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Issue No. 242 15 October 2004  
E D I T O R I A L

Historical Revisions
It was a common refrain on Saturday night as we cried in our beers, hurled vitriol at the TV set and wondered how big the shellacking would be this time around: Howard won on a lie.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: The Last Bastian
AMWU state secretary Paul Bastian has been at the centre of the three year battle to bring James Hardie to account.

Unions: High and Dry
Jim Marr unpacks the recent High Court Electrolux decision to test whether the ruling matches the media hype.

Security: Liquid Borders
The Howard Government loves to trumpet its national security credentials but a close look at its record in shipping sinks the myth argues MUA�s Zoe Reynolds.

Industrial: No Bully For You
Phil Doyle reports on how bringing dignity and respect to the workplace is undermining bullies.

History: Radical Brisbane
Radical Brisbane extends the 'Radical City' series into the Red North. Two experienced activists, academics and writers turn South East Queensland history on its head.

International: No Vacancies
More than 1400 hotel union workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 2, are on strike at four major hotels in San Francisco, California, writes Andrew Casey.

Economics: Life After Capitalism
A situation that all anarchists dream of? Michael Albert has been more than dreaming., writes Neale Towart

Technology: Cyber Winners
Labourstart's Eric Lee looks at a good news story of global online campaigning that has delivered a victory.

Poetry: Do It Yourself Poetry
Teaser: Wondering why the polls are all over the place? Ask our resident bard and psephologist.

Review: Hard Labo(u)r
The Voice of Southern Labor highlights the role music played in the 1930's US textile strikes, but more than that it provides a lucid insight into the roots of modern capitalism and some truly organic organising, writes Tara de Boehmler.

N E W S

 Don�t Worry, Be Organised

 Senate Faces Family Fight

 Cheques Cashed In Seconds

 "Undemocractic" Taskforce Court Out

 Power to People: On Hold

 Eyes Have It Over Lotto

 Bomb in Santa�s Sack

 No Picnic in Park

 Smoking Loophole A Bit Rich

 BlueScope Workers Take Stock

 ABC Radio Clash

 Melbourne Goes Global

 No Justice for Joel

 Mercury Falling in Hobart

 Last Gasp for Monitoring

 Kiddie Photos Victory

 Thousands Up for Grabs

 Activists What's On!

C O L U M N S

Politics
True Lies
Labor Council secretary John Robertson argues It�s Time � for an IR reality check.

Parliament
The Westie Wing
Much work has been done in the past to ease the plight of clothing outworkers in New South Wales. It's time to step up the pressure, as sweatshops and clothing contract work are thriving stronger than ever, writes Ian West.

The Soapbox
Who Started the Class War?
Evan Jones looks across the Australian political landscape and asks who are the real class warriors?

The Locker Room
First Past The Post
Phil Doyle is coming up in class and is all the better for recent racing

Parliament
Westie Wing
Our favourite state MP returns for his monthly Macquarie Street wrap.

Postcard
Positive Action
Australian unionists are helping give hope to Filipino workers living with HIV/AIDS.

L E T T E R S
 Giving Your Soul Away
 Invest in Dignity Part III
 You Need Help
 Medicare Woes
 Whose Party Is It Anyway?
WHAT YOU CAN DO
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Letters to the Editor

Giving Your Soul Away


Out of all the appalling events surrounding the recent election, perhaps the most disgusting was the spectacle of Tasmanian CFMEU Forestry Division members cheering the lying rodent to the rafters when he announced a forest policy crafted to give their bosses everything they wanted. Unionists should know better.

For a unionist, voting Liberal should be like crossing a picket line. It's something you don't do - ever. No matter how attractive it looks on the basis of the issues presented at the time, it's an act of utter stupidity that will rebound to your disadvantage in the end.

Howard is no friend of workers, timber or otherwise, and no mug either. If the Coalition has sufficient numbers & influence in the Senate to get its industrial relations agenda through, it will be in no small part because Tasmanian timber workers & others like them interstate voted on the basis of what Howard was saying rather than an understanding of what he would do.

Tasmanian timber workers get maybe a few more jobs for a few more years in an unsustainable industry, instead of a managed transition to a sustainable industry, while all workers, including themselves, suffer from the lower wages, poorer working conditions, more hazardous jobs & less secure employment that the Liberals ALWAYS want to foist on us and to which Howard is unswervingly committed.

Workers never get anything from the Liberals that they couldn't get themselves through their own efforts. By asking the Liberals to do it for them, they only give their worst enemies more power to do them harm. As Mephistopheles said, people don't sell their souls to the Devil - they give them away.

In Solidarity,

Greg Platt


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