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

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No Justice for Joel

Joel Exner's family, along with many of his school friends and over 400 construction workers, attended the unveiling of a memorial in his honour at Wallgrove in Sydney last Friday.

Workers at Exner's former employer, Australand, walked off the job for 24 hours as a mark of respect; they were joined by workers from the nearby M7 project.

The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) called for industrial manslaughter laws to be introduced in NSW to help prevent tragedies such as Joel Exner's death.

"No family in Australia should have to suffer the pain that Joel's family has gone through," says CFMEU NSW Secretary Andrew Ferguson. "The CFMEU refuses to stand by and watch as workers continue to die, and families continue to be torn apart, all for the sake of corporate profits."

"One year on, we still haven't received justice for Joel, and the government still hasn't learnt anything from our pain and suffering," says Joel Exner's mother Sue Baxter. "If a driver is negligent and kills someone, that's a crime, but for some reason they are still refusing to create industrial manslaughter laws so that bosses who are negligent, and kill innocent workers like my son, can be jailed for it."

The memorial features a plaque of Joel and a resting-place for passers by, which is expected to become an important place to the family and friends who live close by.

Rev Set For Unsafety Award

Meanwhile Kev "the Rev" Andrews has inspired safety activists to launch the annual Kevs in conjunction with Workers Online and Labor Council of NSW workplace safety website UnionSafe.

The Kevs will feature documented instances of unsafe practices found in Australian workplaces.

Safety activists, workers and trade unions are encouraged to send their photos of instances of flagrant disregard for safety and common sense to [email protected] and the five most interesting examples being featured on UnionSafe and Workers Online with the winner announced in December.

"Despite the safety positive message unions are promoting in workplaces we still come across some amazing examples of safety being disregarded,' says NSW Labor Council OHS Officer Mary Yaager. "In many instances they are so ridiculous as to be laughable.

"The Kevs are about highlighting the lack of thought given to safety by some organisations.

"Receiving a Kev will be a sign that they need to not only stop putting their workers at risk, but also that they should stop making fools of themselves."

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URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/242/news86_joel.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005