The Official Organ of LaborNET
click here to view the latest edition of Workers Online
The Official Organ of LaborNET
Free home delivery
Issue No. 160 08 November 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

A Dry Argument
It�s interesting to watch the way the mainstream media has handled the devastating drought that has laid waste much of rural New South Wales.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Life After Keating
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd looks at the world and wonders what might have been ...

Industrial: That Friday Feeling
Anthony Stavropoulos has been working six days a week for the last eight years and now he wants his weekends back. �Remember that Friday feeling?� he asks. �You just don�t get that anymore.�

Bad Boss: Begging to Work
They may put themselves about as the Saints of the Fourth Estate, but bosses at the Big Issue Magazine have been nominated by their own vendors for this month�s Tony award.

Organising: Project Pilbara
Sydney University�s Bradon Ellem reports on how unions are bouncing back in Rio territory

Unions: Off the Rails
The Federal Government is attempting to turn NSW Railways into a political football with a proposal that threatens the safety of freight and passenger trains in NSW and life in our rail Towns, writes Phil Doyle.

International: Brazil Turns Left
Union stalwarts throughout the American hemisphere are cheering the election of Lula � the peanut seller and shoeshine boy, turned union leader - who has been elected as the first working-class President of Brazil.

Environment: Brown Wash
Stuart Rosewarn argues the Johannesburg Sunmmit was a gripping showcase of Australia�s lack of a strategic vision.

History Special: Learning from the Past
Ray Markey looks at union membership growth in the 1880s & 1900s to argue that today�s unions must engage to grow.

Corporate: Will the Bullying Backfire?
Job insecurity, unemployment, a growing gap between rich and poor, massive global poverty and environmental danger are the big issues for the protests at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Sydney.

Technology: Danger Lurks For The Passive
If unions fail to exploit opportunities on the web to gain members, other organisations are likely to fill the void and provide services to workers on the internet.

History: In Labour�s Image
Neale Towart looks at a long-overdue initiative to around NSW through the eyes of the workers.

Politics: Without Power Or Glory
South Coast contributor Rowan Cahill gives his take on the Cunningham by-election result.

History Special: A 'Cosy Relationship'
Barbara Webster looks at Rockhampton between 1916 � 1957 to debunk the �dependence� theory of trade union growth.

Culture: Blood Stains the Wattle
Former Queensland Treasurer Keith De Lacey has turned up in print with a rollicking tale of life during the famous Mt Isa strike of the 60s.

Satire: Iraq Pre-empts Pre-emptive Strike
Saddam Hussein has launched a pre-emptive strike on the United States to prevent it from pre-emptively striking Iraq first.

Poetry: The Executive Pay Cut
Executives accepting pay freezes, or even pay cuts? This outrageous proposal has been put on the table by some capitalists themselves, and taken up by our bard.

Review: Time Out
When a family man invents a new life after losing his steady job, Tara de Boehmler watches his charade escalate until there is no turning back.

N E W S

 African Immigration Scam Widens

 Unions in New Economy Breakthrough

 Water Workers Told to Stay Home

 Rural Campaign Against Rail Carve-Up

 Seven's Deadly Sin: Email Access Denied

 Vic Election: It�s Bracks �v- Jeff junior

 Aboriginal Health Workers Denied Minimum Wage

 Zookeepers Settle But Pay Stink Continues

 Nurses Gear Up for Aged Care Action

 Stoppage Over Rubbish Protection

 Nurses Care For Themselves Too

 New Roster Undermines WA Prison Security

 Strike Rocks Israel

 ICFTU: Japan No Workers� Paradise

 STOP PRESS: Libs Plan $70m Arts Heist

 Activist Notebook

C O L U M N S

Month In Review
War and Pieces of Work
The Bali Tragedy dominated the news this month, leaving many questioning the motive and wondering if this is fallout from Australia�s unquestioning support of George Dubya�s �War On Terror�.

The Soapbox
Beware of Greeks Bearing Historical Allusions
Roland Stephens argues that the current popular line that the USA is a modern day version of the Roman Empire is flawed.

The Locker Room
Over The Fence Is Out
Phil Doyle warms up for another season of hard hitting and fast bowling in the park, making the rules up as he goes along.

Indigenous
The Sea of Hands
Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation are five years old. Spokeswoman Dameeli Coates addressed labor Council to mark the event.

Postcard
Tokyo Youth Call
Tokyo unions are relying on young organisers to infiltrate workplaces as part of a major organising campaign, which focuses on non-unionised companies, reports Mary Yaager.

Bosswatch
Still Crazy After All These Years
With new research suggests CEO carry similar personality traits to psycho-paths, the AGM season is proving that there�s little room for logic in our nation�s board rooms.

L E T T E R S
 Official Green Hatemail
 More Power To The Workers
 Us V Them
 In Name Only
 Marital Status
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


Labor for Refugees

BossWatch



Letters to the Editor

Official Green Hatemail


In response to the most recent editorial in Workers Online, if the Cunningham by-election showed anything it was that the voters ignored the siren song of the ALP hacks which went something like "If you vote Green it could cost you your job". This historic win for the Greens showed the sort of siren song that the ALP machine will resort to.

The by-election also clearly demonstrated that the Greens are now the third force in Australian politics and that come the next federal election we will be winning more Senate seats, probably from the Democrats. It is worth remembering that all the Democrat Senators voted for the Workplace Relations Act. The Greens Senators Bob Brown, Kerry Nettle and now Michael Organ are currently vigorously opposing the expansion of that act.

On the issue of power The Greens are possibly one or two elections away from holding the balance of power in the Senate, which, in the circumstances of Democrats policy on Industrial Relations, can only benefit the labour movement.

The labour movement is currently made up of about two million members and about 100,000 of these are members of the ALP. This leaves plenty of room for growth of the Greens working class membership base at no expense to the ALP. Indeed Bob Brown was very glad to see many union members in Tasmania helping to double his vote in the last federal election, a seat that otherwise may have gone to the pro-Workplace Relations Act Democrats.

Those voters who do leave Labor for The Greens usually preference back to the ALP so there is no loss of seats to the Coalition. I believe the Greens are also helping to expand the base of electors by showing Australian youth that there is a point to registering to vote. Most of those young people who vote for the Greens will preference the ALP ahead of the Liberals, so no harm there.

I rather like the image of unionists tying themselves up in knots on boats to support the ALP - it seems very appropriate. However it would be more useful for the labour movement, the Greens and enlightened sections of the ALP working together to campaign for clean, sustainable industries and jobs. History presents us with great opportunities to make NSW and Australia clean, green and exporting environmental best practice to the region, because if we don't we may all be scrambling for boats!

Regards

Se�n Marshall

Greens NSW Industrial Relations Spokesperson


------

*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 160 contents



email workers to a friend printer-friendly version latest breaking news from labornet


Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue

© 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/160/letters1_one.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005

Powered by APT Solutions
Labor Council of NSW Workers Online
LaborNET