Workers Online
Workers Online
Workers Online
  Issue No 80 Official Organ of LaborNet 01 December 2000  

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Unions

Organising - There Is No Choice


LHMU national secretary Jeff Lawrence responds to Brisbane Institutue director Peter Botsman's attack on organising.

 
 

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In the last issue of Workers Online an extract from a speech by Peter Botsman to the ACOSS National Conference was reprinted. To illustrate his points he used some ill-informed references to the union movement's organising agenda.

These comments may well reflect Mr Botsman's lack of active contact with unions in recent times but are sufficiently wrong to warrant a response.

In particular I would like to respond to three of Mr Botsman's comments:

1. "The Organising 'model' is not primarily about gaining representation in new industries" Botsman

Mr Botsman talks about the ACTU's adoption of an American model of organising that has little to do with organising the new workforce. He is wrong on both scores - the US and Australian unions that are pursuing this agenda are very much focussed on organising the unorganised.

He mentioned the Justice for Janitors organising drive in the US. If they aren't the success story of an organising approach what is? SEIU, the union organising North American janitors, took on the task of organising minium wage migrant workers (many of whom are undocumented) when traditional union approaches had either failed or ignored their need. Today, Justice for Janitors is an internationally recognised organising success story.

In Australia if you look at where unions have been particularly focussing extra organising resources in the last 2 years - hospitality and call centres - what are these if not growing new labour markets?

2. "I think the ACTU strategy is well intentioned, defensive, old fashioned and ultimately about maintaining the status quo" - Botsman

Our movement's organising agenda is markedly different to how most Australian unions have been operating in recent decades.

The approach is different - it is about involving workers in solving their own problems through activism and innovative tactics - relying much less on 'professionals' or 'institutions'.

The content is different - the organising campaigns are very much moulded around issues of deepest concern to workers - not a top down imposed agenda.

The desired outcome is different - it is not just about winning issues, although that is still important, but it is focussed on how we build power and organisation amongst workers.

3. "To be really on top of their game representing people in the workforce, the ACTU would be running courses for generation X'ers in how to run your own business..." Botsman

I can assure Mr Botsman that not too many of the thousands of hotel workers we are organising are likely to be setting up their own hotels in the near future. The Australian market is dominated by a number of very large players including two of the worlds biggest hotel operators - Accor and Bass.

For all that some young people might desire their own business the reality is that many more Australian workers are working for an employer. And for young people in general, polls taken in recent years actually show an increase in support for unionism.

In conclusion I'd suggest that anyone with close contact with our movement in recent years would appreciate the enormity of the transformation we are pursuing. Our agenda is one of challenge and change but ultimately about the activism and empowerment of Australian workers and their families - in both traditional areas of organisation and new.


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*   Issue 80 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Chewing the Fat with Della
In a rare extended interview, NSW 's new industrial relations minister State John Della Bosca outlines his vision for the new workplace.
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*  Unions: Organising - There Is No Choice
LHMU national secretary Jeff Lawrence responds to Brisbane Institutue director Peter Botsman's attack on organising.
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*  Corporate: The Riddles of Democracy at Telstra
Shareholder activist Stephen Mayne explains how the big guys ran roughshod when he and trade union activists attempted to stand for the Telstra board.
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*  Education: Training for Change
Labor Council's Michael Gadiel outlines a traiing agenda for the 21st century.
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*  History: A Stack of Hypocrits
Ballot rigging, sanctioned by the courts, sponsored by the government were a Liberal Party and Bob Menzies speciality - and they introduced legislation to legalise it.
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*  International: African Unions Go To War Against AIDS
The war on AIDS is now the number one priority of the ICFTU's African Regional Organization (AFRO), which has launched an ambitious five-year action plan in nine of the most severely afflicted African nations.
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*  Satire: Teenage Hackers Behind Shock Cabinet Reshuffle
Seasoned front-benchers and political greenhorns alike were joined in stunned surprise today, as a sudden Cabinet reshuffle radically altered the shape of the Federal Government.
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*  Review: Manufacturing Dissent
A new production explores Australian's approach to refugees and their experiences coming to a strange land.
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News
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»  Schweppes Lockout Bubbles Internationally
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»  Online Registration Takes Hold
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»  ALP Council Faces Workers' Wrath
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»  Local Action to Back Burma Sanctions
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»  WorkCover Needs First Aid Help
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»  Shier Under Fire � At Your ABC
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»  Social Charter Puts Heat on Howard
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»  Wattyl Make 'Em Fair Dinkum?
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»  International Union Aid Jobs on Offer
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Columns
»  The Soapbox
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»  Sport
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»  Trades Hall
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»  Tool Shed
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Letters to the editor
»  Botsman Off Beam
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»  Botsman Off Beam II
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»  Fatherly Advice
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»  Concerns on Fundraiser
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»  Let's Be Frank about Frank!
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