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Issue No. 129 | 22 March 2002 |
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Not So Happy Campers
Interview: Pulling the Pin International: At the Crossroads Unions: A Case Of Lost Identity History: Rocking the Foundations Industrial: Rocky Road Economics: Cracking a Coldie Poetry: The Right Was Wrong Satire: Heffernan�s Evidence Conclusive: Proves He's An Idiot Review: Upstairs, Downstairs
The Soapbox The Locker Room Postcard Cole-Watch Week in Review
 Letter to Howard #1Letter to Howard #2Letter to Howard #3Jump Before You're Pushed
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Interview Pulling the PinInterview with Peter Lewis
************* Was there a specific event that prompted your decision to pull the pin? Not a specific event, no. A whole range of issues and just watching the performance of the Party at State and Federal level. I mean there has been some major blows that would have to be considered as insults to the movement - the announcement after the Federal election obviously prompted by others within the Party, draw a view that is relevant for Trade Unions. They can talk about modernising the party and the like but for our ordinary members, they took it as a slap in the face that the Party was trying to distance itself from their trade union. So that was a blow? We've been to a Federal election where racism won the day and all of a sudden trade unions have been blamed for it and I just couldn't believe it. What's been the response from your members since you made the decision? Unbelievable, unbelievable support and not just from our members but from all sections of the community and all sorts of places. Yesterday it was mad. The amount of emails, messages, calls of support - people saying 'can I join a new party?', there isn't even one around. But if you wanted to make your life's work starting a new political party representing what is clearly just Labor values, you could certainly easily get one up and running. What do you understand Simon Crean means when he says he wants to modernize the ALP? He means he's going to have a review to pacify, I suppose, political expedience. But will Simon Crean have the guts to tackle the branch stackers who run the ALP? I don't really think he will. Branch stackers aren't true Labor people, they're careerists who, for their own ends join up lots of people who have no particular love for Labor issues or unions. If he tackles that, and gets through to branch stacking - I'll be amazed. But do you accept there has been a change in the dynamics of the workplace in the last two decades and that Labor would need to address that? No, what do you mean by dynamics? Well, Crean would say there a lot fewer people who are in unions now and that effects the way that a Party for workers would operate. I disagree. Crean says that then that's fine. But look at our Union - we've increased our membership in the last six years. I don't accept the argument to be different. Although people may in some industries work differently, I don't accept the workers issues are any different now then they were essentially at their core 150 years ago. You've got a lot more casuals out there now, there's a lot more people fearing for their jobs. You've got a Federal Government that is putting the fear across to workers, bosses who want to intimidate people who even attempt to join a union. Ss for the ALP to make any play on that at all is just not on in my view. Defenders of affiliation would say it's much better to be inside the tent than outside. In NSW unions blocked the privatisation of the Power Industry a couple of conferences ago, isn't that proof of the value of actually having unions inside the tent? What you've got to understand is our union is inside the tent. The Secretary of the Union made a very personal decision not to remain affiliated. The ETU will not make a decision on this based on what I've done, but they'll make a meritorious decision on the performance of the Party, particularly at a State level. But would that argument weigh on them do you think? No, I honestly believe that if we went to a vote, our members would leave. And I think they would leave very readily. I mean I look at Unions like the AEU, the Nurses, the CEPU have all done exceptionally well out of the State Labor government and they're not affiliated and I think that what our union has to do is revert to traditional tactics and start treating them like any other employer. The only stairway to heaven is through a good kick in the arse It's been reported you joined the Greens this week, what's the attraction in the Greens? What I do politically now I'm going to keep fairly personal so I'm not going to speculate on my own membership with the Greens. But the Greens in general have been an organization that has really assisted our union in Victoria in the last 12-18mths in particular when we've been trying to push for a Renewable Energies Industry Manufacturing Base in Australia and to get jobs in the La Trobe Valley in Melbourne. Just the amount of time and effort they've put in when working with us to assist creating hundreds of jobs for workers in an industry, which is our industry, that has lost so many. I've just found they're brilliant to work with, they're social justice policies and their industrial relations policies are just fantastic. So what's the difference in the way they do business and the way the ALP operates? I think with the Greens, what you have is a whole range of policies that are based on protecting our environment, protecting human rights and trade union rights. The good thing about the Greens is that they don't listen to talk back radio and change their policy on the run depending on what Alan Jones is saying on a given day. And they're solid in their belief and they're very clear and outspoken, you know exactly where you stand. In terms of representing my political beliefs they've done exceptionally well and I found a real accord with them. Are you, on a bigger picture, seeing the Greens as an alternate vehicle for unions to be politically active? No, not necessarily actually. I think it's a debate that I'd like to have with the input of a lot of other unions. There's a lot of discontent and disquiet amongst trade union movement in Australia about the performance of Labor and a lot of us feel really let down. However, I don't know the best vehicle forward to represent our members' interest in terms of the broader political stuff. The Greens represent social justice issues that have an enormously strong influence obviously on the environment and they do that extremely well. The last thing I'd like to see is trade unions, in any way detract from the work the Greens do. I think we have to be careful that we don't try and make the Greens something that they don't want to be. So I just think the whole emphasis of Trade Union as joining the Greens for something other than for them to be basically, a strong environmental social justice Party, would be misplaced. I think it's up to us to maybe look or talk to the Greens, maybe there's also other options. What would the ALP need to do to win you back? Well, get Ben Chifley back as leader. Gough Whitlam would be nice. If Gough Whitlam takes over the Federal leadership of the Labor Party I'm back in. I'm a traditional Labor person you know, and I think that the ALP just has to prove that it is committed to representing workers. I don't want a half-arsed Party where you get them to say "we love workers" but "we really want to do everything for the boss". I think sometimes they have a identity crisis and I think they are having a huge identity crisis right now. I think they need to work out who's side they're on and declare it as clearly as John Howard and Tony Abbott does, unashamedly and then start getting on with the job of representing working class issues without embellishment. What's the single policy issue they could take that would make you think they are on that track? I don't think it would be a single policy issue. I just think that traditional Labor values are clear. I would just like to see Simon Crean stand up in Federal parliament and say "I'm a Trade Union member and I'm bloody damn proud of it" and a lot of his other people do the same. Not be embarrassed by the Union members but see it as a positive strength and I think they need to assure working people that they're on our side and I think that the ability for Crean and others to do that in Federal parliament is very, very easy. If that's what they believe in, they should stand up and say so.
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