Esso gas dispute: workers on the frontline against boss’ offensive
“We are resolute … I’ve fought for wages and conditions over the 40 years that I’ve been a construction worker. This issue at hand now, there has never been a more important issue than this fight that we are standing for right now.” Mal is a scaffolder-rigger. He has worked in the oil and...CONTINUE READING
Government building code: pressure increases on construction unions
The industrial pressure is increasing in the construction industry. Employers are pushing to amend enterprise agreements so that they comply with the government’s anti-union building code before it comes into full operation on 1 September. As well as national strikes and rallies by buildin...CONTINUE READING
Fascists marched through my town last weekend
Fascists carried out a march in Melbourne on 25 June. Actual fascists. The kind of people who say, “There should be a picture of Hitler in every classroom”. A group that describes itself as “the fist of Australia” and tried to march through multicultural Coburg last year spreading “force a...CONTINUE READING
‘They can’t lock us all up’ – construction unions bring Melbourne to a halt
The jumble of cranes that dominate Melbourne’s skyline isn't moving today. The colossal building boom that’s transforming the city is stopped in its tracks. The power that our side has is on display for anyone who cares to look, as a river of fluro-clad workers flows out of construction si...CONTINUE READING
Locked-out timber workers draw the line
It’s a pretty place for a picket line, an unlikely setting for a crucial working class struggle. Workers in the small north-east Victorian town of Myrtleford have found themselves on the front lines of resistance against an aggressive, anti-worker push being carried out by some of the bigg...CONTINUE READING
Union protests Vic Labor’s NDIS privatisation
Hundreds of disability sector workers and their supporters rallied outside the Victorian state parliament on 12 May over the government’s plans to privatise Victoria’s disability support sector. Workers are furious about Labor premier Daniel Andrews trashing an election promise to keep dis...CONTINUE READING
Turnbull’s 457 visa fraud
“The coalition government – ensuring Aussie workers have priority for Aussie jobs – abolishing the 457 work visa.” You can find these words on immigration minister Peter Dutton’s website – superimposed over a picture of a giant muddy backhoe, digging dirt in some remote-looking location. T...CONTINUE READING
Democracy and the state in the age of Trump
The world’s greatest democracy is in danger. A “deep state”, unaccountable to democratic control, spies on a presidential candidate. Shadowy security forces leak damaging, and often false, secret dossiers. When the anti-establishment candidate is elected, the deep state moves into high gea...CONTINUE READING
The right is wrong to scoff at CFMEU comparisons
It’s been a big week for holier-than-thou scoffing from right wing commentators. In the wake of ACTU secretary Sally McManus’ comments last week, endorsing the idea of breaking unjust laws, many people pointed out that McManus’ sentiments echoed the views of US civil rights movement icons...CONTINUE READING