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Bush-Whacking
Those of us preparing to protest US President George W Bush�s visit to Australia must tread a fine line � between condemning the policies of an illegitimate president with a dangerous agenda and damning an entire nation.
Interview: No Ifs, No Butts
Rugby League Professionals Association president Tony Butterfield on his battle to deliver a collective agreement for NRL players.
Unions: National Focus
In this month�s national wrap: Noel Hester meets a heavy hitter talking up open source unionism, truckies front the suits at Boral�s AGM, tales of corporate bastardry and Medicare birthday revelry.
Industrial: Fools Gold
Unions have thrashed out a string of protocols with the NSW Labor Government. Some, now, are questioning whether they are worth the cheap, imported paper they are written on, reports Jim Marr.
Bad Boss: Bones of Contention
Byron Bay chicken boners have nominated thier boss for a Tony after seeing their entitlements plucked.
History: The Gong Show
In late September the South Coast Labour Council (SCLC) celebrated 75 unbroken years championing the rights of workers in the coastal Illawarra region 80 kilometres south of Sydney, writes Rowan Cahill.
Politics: The Hawke Legacy
The election of the Hawke Labor government twenty years ago holds some salient lessons for today�s Labor Party, writes Troy Bramston.
International: Sick Nation
As Australia celebrates 20 years of Medicare�s universal health coverage the crisis facing American workers in need of medical care is a useful reminder of what we�ve got � and what we stand, writes Andrew Casey.
Economics: Closed Minds
Philip Mendes looks at the political influence of right-wing think tanks, their financial backing and asks why the left hasn�t been able to get its ideas out there.
Review: Mixing Pop and Politics
He's had relations, with girls from many nations... but Billy Bragg seems to like us Aussies as much or even more than any of the others, writes P�draig Collins.
Poetry: One Size Fits All
There once was a man from the Lodge - Who tried hard, our poems, to dodge... Resident bard David Peetz is back!
 Rail Whistleblower Attacked - Again
Royal Con on Tape
Call Centre Stumps Umpire
Breakthrough for Email Privacy
Harbour Sell Off Sparks Occupation
Harvey World Travel Locks Up Tour
STOP PRESS: Telstra Drops Out
Workers Voice Gets Hard Edge
Employees Disable Hard-Ball Bosses
Canberra Eyes Crash Windfall
Bush Whacker - Dubya Fingered
Assault Costs Education Department
Uni Workers Stand Up To Feds
Thousands Say No to Cole
The Town that Struck
Activists Notebook
Postcard
North By Northwest
Phil Doyle returns from up north, where he survived on nothing but goodwill, good people and a great big orange bus. The Soapbox
The $140 Million Patriot
It would be hard to imagine a steeper slide from hero to zero than the experience of Richard Grasso, the now-deposed head of the New York Stock Exchange. writes Jim Stanford. Media
Bush's Bad News Blues
The Bush Administration is cooking up a new campaign 'to shine light on progress made in Iraq', writes Bill Berkowitz. The Locker Room
A Tale Of One City
Phil Doyle gazes into the crystal ball for signs of life, and finds that somewhere the horses are running in the wrong direction. Culture
With Banners Furled
There is no better account of the glory that was the annual Labour Day marches than that given by Kylie Tennant in Foveaux, her fictional account of life in inner Sydney in 1912, the year she was born. Politics
The Westie Wing
Our favourite Macquarie Street MP, Ian West MLC, reports on the world of NSW politics. Postcard
The Cancun Wash-Up
The dramatic collapse of the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico, last month has been followed by a deafening quiet from Geneva, Brussels and Washington, writes Peter Murphy.
On The Waterfront
An Honest Job
Letter From America
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IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation
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News
Thousands Say No to Cole
Five thousand Sydney construction workers took to city streets on Thursday to protest against anti-worker legislation stemming from the Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry.
Marchers heard a passionate address from Tamworth Mum, Robin McGoldrick, whose teenaged son, Dean, was killed on a building site. Mrs McGoldrick, who has just been through drawn out legal action over her son's death, endorsed union calls for industrial manslaughter legislation.
Under legislation, proposed by the Federal Government, workers' rights to oppose unsafe working conditions would be greatly reduced.
The Bill, introduced by former Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott, would block union safety officers from sites until 24 hours' notice had expired. The legislation weakens the right to strike against unsafe conditions and proposes $22,000 fines for individuals who take industrial actions outside proscribed limits.
The union will also be weakened by the laws reducing the capability to collectively bargain as they require all workers to approve of a "bargaining period" by secret ballot, effectively disallowing project and site agreements that were only last month endorsed by the NSW IRC.
CFMEU secretary, Andrew Ferguson, called the proposed laws the "most serious attack on the rights of building workers that we have ever seen in this country". He said they were designed to limit the union's ability to collectively bargain, enter construction sites and strike.
Labor Council secretary, John Robertson, said the legislation was only the most recent evidence of the Howard Government's intention to eliminate Australian unions.
Paul Bastian of the AMWU contrasted Government's attitude to negotiations with construction unions to talks with doctors over the medical indemnity crisis.
"It's all about the car you drive," Bastian said. "If you drive an Audi they'll talk to you, if you drive a Falcon they won't".
The rally also included a minute's silence in memory of construction workers who had died at work.
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Issue 199 contents
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