
Issue No 84		16 February 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Organising

Young Activists Bask in Union Summer

By Gina Preston

Sydney students have spent three weeks of their summer holidays experiencing on-the-ground work with unions.

The ACTU has piloted a three-week internship aimed at linking young people and unions. Union Summer combines on-the-job experience with training, and allows participants to build on the skills they have developed at their workplace or university. The internship emulates the success of the American program which ran in 1996 and has since linked many young people to union jobs.

For Alison Gerard, a Law student at University of Technology, Sydney, the internship give her an insight into new methods of union workplace organisation.

Alison has been working with the Hotel Union (the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellanous Workers Union) on strengthening the delegate networks at hotels such as the Sheraton and Hilton on the Park. Her planned activities were interrupted last week by the forced redundancies of 20 employees at Wentworth Ridges Hotel. Alison spent the day at the Industrial Relations Commission hearing unfair dismissal cases.

The internship has laid the foundation for the skills she draws upon when talking to workers or running training sessions for the Cross Campus Women's Network. The best part of Alison's experience so far has been seeing that the union is comprised of workers, and that effective unions are run by the members.

"Don't sit around and wait for the revolution, act now by celebrating wins and evaluating campaigns that didn't work for where they can be improved next time," she said.

For Alice Salomon, of Bondi, the internship has given her an opportunity to apply the industrial relations theory that she has gained from her Arts Degree at University of NSW to cases of unfair dismissals and contracts of employment that she has observed at the Commission.

Alice has been placed at the Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union Telecommunications & Services branch where she is developing surveys for members at a Telstra call centre in which there is a high degree of casual employment. The union wants to embark on an educational program to inform call centre employees that casuals have as much to gain by joining a union as the permanent staff.

Although it is a Telstra call centre, the majority of workers are casuals from the agency Skilled. The union is grappling with the issue of Skilled employing virtually the same people for jobs done previously when they were with Telstra, but with fewer entitlements.

The most rewarding part of the experience for Alice has been seeing a desire in people to protect their conditions and a willingness to be more active.

"They are talking about issues in their tea room - rostering, permanency, shift allocation and security in employment. It's great to see employees responding," she said.

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  Issue 84 contents

Interview: Life After Wartime
After ten years representing the interests of the labour movement in Parliament, Jeff Shaw is back at the bar. And loving it.

Legal: Why the Freeloaders Should Pay
Michael Costa explains why service fees are not only fair - they are economically rational.

Organising: Young Activists Bask in Union Summer
Sydney students have spent three weeks of their summer holidays experiencing on-the-ground work with unions.

Unions: Things Are Looking Up On The Dock
After six years as a call centre worker, Marios Ellas has joined the union movement. Here's his first impressions.

History: Trades Hall � The Royal Connection
Republic, who needs it when we have the Trades Hall decreed by Royal Imprimatur? So tug your forelock as work commences to restore the building.

International: Greetings from Hong Kong
Chan Wai-Keung from the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions outlined the challenges facing Hong Kong workers.

Politics: One Nation - The Old Labor Link
The resurgence in One Nation in the WA election has the pundits again reaching for the tea-leaves. But are they pouring from the wrong pot?

Review: Elect the Ambassador
Labor frontbencher Duncan Kerr unveils his vision for a new international democracy.

Satire: Man Buys Big Issue for the Articles
A Melbourne businessman claims his recent purchase of the "Big Issue" was due to his interest in the magazine's editorial content.

» Young Workers: The Wage Gypsies

» Union Members Tell Scabs: Sing for Your Supper

» Genetic Advances Spark New Privacy Issues

» Wentworth Twenty Emerge Victorious

» Racing Radio Makes Way for Workers� Voice

» Another Major Centre Takes Union Call

» Transport Passes Key Issue for Young Workers

» Shier Calls the Cops! - Fear and Loathing at the ABC

» BHP Contracts Battle Goes Back to the Coalface

» Newcastle Mill to be Union Project

» Government Must Lead on Casual Leave

» Della Ends Discrimination on Leave Entitlements

» Rural Safety Campaign Pays Off

» Mom Always Said � Don�t Break a Picket