BY CHRIS CAIN
The picture says it all. On a recent visit to the offices of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) Victorian branch, I quickly learnt the full history of a very nasty dispute.
At the time, there was a picket outside the AMWU offices because the union's national secretary, Doug Cameron, had sacked AMWU national industrial officer Denis Matson and stood down a number of Victorian officials, including the elected Victorian state secretary Craig Johnston. Cameron had appointed national AMWU official Dave Oliver to run the Victorian branch, in contravention of the wishes of the AMWU rank-and-file members.
Let me first say that as I am a member of another union, I tried not to get involved in an internal union factional fight. But how wrong I was. This dispute is not just an internal blue within a union. The dispute is about who the union is, and whether members are able to have a say in the running of their union.
The answers to these questions mean that trade unionists have no other choice but to support the elected leadership of the Victorian branch of the AMWU.
When I was in Victoria, I had the opportunity to visit a few worksites and speak with workers about why trade unionists should support a working-class alternative to the ALP such as the Socialist Alliance. It gave me a chance to learn from some of the militant unions in Victoria about what unions should be, that is, run by the rank-and-file members.
Time and time again, many issues lead back to this statement.
Johnston and his team have not only given the Victorian AMWU branch back to its members, they have also inspired unionists all around the country. Rank-and-file trade unionists have been waiting for this for many years, especially after being sold out, time and time again, by the ALP and some right-wing union officials.
On September 1, I had the opportunity to be at a meeting where Johnston read out his letter of resignation from the position of state secretary of the Victorian branch. He explained the reasons for that decision and why the Victorian state council supported his stance.
He reiterated his belief that the union is always the rank and file, and sometimes you have to take a step back to go two steps forward. I learnt a lot from that meeting, and support and respect that decision.
When the picket was set up on August 13, its purpose was to reinstate Denis Matson and to get rid of the national council-appointed administrator Dave Oliver. Both of these aims have been achieved.
Craig Johnston and the Victorian branch are now committed to going that one step further than the successful pattern bargaining campaign, Campaign 2000. They want what all unions should have, and that is a proud union built by the rank and file.
To Craig and all of the team in the Victorian branch of the AMWU, thank you for the education, and rest assured that people like Cameron will be found out for what they truly are — lackeys of the bosses.
On a personal note, Craig, I'm glad to see your name has been cleared (see article on page 6) and as the old saying goes, dare to struggle, dare to win, If you don't fight, you lose! You are fighting for the right type of unionism — unions run by the rank and file.
I'd also like to give a big thank you to the Socialist Alliance for giving me the opportunity to go to Victoria and meet up with the genuine unionists there. I hope every trade unionist gets behind this working-class political party, the Socialist Alliance.
[Chris Cain is a member of the Western Australian branch of the Maritime Union of Australia.]
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, September 11, 2002.
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