Andrew Watson
After years of retreat under conservative leaderships, sections of the trade union movement are today experiencing a revival of militancy and rank-and-file workplace organising. Socialists are playing a leading role in rebuilding these traditions.
But socialists also lend another important angle to union activism: that of building a working class political alternative. Green Left Weekly sought the views of nine activists in the Socialist Alliance caucus of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) on revitalising a fighting union movement.
Why do left political parties matter for unionists?
Jeremy Smith, national councillor: Without left parties, unionists would have no choice but the ALP. That is a poor choice, when the ALP has shifted so far to the right. Any scrutiny of labour history in this country shows that unions have been at their strongest when the organised left has been at its strongest. There can be no doubt that Communist Party organisation enabled the union movement to gain what we have today.
Louise Walker, vice president, general staff, University of Melbourne branch and national councillor: After so many years of economic rationalist attacks in Australia, having a strong, principled political voice to stand up for working class and oppressed people is vital.
Labor's done nothing to turn around the losses working class people are facing as a result of these attacks, and has done little to oppose [Prime Minister John] Howard's racism and scapegoating of refugees. Labor was responsible for reintroducing fees for university students. We have to build a real alternative to the kind of future for working class people that both Labor and Liberal are offering.
Susan Price, Vice President, general staff, UNSW branch: For trade unionists and all workers, struggle on the economic front ultimately raises political questions like, does the workers' movement need its own party, as a political expression of its aspirations? And if so, what kind of party best suits the objective (or historical) interests of workers?
The ALP was formed to represent the interests of a privileged layer of the working class and professionals. Yet many ordinary working people today still see the ALP as a party representing their interests. Reality tells us that the ALP dominance of the leadership of the trade union movement is today a block to the development of a real working class political alternative.
Anne Picot, University of Sydney branch: While unions can take industrial action to defend workers from immediate threats at the workplace level, and industry-wide, the political battlegrounds of ideology and legislation need political organisation. Union members are looking for political leadership to argue for our side, to direct a strategy beyond defensive, localised struggles and to hold up a vision of change for a better world.
What role do you play in your union?
Naomi Crafti, branch executive, Swinburne University: I was co-opted onto the Swinburne branch committee of the NTEU in the wake of [federal education minister Brendan] Nelson's reform package of 2003. I have always been a supporter of the union, but tended to avoid a lot of the local issues. My main focus is on "bigger picture" issues, and I saw the Nelson reforms as a direct threat to the [higher education] sector.
Picot: I am a relatively new member of the NTEU so primarily I have spoken at members' meetings, joined the picket lines and have joined a local committee to help with individual members' cases. I hope to run with another Socialist Alliance member for the branch committee or a delegate's position in the near future.
Nick Fredman, branch executive, Southern Cross University and national councillor: I try to take a positive lead, whether on the megaphone at a picket line or in raising political issues in union forums. Often my role is encouraging and involving others, as a lot of confidence in and knowledge of union activism has been lost.
Pat Brewer, secretary, University of Canberra branch and national councillor: The attacks to privatise and corporatise education permeate every aspect of university life. There is a climate of hostility, bullying and intimidation that silences and stresses staff at all levels within the university. People are overworked and vulnerable. As a unionist and a branch official, people tell me things in private so that the union can act, but the intimidation is so great that they won't speak out in public.
Only active union members are speaking out and leading in this situation. The union activist today is facing the same pressures that generated unionism in the first place. Only collective action and collective strength can defeat the attacks. In the climate of individualism, competition and neoliberalism, this lesson has to be learnt and built through struggle on the ground, not through deals and power-broking at the top.
How does being a member of the Socialist Alliance benefit you in being an active unionist?
Smith: It offers a network of active socialists who go beyond bread and butter issues and can see the real connections between union work and the pressing need to develop a political alternative to Laborism. This is more than a network in the NTEU, however. It is a pole of attraction, even though we are still in the early stages of organising ourselves.
Crafti: Being a member of the SA provides me with a platform and information about issues which I can present to other union members, colleagues and students. The SA network is extensive and there is good communication between comrades. I often receive reports and information about events well ahead of the local branch delegates!
Walker: Being in SA helps me to link up with other left activists in the union. I gain strength from their strength, as it helps me to feel that I'm not the only one who is outraged by the attacks on public education, and I don't simply have to be dismayed by the pathetic offerings of Labor in this area. It also provides me with many ideas and arguments for improving our wages and conditions.
Price: We're still developing the democratic structures within SA to organise our work more effectively, which is just a product of SA's newness as an organisation. But in my opinion, the united approach we've already adopted has meant our trade union work has developed more rapidly than before we formed in 2001. Being in a political party such as SA also provides possibilities for learning the lessons of past struggles, through hearing others' experiences, but also through education and study.
Picot: The discussion of what is happening nationally is really instructive, but we are still finding our feet as a caucus. For example, I think we could have done better with organising national motions about active opposition to the Nelson agenda to put more pressure on the officials to oppose the whole package outright.
Producing a caucus newsletter, Red Pen, has given the alliance a profile in the union, but I think we need to look beyond building the alliance and have a goal of forming a political caucus within a wide network of militants who could lead industrial action independently of the officials.
Even some of the better union leaderships have a pragmatic approach to politics. For example, the NTEU leadership has focused more on industrial relations attacks than the overall privatisation of education. How can SA unionists help to build politically conscious unionism?
Walker: SA unionists are in a unique position to provide explanations for the political environment which all unionists face. To the extent that a link was made between the industrial attacks on higher education workers and the Nelson agenda, it was SA members who made those connections.
The NTEU national leadership could have challenged and fought the government on the purchaser/provider model that was adopted by parliament as part of the Nelson package. NTEU members are not at the point of really pushing the leadership to challenge the government's privatisation agenda yet, but an organisation of active socialists, armed with analysis of how underfunding and privatisation threaten our jobs and livelihoods — as well as the very basis of a sustainable public education system — can play a crucial role in developing the political confidence of members to take the fight back up to Howard. Red Pen has been a useful tool for providing those arguments to members.
Crafti: The Howard government has made an art form of dumbing down the electorate, particularly students. As an SA unionist in the education sector, I think it is vital to educate the community about the bigger picture and, in particular, the dismal state of education in this country.
Picot: Wherever the opportunity arises, in union meetings or conversations at work, Socialist Alliance members should put forward a political explanation of what is happening in the union and in society generally. We should make the links between what is happening on campus and the rest of the Howard government's agenda.
It is important that we broaden discussions beyond the immediate industrial issue and look for ways to appeal to members who are Labor or Greens supporters to join with us in campaigns opposing racism, at anti-war rallies, in student demonstrations, etc. This is where Red Pen can be really useful. Analytical articles about union campaigns and comment on broader issues <197) for example, defence of public services in general, not just education; on why unions should oppose the occupation of Iraq; opposing racism — it can help open up discussion with fellow union members.
Price: We have a responsibility to offer political alternatives to the practices adopted by many unions, including the "service model". Where we have involvement in the leadership of a union branch, we have to lead by example, and to involve members in the work of the union, to strengthen its democratic structures.
Brewer: Given both major parties are pursuing neoliberal policies, the lesser evilism of the ALP is a huge constant pressure pulling union leaderships to the right. Only by building an active and politically aware membership can the pressure on even the best-intentioned union leaderships be countered.
Fredman: On a number of campuses, including SCU, Socialist Alliance staff and students are now building more SA events and activities, which is one immediate way of bringing broader political issues to NTEU members.
What role can SA unionists play in building solidarity between different unions?
Crafti: SA unionists are in the position to build solidarity across the union movement because SA has representatives across all sectors. Being identified under the SA banner provides the vehicle from which to express a shared world view.
Walker: Our direct links with members of other unions through SA mean that we can be quickly called upon to raise motions of support for other unionists in our own branches. Also, we have a direct means to overcome divisions between unions. For example, there are members of other unions aside from the NTEU on Victorian universities, such as the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union and the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union. Links through Socialist Alliance can help us to reduce the likelihood of management undermining our claims by playing us off against one another.
Picot: We should support other pickets and rallies and make a point of taking fellow members along when we go to support such actions. We can also distribute leaflets under the Socialist Alliance banner that take up the cause of other unions in struggle. Where possible we can organise campus-based/workplace meetings with workers involved in a significant struggle, to get support.
From Green Left Weekly, April 21, 2004.
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