their own members
that they supported the strike fully by holding a mass
meeting with drivers and others to recommend that they not
leave the depot with their trains. If they did take the
train to the picket lines Nick Lewocki should have ridden
in the front engine till he got to the picket where he
could have made a declaration of solidarity with the
miners.
Solidarity! What does solidarity count for today?
Their main concern is that the status quo be maintained at
all times.
During the Hunter Valley coal miners dispute the PTU hid
behind the Howard-Reith Workplace Relations Act worried
about any fines they may have received under the Secondary
Boycott provisions.
The PTU was able to "cry wolf" and blame the Howard
government for their inability to support their colleagues
on strike.
The stance that has been taken by the PTU is totally
hypocritical when all aspects are taken into
consideration, especially a fact which has escaped most
people; that the present NSW Labor government has similar
legislation in it's armory.
What is really disturbing is the fact that these same
right wing unions never mounted a decent campaign when the
legislation was to be introduced. Yes, they did send a
delegation to Canberra for the day of protest. But there
were too many troublemakers there for such a moral crowd.
But this didn't amount to a campaign. A campaign against
the Workplace Relations Act would have required a mass
mobilisation of workers. It would have meant a complete
educational campaign about the Act at shop floor level .
It would have meant organisers going out into the
workplaces. It would have meant stopping all work (at
least for the day of protest). None of the groundwork was
done.
As it was only a select group that ended up in Canberra
that day, most of their members were oblivious to any
protest or any special trains to Canberra on the day and
consequently carried on as normal.
And it doesn't matter how much Jenny George protests to
the ILO about the unfairness of the present Workplace
Relations Act nothing will change unless organisations
such as ACTU are prepared to act and mobilise their
members to hit the capitalists where it hurts, with full
scale industrial action.
What can we do to as activists in this situation?
A proposal.
I would like to propose what I believe is a worthy Left
Project and invite your comments and ideas.
What I envisage would be a non sectarian left wing Trade
Union Alliance, Coalition or Trade Union Centre to be
established with full time workers. This would initially
require a small investment of resources with just a few
people in each state and plenty of volunteers. This could
be one of the most significant projects undertaken by the
left in recent times.
What would be the task of this congress?
It's main aim would be to coordinate struggles by
providing a link between different regions, states or
countries and to bring activist and information together.
In doing so it will facilitate the building of solidarity
between different struggles, between different workers in
different workplaces .
It would be an important strategy to align ourselves with
struggles that are outside the realm of the trade union
movement, eg green, health and safety, anti-racism,
women's issues etc. and continue building solidarity with
workers in struggles internationally. This is something
the present trade union is incapable of doing since their
parliamentarian masters have "special relationships" with
leaders and other dictators who may find the solidarity of
their workers with workers of other countries offensive.
The limited amount that we have been able to reach out has
been welcomed by workers in other areas. We have had
invitations to address them in other railway workplaces;
something we are yet to do. Workers are feeling closed in
and are interested in what is happening in other areas.
Our guess is that when they find out that we're all in the
same boat then solidarity should be forthcoming.
Unions like the PTU do little of this type of work.
Yet policies which advocated an extension and improvement
of the public transport system, in the interest of
efficiency and environmental sense could have spurred
public debate and gathered support both from the
community and from union members.
Linking with community activists and campaigning publicly
helps save jobs.
Another role I see for a left trade union alliance is in
the field of education. Because of limited resources of
activist and restraints on time etc there needs to be a
central educative body that could do this effectively.
Union activists at all stages need to understand and
clarify the task confronting the working class. These
ideas also have to be projected into the public arena.
We need to draw out the radical and class conscious
elements from within the present trade union movement and
weld them into a fighting force; with this new structure
to guide, to advise and give support to colleagues bogged
down in various struggles, providing equipment, machinery,
workplace literature that could help in struggles.
The alliance would formulate its own policy which would
then be loosely binding on the those taking part. Policy
should be formulated by discussion at mass meetings
determined democratically from time to time. Although an
initial policy paper would have to be produced for
discussion in order that a basic position could be laid
down as a starting point.
Though this instrument we could provide a public voice
for a radical trade union movement - I don't know what the
best way of doing this is. Maybe it may mean electing a
spokespersons or persons for the movement and building up
a public profile that lets the pubic immediately identify
them with the radical union movement?
It would help create a new trade union culture that says
change is possible and not illusory as is the case within
the present trade union structures - a culture that is
uplifting and pleasant based on solidarity and comradery.
There could be union cultural nights, seminars, guest
speakers all arranged by the congress itself drawing on
the resources of all the left and progressive trade union
movement. This could be a culture embracing the full gamut
of working class traditions, music, writings, and art.
Principally it should be class based.
A left trade union congress newspaper, magazine, pamphlets
to use in the workplace, propaganda papers that could
draw on the existing extensive database of knowledge,
workplace specific documents etc should be produced. At
present this is beyond the ability of individuals and
single parties due to the immense amount of time energy
and other resouces such a task consumes.
We need to form an alternative and opposition union
movement battling the corrupt and inept bureaucratic trade
unions for the hearts and minds of workers Australia wide
- worldwide.
Who should get Involved?
Progressive trade unions could become involved,
individuals involved in trade union struggles, community
activists, environmentalists , other parties of the left
and concerned individuals.
The dividing line or rallying point has to be premised on
a class and materialist understanding of history and trade
unionism. Involvement in the project should be based on a
group or individuals recognition and acceptance that the
working class can only go forward by setting the goal of
revolution and that trade union work be directed toward
that goal. Any other course is a dead end that leads to
the same conclusions that have caused the present trade
union movement to capitulate to the international ideology
of capital.
It's nothing abnormal or new overseas to have several peak
trade union groupings formed around their unique or
particular ideology.
Why?
Despite all the obvious reasons that I outlined earlier
there are other reasons why we need to form a new grouping
to the left of the Labor Council, Trades Hall and the
ACTU. It could be a way of forging a new solidarity not
only amongst the workers who are involved themselves but
all left forces who are interested in fighting for a
better future.
We need to create a new vision for workers based on the
socialist model. For surely this one has failed them. It
is the lack of vision within this system that is the
missing link and it is incapable of anymore providing one
for anyone but the bankers and owners of capital.
We have to create this vision down on the shop floor. We
have to show workers there is only one way forward and
that they have been led up the garden path all these
years.
We need to be debating in public with these Right unions
on our own terms. Workers need to be given a choice
between what to them would be a new politics or the
continued bullshit spoonfed to them by the Labor unions.
This can best be done through an specialist centrally
organised union structure.
There are various people and various groupings fighting
away in their respective unions who have the need for a
specialist organisation who can help co-ordinate and add
strength to their union struggles. At the moment the
parties of the left do not have the resources on their own
to help with this task.
There are other's who are sceptical or don't have the time
to join political party's yet may be active in the
workplace. These are the people we should be trying to
reach. If they are unwilling to come to the party then we
have to take the struggles to them.
Due to the limits of trade unionism per se the Congress
should compliment organisations existing outside and
within its umbrella rather than be a substitute for the
work that political parties do.
Many will say that these function are already carried out
by the parties to which they belong, and to a certain
extent that is true. But what I am advocating here is
something completely different and which is much broader
and less disciplined than any party structure. It is a
reaching out to the working class who almost unanimously
agree that the present trade union movement does not
represent their interests. It is one of the common
threads which now runs through working class perceptions
and we should not miss this chance to show that all is not
lost and that there is another way.
It is advantageous to the parties to be supporting moves
in this direction, it eventually should see a boost in
overall party membership and therefore resources.
One thing for sure is that left parties and trade unions
need to break out of the state of inertia that they find
themselves in. Risks need to be taken.
All of the parties of the left need to get closer to the
working class and workers for the obvious reasons. This
gives them that chance.