
Issue No 92		20 April 2001

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Letters to the Editor

Crosby Responds to Douls

If I didn't know Chris Christodoulou better I'd see his article, reviewing the Organising Conference, as an attack on me. I know that's not the case but I do want to respond to a couple of points Chris raised. The first has him quoting me as saying: You need to challenge the leadership of your unions".

I've checked the videotape of the session. I said no such thing.

I had been asked a question about why, if organisers had to be accountable, that didn't apply to Union Secretaries.

I responded in a sympathetic manner to the plight of union secretaries - namely that they faced at the ballot box a very real process of accountability. I then outlined the way that some Secretaries had rendered their electoral position stronger by turning their unions into organising unions capable of projecting power and securing the approval of union members.

If that offends, I'm sorry but I believe it to be the truth. Let me repeat, it is simply false that in that context, I said anything about organisers challenging their leadership.

I am accused of sometimes being "condescending, self opiniated and arrogant." Pretty tough criticism but I'll have to accept that judgement from Chris if that is his view. The point is that the work that I do is and has to be, largely self-funding. People pay to hear what I have to say. If my manner is as objectionable as is claimed, the way to solve the problem is simply to stop asking me to speak to union audiences. The reality is that there is a real thirst for someone like me to give a clear line on what unions need to do. The solutions seem to work, as there are now a number of unions in every State of the country who are organising - and experiencing the success that comes from that process.

As long as anyone is prepared to listen, I will continue to set out a clear challenge to unions on the need for change. Working people and Australian society as a whole, need to have strong unions. The only way that I can see that happening is for unions to seek the help of their members in rebuilding our power base, allocating resources to growth and involving members in decision making at every level of the union.

That level of change is very difficult to achieve - as every union official who has gone down that path will testify.

Chris seems to think that it can happen gradually, on a consensual basis and over a long period of time.

I disagree.

The achievement of an organising union in its purest form may take a long time but the need is urgent for the transition to start immediately and for the change to be driven through by leadership. If we wait for a consensus to develop, nothing will happen. There will be real opposition in many unions because that's what fundamental change always provokes. That's why successful implementation of the strategy depends upon leaders with a very clear vision of where they want to end up and how they aim to get there.

"Union decline in this country is so savage that organisations like the Labour Council - in my view - have to push organising even harder." The graph is not going to turn around for as long as some unions remain relaxed and comfortable. The majority of unions have to recognise that the traditional ways of representing workers in this country - as successful as they have been in the past - are no longer working, given the changes in the environment in which we operate. Even those unions who enjoy stable membership have to think how to prepare for a deunionisation attempt and how they might assist the rest of the Movement rebuild its strength.

More and more unions get that point. It's not about what one official - whether it's me or anyone else - says or does. The real achievement of the Conference is that for the first time ever in either New Zealand or Australia, a huge number of officials and delegates came together to share their expertise and work out what needs to be done next. Their passion and excitement is reflected in their evaluations. Officials and delegates - in the front line of the change to organising - took real heart from what went on there. They will be the ones, together with leaders of vision and action, who determine whether we are up to the task of building power for working people in this country once again.

Michael Crosby

Joint Director

ACTU Organizing Center

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Issue 92 contents

Interview: Beyond the Accord
Simon Crean cut his teeth in the trade union movement, now he's gearing up to run the economy.

Politics: In Defence of Della�s List
The proposition that trade unions should ask members of the ALP for a commitment that they uphold Party policy should hardly be controversial.

Corporate: The Real Rorters
The unspoken sore of the WorkCover Scheme is non-compliance by employers. None more so that in the construction industry, as this CFMEU paper details.

Legal: In the Real World
Lawyer Ross Goodridge exposes the defficincies in the new medical assessment guidelines for workers compensation by looking at real case studies.

International: The Docklands and Global Labour
Ma Wei Pin and Jasper Goss recount how the struggle of a group of Indonesian hotel workers effected a lucrative Melbourne contract.

History: Sweatshops in America
Since the dawning of the Industrial Revolution, many generations of Americans have toiled in sweatshops.

Unions: Losers Never Start
At the end of her six week vigil, Grenadier delegate Michelle Booth gave her heartfelt thanks to the trade union movement.

Review: Working Classes: Global Realities
The Socialist Register 2001 looks at class realities and the lives of workers in the new century.

Satire: Democrats Change Leader
The Democrats have a new leader after belatedly discovering that Meg Lees had become the second Democrats leader in a row to defect to another party.

» Costa To Join Della�s List

» Compo Campaign Gathers Steam

» Della�s List: Dissident MPs Targeted

» Day of Mourning to be Compo Focus

» Small Steps in Negotiations � But Hard Yards Still to Come

» Important First Step for E-Mail Privacy

» Outraged Cleaners Continue AXA Axings Protests

» Grenadier Picket Ends � But Legacy Lives On

» Entitlement Dramas in Health and Printing

» Nurses Still Waiting on Olympics Bonus

» IRC Delays Hit Eight Month Barrier

» Claims of Dirty Tricks Conspiracy at Mobil

» Sydney Water Workers On Strike

» MUA Rides Anti-pollution Wave

» Governments Urged On Child Slavery

» Time To Act on Pay Discrimination

» Construction Union Supports Folk Festival

» Activists Notebook