E D I T O R I A L

Modern Labour
Unveiling his 'modern Labor' pitch in the Budget in Reply, Opposition leader Simon Crean seemed very 1950s � when 'modern' was good in itself, like spray-cans, zippers and uncomfortable furniture.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Licking the Wounds
Elder statesman Neville Wran expands on his review into Labor's performance at the last federal election.

Industrial: The Accidental Tourist
Standing on a picket line, just metres from the sleaziest part of Kings Cross, was not what Cheshire chemist David Lui had in mind when he was saving for his trip of a lifetime.

Unions: Stars And Stripes
Fly the flag, beat the war drum and screw the old, the sick and the poor � Peter Costello�s budget aims to emulate the worst aspects of American politics argues Noel Hester.

International: The Un-Promised Land
Andrew Casey lifts the lid on a little-known campaign to establish a Jewish homeland in the Kimberleys.

History: Mate Against Mate
Neale Towart trawls the records to recount some of the more acrimonious ALP State Conference debates.

Politics: Reith's Gong
Peter Reith's medal from the HR Nicholls Society overlooks a number of lamentable aspects about his character as Stuart Mackenzie reports.

Poetry: You've Got a Friend
A friend is someone who protects you, but in an interesting twist the Federal budget has redefined the notion of 'protection' by adding the word 'from'.

Review: War on Terror: Now Showing
Arnold Schwarznegger's latest flick Collateral Damage is spooky for many reasons, writes Tara de Boehmler.

Satire: Burmese Regime Makes Genuine Commitment To Pretence Of Change
The government of Myanmar (Burma) released democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi today after a year and a half of house arrest.

N E W S

Solidarity In The Post To East Timor

Joy Wins For All Workers

Workers Call Abbott On Democracy Bluff

Wran Tells MPs: Talk to Unions

Family First on Conference Agenda

Cole Commission Declares Paper War

Yarra Workers Thank Australia

Budget Attacks Retirement Incomes

PSA Challenges Carr�s Secrecy Shield

Election Talk Aint Cheap

Hotel Bosses Back Down On Pay

Welfare Staff Strike Out At Harrassment

Della Ups DIR Inspectorate

Fake Notes Expose Government as Tax Cheat

Labor Faces Acid Test on Asylum Seekers

New Project Encourages Cultural Exchanges

Bush�s Western Saharan War And Oil Deal

Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Border Solidarity
The Australian Workers Union's Bill Shorten explains why he drew a line in the cement in support of the CSL Yarra crew

The Locker Room
The Dangerous Life Of A Hot Dog Seller
Phil Doyle ruminates on the virtues of processed meats in the world of elite sports.

Bosswatch
The Bottom Line
Peter Costello wasn't the only one flaunting a budget deficit this week, as Rupert Murdoch announced the largest corporate write-down on record.

Postcard
East Timor Appeals For Help
At midnight on Sunday 19 May, the UN mandate in East Timor comes to an end and East Timor becomes a new independent nation.

Week in Review
The Spin Cycle
Budget week brings that much spin you half expect to see Shane Warne wheeled out as a spokesman on health, economics, or whatever else the combatants are blabbing about. Jim Marr lifts the covers.

L E T T E R S

WHAT YOU CAN DO

	About Workers Online
	Latest Issue
	Print Latest Issue
	Previous Issues
	Advanced Search

other LaborNET sites

Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation

Chucking a Wobbly

Regarding Chinese Wobblies: I couldn't access the web site in your story for some reason. But I do read Han Dong Fan's site China Labour Bulletin for up to the minute news on labor in China. I remember there were three stories on labour start about bosses who were killed by workers in China a few months back. Well it happened here in NYC just last month. an immigrant construction worker buried a pick axe in his bosses head over unpaid wages, reportedly $700.00.

Poor sap missed his plane back to Latvia when he fell asleep at JFK airport or he would have gotten away. we have a terrible problem of unpaid wages here in the construction and garment and food industries especially. no word on who the boss was yet, a sub-contractor on a job so it's not clear if he was really to blame or the general contractor could have been late paying. anyway, if a few more of these stories hit the news maybe the problem of unpaid wages might clear up a bit.

Dave Johnson

********************

Comrade,

Please don't take this as a personal criticism, but I must protest in the strongest possible terms about the 'story' (and I use the word loosely as it fails to qualify as journalism) written by Andrew Casey in the latest issue of Workers Online (#135) about woblies with chinese characters.

As far as I can tell, what has happened is a contributor to workers online has written a story about chinese workers using direct action tactics, and underground wobbly-style organising against the state-run shonky unions and corrupt party officials and local bosses. The story is fine to that degree, the problem is;

1. Workers Online uses our Sydney IWW Branch t-shirt logo without our permission or contacting us first,

2. Insinuate in the story that these chinese organisers are using wobbly tactics and methods, including the use or promotion of violence, murder and beatings against bosses, with the assumption being that these are traditional

wobbly methods,

3. Insinuate and actually say that the wobblies are supporting and assisting in this struggle in China. Obviously the IWW has never been involved in China, is not currently involved, and would not support the use of violence,

4. IWW endorsed methods and tactics over the last 100 years of continual organising has never sanctioned the use of violence. The IWW relies on solidarity and non-violent direct action to achieve our goals. Despite the years of extreme state repression in the US and Australia, particularly during the WW1 conscription battles in Australia and the 'red scares' and 'Palmer raids' in the US in the 1920s, the IWW never resorted to violence as a tactic. Any cursory reading of our extensive literature, including the main ideological document, the 'One Big Union' pamphlet, explicitly makes clear our disdain for

so-called 'revolutionaries' who rely on sezing power by force. Old-style wobbly leaflets used to warn, 'watch the man who advocates violence' as experience taught the IWW that such people were usually company or police stooges, or

individuals who were a little bit fried in the brain. Such tactics only create burdens for the organisation,

4. The FBI, CIA, ASIO etc would love bullshit like this to accuse us of being terrorists etc in the current Orwellian post s-11 situation.

It is great if people want to write about the IWW but as we are a real, ongoing organisation, if people want to write about us, use our artwork and make out that they are tapped into what we are doing, they should contact us first. This is made worse by the fact that the article is not sourced, speculative, defamatory and innacurate.

We have numerous 'real' organising stories from around the world which we would love to share with readers of Workers Online.

Might I request a retraction and apology from Workers Online in the next issue, and the opportunity for the IWW to submit a story about some real activities we are currently involved in?

This would assist in setting the record straight.

Yours in solidarity,

Adam Lincoln

x354714

IWW - Sydney

Ed's Reply No offence intended and, yes, Workers Online shuld get its head around the Wobblies. As for the use of the IWW graphic, our photo editor takes the Marxist view that 'all property is theft'. On this occasion he is suitably contrite.

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 136 contents

© 1999-2002 Workers Online
Workers Online is a resource for the Labour movement
provided by the Labor Council of NSW
URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/136/letters4_four.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005