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The Legacy of 11/9
From the orgy of righteous indignation that has enveloped the �Free World� this week a more chilling truth is emerging: if the suicide bombers were attacking Liberal-Democracy they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
Interview: Still Flying
Flight Attendant�s Association international secretary Johanna Brem looks at life in the air since last September�s terrorist attacks.
International: President Gas
NSW Firefighter�s president Darryl Snow sent this missive to his members on the anniversary of a day when 343 of their colleagues died in the line of duty.
Politics: Australia: A Rogue State?
ARM director Greg Barnes argues that September 11 has summoned a new era of isolationism and international lawlessness.
History: Levelling September
Counterpunch�s Peter Linebaugh reminds us that September 11 is the anniversary of another seminal battle: the fight for the English commons
Unions: Welfare Max
Maximus Inc is big, American and controversial. Right now its knocking on the door of Australian welfare delivery and there is every chance the Howard Government will usher it inside, reports Jim Marr.
Bad Boss: Welcome to Telstra!
A Telstra call centre has joined the race for Bad Boss after sacking a pregant woman who had the audacity to need to use the toilet
Health: Fat Albert: The Grim Reaper
Workers Online�s cultural dietician Mark Morey chews the fat over this week�s conference on child obesity
Poetry: A Man From the East And A Man From The West
Resident Bard David Peetz has penned this ode to the sacked Hilton hotel workers
Review: The Sum Of All Fears
Tara de Boehmler checks in to see that America�s cultural cringe is alive, well and sponsored by Marlboro cigarettes
�Robbed Generation� Seeks Stolen Wages
One Year On: Ansett Crash Still Hurts
Cole Exposed By Immigration Scam
Car Workers on Howard Hit List
Mystery Windfall for Hilton Workers
Shock: Abbott Backs Workers
Union Billboards Censored
Track Grab Ignores Lessons of Glenbrook
Casual Approach to Air Safety
Bosses Say No Living Wage For NSW Childcarers
Pastry Workers Tell Boss To Get Puffed
Injury Toll Mushrooms
Victorian Zookeepers Down Buckets
Pride and Safety for Workers Out!
Activists Notebook
Legends
Gough's Plaza
Labor's living legend challenged NSW Labor to lift its game as he attended a renaming of 2KY House to Gough Whitlam Plaza. The Locker Room
Support The System That Supports You
This system is a certainty, a moral, a good thing and a knocktaker; well, at least according to Phil Doyle Bosswatch
RIP Chainsaw Al
One of the heroes of corporate downsizing has been cut down but his memory lives on with golden handshakes for leaders of failed businesses still thick on the ground. Week in Review
Lest We Forget
You can�t help a sneaking suspicion, Jim Marr writes, that George Bush is conscripting the dead of September 11, 2001, to lead his push for another war in the Gulf�
Awards
The Importance of Being Ernie
It was the tenth annual �Ernie� Awards for sexist behaviour and Labor Council�s Alison Peters was amongst the noisy punters Activists
Workers Out!
Gay and Lesbian trade unionists are organising an international conference to develop a global response to homophobia in the workplace, writes Ryan Heath
The CFMEU Race Debate #1
The CFMEU Race Debate #2
Keeping it Clean
Sue the Leaders?
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Letters to the Editor
The CFMEU Race Debate #1
Dear comrades and friends,
CFMEU: a racist union for racist workers?
As reported by the ABC, five undocumented migrants from Korea were taken into custody after the Department of Immigration raided ceramics factory in Sydney. One of them escaped. This action was the result of tip off given to immigration officials by union officials from the CFMEU.
As person of the left, I believe that the role of trade unions is to defend the workers interests and rights regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity and visa status. In this the CFMEU has not only failed abysmally to provide protection to these Korean workers, but also has become complicit with the war waged by the Australian government against refugees and undocumented immigrants.
This once again is proof how the rhetoric of "refugees are welcome here" is so meaningless in a context where trade unions themselves are enforcing racist exclusion against undocumented immigrants. The distinction between the refugee and the undocumented is one defined by our enemies with the goal of dividing us.
The minimal thing we can accept from the CFMEU now is not only an apology, but the immediate resignation of those trade union officials responsible for the tip off. We should demand a public statement by the CFMEU that this collaboration with Ruddock won't happen again. For those who stand for the defence of human dignity, the first thing we should do is to organise a loud protest against racism in the union movement in front of the CFMEU offices.
In solidarity
Dr Sergio Fiedler
Social Inquiry
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Technology Sydney
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Issue 152 contents
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