Together, united under union umbrellas, workers will never be defeated

Sandra Bradley writes: I have been a unionist all my life in both my home and adopted country, Australia (“Is Australia’s union movement dying?”). I have refused to cross picket lines, have been blacklisted for my union activities, and have been bullied into resigning employment because of them.

It is not without fear or favour that a person maintains loyalty to a union. I was always a union member while employed because it wasn’t just about wages. It was also about the additional benefits that unions enable, such as sick leave, shift payments, etc.

I am not a slave and never will be. My labour is mine to sell at a price I deem suitable. Unions enable me to determine that value.

John Savidis writes: Unions have been declining for years under Liberal-National governments, starting with John Howard introducing WorkChoices and laws banning industrial protests unless they were during enterprise bargaining negotiations. The mainstream media hasn’t been fair or balanced when covering industrial issues over the years, i.e. the Patrick Stevedores waterfront unions dispute.

Any biases against unions are also against Australian workers, whether they are members or not. I’ve been a member since I started working. It’s just like having insurance on your home and car. Workers need protection from unscrupulous corporations that don’t pay taxes like your average worker.

Margaret Ludowyk writes: Other factors in declining union memberships are the outsourcing and offshoring of many unionised workforces, e.g. banks, telecommunications, utilities; the closure of industries such as the car and textile; and short-term contracts for workers such as teachers and nurses.

Jason Bryce writes: I’ve been a member of the MEAA for decades and now I’m in the 55+ age group. The problem surely is that unions are doing fine without members. They have accumulated properties and investment portfolios and have institutional influence through the ALP, ACTU and the Fair Work Commission. Unions don’t need members and members are a hassle. I’ve heard Sally McManus and other ACTU office bearers say Industry Super has 11 million members — as if that’s the same or similar to being a union member.

In the ’80s, unions gave up their affiliation to trades to merge with other factionally aligned unions. That was when they took their eyes off the ball. There is no organising happening. There is no one visiting workplaces and recruiting employees. No one. Zero union employees are going out and recruiting. No union employee is standing on a milk crate in a carpark at a warehouse talking about joining up to get a real wage rise or real reduction in hours.

Occasionally a union will be active at a traditional unionised industrial site, but there are more union employees engaged in factional demarcation disputes and ALP issues than growing their membership. Union membership numbers can’t be trusted because no union wants to admit it has very few members — and hence lose delegates and influence in the ALP. But they all have money in the bank so they don’t really care about membership. Don’t need to care. Workers are the losers of course. Wages are way too low and hours worked are still way too high.

Matthew Doyle writes: Our employee group has just concluded a hard-fought negotiation for a new enterprise agreement. Negotiations were led by our union, which is funded by members, but non-union employees will also enjoy the benefits of this new agreement — at no cost. What real incentive is there for employees to become paid-up members of a union if they can enjoy one of the key benefits for free?

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