
Issue No 15		28 May 1999

Trades Hall

Costa on the Union Shop

The Labor Council's new Union Organising Centre will change the way unions interact with their members and the general public.

The project is part of a strategic shift to organising and recruiting which was recently endorsed by the Council's executive.

In recognition of the crisis the union movement currently faces in the face of falling members, the Executive has recognised it needs to reorientate activities and culture.

The organising strategy has three core components:

(i) establishing a high-level Organising Committee to develop movement-wide recruitment campaigns.

(ii) union officials spending more time out of the office and in the field. Labor Council officers, including myself, will set an example for all unions by allocating one day per month to spreading the union message in railway stations, shopping malls and workplaces.

(iii) the opening of a shopfront on the ground floor of the Labor Council building to house the Organising Centre and act as a public contact point for union members.

The idea of shop-front unionism is nothing new; it's been floating around the movement for nearly a decade. The difference is that this one will actually be open for business within a month.

The Centre will provide union members with a range of services including:

- free Internet access

- a rehabilitation and OHS referral service

- a workers compensation legal referral service

- a referral centre for new union members

- financial and superannuation advice

- an information desk for award inquiries

- health advice, through the Workers Health Centre

- discount deals on movie and travel

- merchandise including books and T-shirts.

The centre will provide a support base for individual affiliates' organising services, particularly in ensuring follow-up inquiries are answered promptly. By making service delivery easier, it will allow unions to put more of their energy and resources into organising.

Importantly, the centre will also house a group of reputable labour legal firms, who specialise in workers compensation and personal injury. I am sick of ambulance chasing lawyers exploiting injured workers and the workers compensation system. The firms we are dealing with have recognised that it's better to prevent an injury than chase an ambulance. They will treat people with integrity and compassion.

The Internet access will give union officials and members a chance to check their e-mail while they are down this end of town. Over time, I envisage the centre becoming a meeting place for activists.

And the merchandising opportunities will mean there is now a public spot where people who want to support the union movement can buy gifts.

This initiative is all about sending a message that no matter where you are in the union hierarchy, the most important task is organising; this is not a peripheral activity it is core business.

Seventy five per cent of the Australia population support trade unions, currently our densities are 28 per cent so we need to ensure that those who believe in unions know where they can find us. The shopfront isn't the solution, but it's an important first step.

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Issue 15 contents

Interview: Back to the Grassroots
Trade union trainer Jill Biddington looks at old problems through a new lens. Her message: talk to the workers.

Unions: TWU: The Workplace Union
Ring Tony Sheldon, State Secretary of the NSW Transport Workers Union, and if you don't get through straight away you're told it's because "I'm organising members at the moment".

History: Proud to be a Member
Retired transport workers remind young members of the struggles which produced the benefits they now enjoy.

Indigenous: Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide
Australia's treatment of its indigenous people is a problem that won't go away.

Review: Popcorn Goes for the Crunch
A Sydney production attempts to bring Ben Elton's satire of film-shplatt cinema to life.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour review, Labour Council's fortnightly update on industrial issues.

Health: Being Lead Astray
Workers in a range of occupations are exposed to lead and are not being made aware of the hazards

» Labor Council Unveils New Public Face

» Revealed: New, Meaner Breed of Body Hire

» Unions Wins Own Safety Prosecution

» Timor Protest Calls for UN Troops

» Pay Equity Jitters as Report Gathers Dust

» Paid Maternity Leave: One Step Forward - One Step Back

» Court Victory for PNG Workers

» First For Union With Multicultural Arts Grant

» Cleaners Clean Up In Backpay Bonanza

» Unions Join Sorry Ceremony

» Guest Report

» Sport

» Trades Hall

» Piers Watch

» Concern at Timor Attitudes

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