When Words Fail

It might have sent the media into hysteria and had Kevin Rudd sounding all proper but Dean Mighell only wondered what all the fuss was about. Yes, he did make one of those colloquial references – the bed sheet comment – about Prime Minister John Howard. However, did it really warrant Kevin Rudd apologising to Howard on the ABC’s 7.30 Report and Julia Gillard expressing similar sentiments at the shop stewards conference?

Dean’s ‘I suppose I could have put it better’ and his request that people remember what Howard has done to working people sums it up. This is a Prime Minister whose contempt for working people and asylum seekers and slavish devotion to George Bush’s invasion of Iraq and incarceration of David Hicks stamp him as one of the worst Prime Ministers Australians have suffered.

Dean’s comments were put into perspective when Senator Bill Heffernan savaged Julia Gillard, saying she was incapable of leading the country because she was a ‘barren’ childless woman. It’s a despicable comment that brutalises any and every woman who doesn’t bear a child. Fancy qualifying the attack with the words ‘deliberately barren’! What about women who can’t have children? You are either childless or not. John Howard’s ‘I don’t approve of those sort of remarks’ is a far cry from his feigned outrage at Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilali’s outbursts. Given Heffernan is Howard’s ‘attack dog’ (sorry for the street language) it tells us a lot about the PM.

Julia Gillard graced the floor and delivered her fifteen minute speech at the shop stewards conference with the usual poise. But the real stars were the ETU members who chose not to heckle and Dean Mighell for taking it in his stride. Given the ETU has donated money to the ALP’s election campaign and is supporting Mike Symon in Deakin and Kevin Harkins in Franklin, it’s a bit rich for Julia to chastise our secretary:

Can I briefly comment upon Dean's comments regarding the Prime Minister…I am no fan of John Howard's policies and I believe his agenda is taking Australia in the wrong direction. I have spent my time in Federal Parliament out in the community advocating how wrong his views are. But I do respect the office and the fact he put himself forward for leadership of a political party and leadership of the nation. That sort of language has no place in Australian public debate’.

No one was surprised to hear Julia say the ALP ‘does not agree with Dean's views about workplace confrontation in our workplaces, and the desire for industry wide industrial action’. Playing to so-called middle Australia? But who among us respects John Howard because he ‘put himself forward’? This is a man that, without batting an eyelid, has hurt so many people.

As important as it is to get rid of John Howard, it’s crucial that we continue the fight and demand what is rightfully ours; our rights at work.

A Hit DVD

Comedian Dave Hughes was his usual hilarious self when he entertained guests at ACMI – The Australian Centre for the Moving Image - at Federation Square on 1 May.

The occasion was the launch of the DVD Hold the Line. Brought to life by producer/writer/director Joan Robinson and producer Carmel McAloon, Hold the Line is an example of what unions can and should do to win what Greg Combet calls the ideological war. Although it focuses on the contracting industry and shows how the Howard government has tried to unravel the 2006 agreement the DVD paints a fascinating picture of the culture of the ETU and what its members value in life. It is a perfect foil to the stereotypical images of unionists that adorn the pages of our tabloid newspapers. The DVD shows men and women committed not only to justice and rights at work but to a community in which they can do their bit as parents and citizens.

Members would be pleased to know that Dave Hughes’ cameo ended with ‘He can shove it up his arse’. We know exactly what he meant!

Singing a Union Song

When Catherine O'Brien's album Kiss the Earth was reviewed by the Japanese on-line magazine Metropolis, her musical style was described as ‘light, airy, folk-tinged jazz songs with a sparse but pretty guitar accompaniment, to which she sings songs of individual introspection and sometimes political protest..’

Her latest single has nothing of the ‘sometimes political protest’ about it as she rips into the Howard government's workplace laws, with a song called New Legislation. ‘It’s in the style of the traditional anti-boss, protest song. And having been asked out by a boss when I was only eighteen the line “besides she refused to go out on a date and he’s got his new legislation” rings very true for me,’ says 28-year-old Erinn Sales from the ETU’s communications department.

Composed by Catherine ‘O’Brien and Allan Caswell the music and lyrics of New Legislation bring to life the injustices of the WorkChoices legislation. You can listen to a streamed copy here.

The independently-produced single is now on iTunes at the cost of $A1.69. Download your copy from  here

The ETU would like to thank to ETU Steward Ken Wurster for alerting us to the song.

Combet’s Exclusive

Over the past few years ACTU secretary Greg Combet has won a legion of admirers. From the rough and tumble of the labour movement to middle Australia, people have come to admire his courage, sincerity and intellect. There’s no doubting his capacity to engage an audience. So too is he a man of personal warmth. The smile, the warm handshake and the preparedness to listen make him a rarity in the indulgent, duplicitous political world.

On May Day 2007 he was treated to a standing ovation when he announced his intention to stand for federal parliament as an endorsed ALP candidate. Considered by many as the best ACTU secretary ever ‘Combet will be sorely missed,’ says ETU secretary Dean Mighell. He’s dead right. Of equal concern is whether Greg will be able to continue to capture the spirit of independence that made him unique among ACTU secretaries. As we’ve seen with Peter Garrett, political parties don’t always welcome independence. Will Greg Combet’s candidacy genuinely increase the ALP’s chances of winning government at the next election? Only time will tell.

In last month’s edition of the online magazine we carried a piece on shop steward Brendan McMahon’s dispute with Alcoa in Portland. In part it said:

Now news arrives that the much respected shop steward at the Alcoa plant in Portland, Brendan McMahon, has been put on a final warning over an alleged safety breach. Brendan is genuinely hurt by the allegation and his treatment at the hands of Alcoa. The alleged breach came about after Brendan undertook a task in accordance with a directive from a supervisor. What’s further troubling is that Brendan expressly asked the supervisor whether he should complete the task asked of him.

On 24 April the ETU received a letter from Peter Chellis at Alcoa that included this gem. ‘The ETU’s website contains an item regarding our employee, Brendan McMahon. Certain allegations on the website are misleading and incorrect’. We have sought the services of Sherlock Holmes to unravel the mystery of the Alcoa Affair.

Ben Bowen is a shop steward at the Maryvale Paper Mill near Traralgon, where workers went on strike for seven weeks in 2000. Ben arrived at the site in 2003 and heard many of the stories. ‘We don’t want to go back on any of the condition the boys won,’ he says. Away from the mill, Ben’s activities on a motor bike qualify him as ‘a daredevil’. On weekends he can be found flying through the air, clinging precariously to an airborne motor bike. A freestyle motocross rider, he’s been riding bikes for ten years.

It’s a hobby that allows him to mix with teenage kids, many he says, are ‘looking for something in life’. Ben has no qualms in saying it’s an activity ‘that genuinely helps some kids who might be going off the rails’. Because of its commitment to justice and a fair go the ETU has decided to assist Ben in taking his message to these kids and their families.

‘WorkChoices threatens all workers. However the legislation is even more dangerous to the kids I meet, because most don’t have the protection of a union,’ he says. As part of the campaign Ben will promote the Your Rights at Work message in the motocross scene. That will include wearing the T-shirts, putting stickers on his bike and placing signs around venues.

‘The injustices within the new IR laws are at odds with my beliefs,’ he says. For more info go to www.crossingthegap.com.au

‘I’d like to see as many ETU members as possible visit the GetUp site -http://getup.org.au – and register. We need to get rid of the Howard government,’ said Dean Mighell in the last edition of the online magazine.

ETU members would be glad to hear that Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe have given their support to GetUp’s campaign to address health problems in the indigenous community. Just go to www.getup.org.au/campaign/CloseTheGap to find out more.

GetUp says it is ‘presenting politicians with a plan to achieve health equality for Indigenous Australians that includes seeking an additional $460 million a year, coupled with targeted housing, education and nutrition policies’. The aim is to ‘relegate third-world levels of diabetes, heart disease and pneumonia to the history books’.

Few would disagree when GetUp says ‘We're swimming in surplus - all that we need now is to show our politicians that Australians want to use this historic opportunity and end the inequality forever. Tell them, on the eve of the budget, and before they begin to congratulate each other over another great year, that we can begin this journey to close the health gap right now’.

Eight and Aiming High

At the May 2007 Shop Stewards Conference we asked stewards to ensure they had subscribed to this online magazine. As explained, it is the intention of the communications department to not only increase our subscription numbers but build an activists list. If you missed the opportunity to add your email to the activists list please email Erinn Sales erinn@etu.asn.au in the communications department.

It’s eight years since Alex McCallum published the first online magazine for the southern states branch of the ETU. During that time it has undergone a number of changes, including increasing the number of recipients from 300 to more than 5,000. To see the original copy click here: http://www.etu.asn.au/nletter/1newsletter.html

As Alex points out ‘The first edition was a plain text email sent out through a Eudora mail client’. The current edition has a whole new ‘wrapper’ and features a new subscription page. Members would have also noticed that our website has a new homepage.

In 2007 we hope to increase the number of subscribers to our online magazine substantially. As was emphasised at the shop stewards conference, the ETU is committed to utilising the latest internet and email technologies in communicating with members and participating in campaigns.

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