Quote:

A powerful construction union has spectacularly quit Labor's left faction in Queensland, about two months out from the state election, labelling it a "protection racket" for "dud" politicians. The Queensland branch of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) released a damning statement this morning, criticising Labor left for a lack of leadership and inability to advocate for working class Queenslanders. CFMEU construction division secretary Michael Ravbar said the split would take effect immediately. "The leadership vacuum in the left has seen a once powerful voice for working Queenslanders atrophy to the point where today it is little more than a creche for party hacks," he said. "The left factional leadership have consistently devoted far more energy to internal intrigues and power plays than to driving a policy platform that reflects both socially and economically progressive values. "In the process, the faction has become little more than a protection racket for dud members such as Jackie Trad, who as former deputy [premier] bears much of the blame for the failure to look after workers' interests even on major public projects such as Cross River Rail. "Quite simply, the so-called left faction is now merely an impotent and self-serving echo chamber for a cabal of Peel Street elite who have totally lost touch with their working class roots." Ms Trad declined to comment on the matter. The Union's mining representative Steven Smyth said the CFMEU would also stop any donations to the Labor party, but would financially back individual candidates. "We've got a clear direction from our membership about donating to the Labor party or any political party," he said. "We'll support candidates who have the same principals and objectives of our members ... but we're certainly not going to be giving money to the Labor party. "The Labor party has lost its way in that it's not standing up for blue-collar workers and families in the community." 'I expect they will continue to campaign with us': Miles The Union has traditionally been a strong advocate for Labor, galvanising its members to campaign for the party ahead of state elections. Mr Ravbar said the CFMEU would not campaign on behalf of the Government before the October 31 poll. "There'll be no finances, there'll be no resources, there'll be no people on the ground," he said. "Historically the CFMEU has been a big supporter of the ALP. If you're talking about federal or state or local government, you're probably talking millions of dollars." But Mr Ravbar stopped short of cutting ties with the ALP completely. "At the end of the day we still want to remain within the party," Mr Ravbar said. "We just don't walk away from a fight or a belief that you need to govern for all, not just a select few." The CFMEU has been publicly warring with Labor for more than a year now, over concerns about the Government's flagship infrastructure project, Cross River Rail. In 2019, hundreds of workers marched on state parliament, calling for the resignation of then deputy premier Jackie Trad. At the time, the trade union provocatively declared Ms Trad was "no friend of the worker" — a bold accusation for the party that prides itself on its blue-collar worker roots. Ms Trad was later stripped of her Cross River Rail portfolio and was dropped from cabinet earlier this year, following a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into an unrelated matter. When Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was today asked if she thought she had any dud politicians in her team, she responded, "No I don't". "All the unions play a vital role," she said. The left faction's most senior Government minister, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said he expected the union would still support Labor during the October poll. "Well I understand they're staying affiliated with the Labor party, I expect they would continue to campaign with us at the election because they know that it's the Labor party who works with them to support jobs in their industries," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-26/cfmeu-quits-queensland-labor-left-faction/12596266

they should ban ALL political donations

I've been saying for a very long time now that the problem is not the ALP's addiction to the Unions - but rather the Union's addiction to the New ALP which frankly doesn't give a rat's posterior about them and their members as long as it can push its gynocentric and wopocentric etc agenda (et cetera, et cetera, et cetera)....

New ALP are Stalinists who believe firmly in their own total control, their 'born to rule' attitude so reminiscent of their 'opposition', which attitude has pervaded the Union movement as well since the early 1990's - whereas the Unions are essentially Trotskyite in that they believe in the power of the common person in the group rather than the elitist stance of New Labour and the New ACTU governed by sheilas.... as began in the early 1990's under the same old disguise of 'equal employment opportunity' - meaning preference would be given to women, wops and wobbly English speakers... and a few Indigenes if at all.

I use these only as facile labels to point out the differences between Elitist New Labour and Elitist New ACTU as opposed to the Unions of the common worker..... I am not a supporter of communism ... essentially in this context ENL and ENACTU are Bolsheviks - the minority taking over the reins by force from the Menshevik Unions, the majority.

This elitist stance is precisely that of the Pre-Revolution Marxists, with their somewhat incredible belief that they alone were 'The People', whereas the common herd were just that - the common herd of cattle - socially, intellectually and politically inferior and of no value other than as servants of the state to be disposed and disposed of at the whim of the State... see Stalinism and the Great Patriotic War etc, Cambodia, the CCP and so forth....

John Smith wrote on Aug 26^th, 2020 at 8:02pm:

they should ban ALL political donations

X 2

Power To the People NOW!!

Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26^th, 2020 at 8:55pm:

I've been saying for a very long time now that the problem is not the ALP's addiction to the Unions - but rather the Union's addiction to the New ALP which frankly doesn't give a rat's posterior about them and their members as long as it can push its gynocentric and wopocentric etc agenda (et cetera, et cetera, et cetera).... New ALP are Stalinists who believe firmly in their own total control, which attitude has pervaded the Union movement as well since the early 1990's - whereas the Unions are essentially Trotskyite in that they believe in the power of the common person in the group rather than the elitist stance of New Labour and the New ACTU governed by sheilas.... as began in the early 1990's under the same old disguise of 'equal employment opportunity' - meaning preference would be given to women, wops and wobbly English speakers... and a few Indigenes if at all. I use these only as facile labels to point out the differences between Elitist New Labour and Elitist New ACTU as opposed to the Unions of the common worker..... essentially in this context ENL and ENACTU are Bolsheviks - the minority taking over the reins by force from the Menshevik Unions, the majority. This elitist stance is precisely that of the Pre-Revolution Marxists, with their somewhat incredible belief that they alone were 'The People', whereas the common herd were just that - the common herd of cattle - socially, intellectually and politically inferior and of no value other than as servants of the state to be disposed and disposed of at the whim of the State... see Stalinism and the Great Patriotic War etc, Cambodia, the CCP and so forth....

Do I take that as agreement?

I modified it a bit - might be a little clearer.

Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26^th, 2020 at 9:05pm:

Do I take that as agreement? I modified it a bit - might be a little clearer.

Nope, I have no idea what you mean

I'm saying, in keeping with Leninist/Marxist history - the ALP and the ACTU these days consider themselves an elite and above the considerations of the common Union person... capisce?  They are more interested in their personal advancement and self-enrichment and their chosen ideology, and in having no time for the petty considerations of the common herd worker, rather than watching over the interests and concerns of the little people - the ones for whom I stand four square.

Capisce?

The CFFMEU apparently agree, at least as regards State New Labor, but I'm sure that, given time, they'll work out the New ACTU as well.

Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26^th, 2020 at 10:05pm:

I'm saying, in keeping with Leninist/Marxist history - the ALP and the ACTU these days consider themselves an elite and above the considerations of the common Union person... capisce?  They are more interested in their personal advancement and self-enrichment and their chosen ideology, and in having no time for the petty considerations of the common herd worker, rather than watching over the interests and concerns of the little people - the ones for whom I stand four square. Capisce? The CFFMEU apparently agree, at least as regards State New Labor, but I'm sure that, given time, they'll work out the New ACTU as well.

the unions have more tiers than we have govt bodies......why the need for so many???   are they not all working for the same END?...


apparently not.. ;D ;D

as you say grap its all about EMPIRE BUILDING...well look at shorten he was almost PM.....

and they still believe in him... :D :D

Sadly, cods, that's what became of the Union movement - like any 'government', shadow or otherwise, it started off for good reasons and once it reached a certain level of control and influence etc, it started to become the very thing it had opposed - elitist, preferential, insider-riven, stacked with favourites, snobbish, and out of touch with its constituents.

It is an old adage that a society (industrial relations could be viewed as a society) builds up a ruling hierarchy, usually that hierarchy comes from the bottom for good reason such as that the ruling elite are not doing the job - and once that new hierarchy takes over, it gradually becomes that very despotic and inept ruling elite it once removed.  Thus the cycle recurs over and over. I haven't put that very well, but it is a basic concept in analysing reasons for demands for social change and why these go on forever - hence is related to national security and such.**

Therefore - this move by the much-maligned yet strong and 'brotherly' CFFMEU - a Union in which that ancient mainstay of equalities and such - MEN - still hold the majority - is a step away from that kind of governance, and back towards a genuine control by the people at the bottom - those who actually work for a living and expect their Union AND government to watch over their best interests first and foremost. 

Extend that to the direct connection between Unions and the Labor Party, with both suffering the ills of insiders, preference etc - and you can readily see that both the Unions and New Labor suffer from all those ills - and that is precisely why New Labor is not and can never be a valid alternative government. It is too driven by special interest groups and so is the Union movement these days, and there is no view towards the best interests of the majority (The Silenced Majority).

It's called democracy in action.

For too long the Union movement has been nothing but a career path and a stepping stone to political position, along with an amazing array of perks and incomes that go with both of those positions, none of which actually involved actual hard work.

The CFFMEU stands out as a shining light of solidarity and sense, and of the guts to stand up and speak out against what is wrong about allowing City Hall (in the shape of the ACTU and New Labor) to dictate every facet of their lives to them.


** the greatest threat to government is democracy - conversely - the greatest threat to democracy is government**

Don't worry, the Chinese bribes to the unions and the Labor Party will make up the shortfall.

cods wrote on Aug 27^th, 2020 at 7:17am:

Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26th, 2020 at 10:05pm: I'm saying, in keeping with Leninist/Marxist history - the ALP and the ACTU these days consider themselves an elite and above the considerations of the common Union person... capisce?  They are more interested in their personal advancement and self-enrichment and their chosen ideology, and in having no time for the petty considerations of the common herd worker, rather than watching over the interests and concerns of the little people - the ones for whom I stand four square. Capisce? The CFFMEU apparently agree, at least as regards State New Labor, but I'm sure that, given time, they'll work out the New ACTU as well. the unions have more tiers than we have govt bodies......why the need for so many???   are they not all working for the same END?...

Tiers?

Within a Union there are usually just two tiers: the Secretary, and then everyone else under him or her. That's the limit of the hierarchy.

Or, by "tiers" did you mean different types of Unions?

Well, there are many different types of employment and that's why we need many different Unions.

Breaking jobs up into categories - Mining, Retail, Hospitality, Education, etc. -  allows the Unions to specialise and thus provide a better service.

Is that what you meant by 'tiers'?

I apologise if you meant something else.

Poor union lover Greggy is living 50 years ago in the past.

Unions today have almost no members anymore and are turning to corporate things like industrial Super to stop themselves going bankrupt.

A union's main function these days is to make workers lose their jobs with their excessive wage demands and demands for unrealistic conditions. Think Ford and Holden and Toyota that the unions chased out of Australia.

The unions are still supporting Whitlam's LIMA Agreement where Australian jobs are sent overseas. And the Chinese are very likely bribing the unions to do this.

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 28^th, 2020 at 8:33am:

cods wrote on Aug 27th, 2020 at 7:17am: Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26th, 2020 at 10:05pm: I'm saying, in keeping with Leninist/Marxist history - the ALP and the ACTU these days consider themselves an elite and above the considerations of the common Union person... capisce?  They are more interested in their personal advancement and self-enrichment and their chosen ideology, and in having no time for the petty considerations of the common herd worker, rather than watching over the interests and concerns of the little people - the ones for whom I stand four square. Capisce? The CFFMEU apparently agree, at least as regards State New Labor, but I'm sure that, given time, they'll work out the New ACTU as well. the unions have more tiers than we have govt bodies......why the need for so many???   are they not all working for the same END?... Tiers? Within a Union there are usually just two tiers: the Secretary, and then everyone else under him or her. That's the limit of the hierarchy. Or, by "tiers" did you mean different types of Unions? Well, there are many different types of employment and that's why we need many different Unions. Breaking jobs up into categories - Mining, Retail, Hospitality, Education, etc. -  allows the Unions to specialise and thus provide a better service. Is that what you meant by 'tiers'? I apologise if you meant something else.

lets say CHIEFs greg.....far too many of them...dont you think?..... and the voice of the members has long been lost.

juliar wrote on Aug 28^th, 2020 at 8:43am:

Poor union lover Greggy is living 50 years ago in the past. Unions today have almost no members anymore and are turning to corporate things like industrial Super to stop themselves going bankrupt. A union's main function these days is to make workers lose their jobs with their excessive wage demands and demands for unrealistic conditions. Think Ford and Holden and Toyota that the unions chased out of Australia. The unions are still supporting Whitlam's LIMA Agreement where Australian jobs are sent overseas. And the Chinese are very likely bribing the unions to do this.

a lot of people think like that... its all about the beginning....no matter how they have lost their way and basically refuse to change

I think its called POWER......hungry POWER... once the union guys started to infiltrate parliament    it was goodbye to the members..

cods wrote on Aug 28^th, 2020 at 10:32am:

juliar wrote on Aug 28th, 2020 at 8:43am: Poor union lover Greggy is living 50 years ago in the past. Unions today have almost no members anymore and are turning to corporate things like industrial Super to stop themselves going bankrupt. A union's main function these days is to make workers lose their jobs with their excessive wage demands and demands for unrealistic conditions. Think Ford and Holden and Toyota that the unions chased out of Australia. The unions are still supporting Whitlam's LIMA Agreement where Australian jobs are sent overseas. And the Chinese are very likely bribing the unions to do this. a lot of people think like that... its all about the beginning....no matter how they have lost their way and basically refuse to change I think its called POWER......hungry POWER... once the union guys started to infiltrate parliament    it was goodbye to the members..

Oh Jesus cods, how many times do you need this explained to you?

Labor was created by the unions - the whole reason was to infiltrate parliament.

That's what they've done from day one.

That's the whole point.

::)

cods wrote on Aug 28^th, 2020 at 10:30am:

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 28th, 2020 at 8:33am: cods wrote on Aug 27th, 2020 at 7:17am: Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26th, 2020 at 10:05pm: I'm saying, in keeping with Leninist/Marxist history - the ALP and the ACTU these days consider themselves an elite and above the considerations of the common Union person... capisce?  They are more interested in their personal advancement and self-enrichment and their chosen ideology, and in having no time for the petty considerations of the common herd worker, rather than watching over the interests and concerns of the little people - the ones for whom I stand four square. Capisce? The CFFMEU apparently agree, at least as regards State New Labor, but I'm sure that, given time, they'll work out the New ACTU as well. the unions have more tiers than we have govt bodies......why the need for so many???   are they not all working for the same END?... Tiers? Within a Union there are usually just two tiers: the Secretary, and then everyone else under him or her. That's the limit of the hierarchy. Or, by "tiers" did you mean different types of Unions? Well, there are many different types of employment and that's why we need many different Unions. Breaking jobs up into categories - Mining, Retail, Hospitality, Education, etc. -  allows the Unions to specialise and thus provide a better service. Is that what you meant by 'tiers'? I apologise if you meant something else. lets say CHIEFs greg.....far too many of them...dont you think?..... and the voice of the members has long been lost.

Within an individual union, there is only one chief.

However, seeing as there are many trade unions there are obviously many chiefs.

Similarly, seeing as there are many businesses, and business unions, they also have many chiefs.

Why do you object to several trade union chiefs but not to several business chiefs, or business union chiefs?

Poor old greggy keeps on describing how the unions were 50 years ago.

Poor old greggy's ignorance of the "modern" grasping Chinese funded "union" that hates workers is sad.

Unions today have almost no members anymore and are turning to corporate things like industrial Super to try to stay afloat.

Unions these days boost their income with standover tactics particularly on construction firms where under duress they obtain funds to buy peace.

Oh?  Can anyone show me where the Chinese GOVERNMENT have been funding UNIONS, as opposed to funding all political parties???

The Union of Immigrant Chinese Dish Washers perhaps?   :-?

Union membership has been under attack since the Howard Days, and there are many weapons involved, including multi-culturalism that imports people from cultures/nations where a Union member is an out and out communist and that is a very dangerous thing to be. Try it in Iran some time. OUR homegrown Unionists are nowhere in the same boat - they don't and haven't traveled to Beijing or Moscow to learn the ropes etc, but have persisted, against the odds, in pursuing the rights of their members and all other workers in the same field, even when they refuse to be members - they still get the benefits while the humble lower end Union man gets the bullet in the neck, being hated by management as well as abandoned by the New Unions in their modern windmill chasing for feminists and such.

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 28^th, 2020 at 10:39am:

cods wrote on Aug 28th, 2020 at 10:30am: greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 28th, 2020 at 8:33am: cods wrote on Aug 27th, 2020 at 7:17am: Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26th, 2020 at 10:05pm: I'm saying, in keeping with Leninist/Marxist history - the ALP and the ACTU these days consider themselves an elite and above the considerations of the common Union person... capisce?  They are more interested in their personal advancement and self-enrichment and their chosen ideology, and in having no time for the petty considerations of the common herd worker, rather than watching over the interests and concerns of the little people - the ones for whom I stand four square. Capisce? The CFFMEU apparently agree, at least as regards State New Labor, but I'm sure that, given time, they'll work out the New ACTU as well. the unions have more tiers than we have govt bodies......why the need for so many???   are they not all working for the same END?... Tiers? Within a Union there are usually just two tiers: the Secretary, and then everyone else under him or her. That's the limit of the hierarchy. Or, by "tiers" did you mean different types of Unions? Well, there are many different types of employment and that's why we need many different Unions. Breaking jobs up into categories - Mining, Retail, Hospitality, Education, etc. -  allows the Unions to specialise and thus provide a better service. Is that what you meant by 'tiers'? I apologise if you meant something else. lets say CHIEFs greg.....far too many of them...dont you think?..... and the voice of the members has long been lost. Within an individual union, there is only one chief. However, seeing as there are many trade unions there are obviously many chiefs. Similarly, seeing as there are many businesses, and business unions, they also have many chiefs. Why do you object to several trade union chiefs but not to several business chiefs, or business union chiefs?

are they all vying for a position on the front bench   though...


we have all seen the thugery that has gone on in the past.....it wouldnt be much different today accept they are not so obvious as they were then.... broken noses

even disappearing....unions from what I read are mainly old fashioned... they havent moved with the times...we now live in times when jobs are not as easy to find as they used to be.....yet we have still had unions calling for strikes..  which must be a slap in the face to those who spent years in the union but have now lost their jobs....and have no likely hood  of them being available in the future.....

Qantas is an example of that happening...

no one has the power to prevent what is happening...

but I dont think strikes are they way to go at a time like this.....not by reasonable people at any rate.

UNIONS will always take the money and run.

Grappler Racist Filth wrote on Aug 26^th, 2020 at 9:00pm:

John Smith wrote on Aug 26th, 2020 at 8:02pm: they should ban ALL political donations X 2 Power To the People NOW!!

X3

This 'thuggery' - it was all one way then?  No strike breakers with pick handles etc?  No management thuggery in attacking Union members through sneaky ways?

Takes two to tango, cods.  When and where have YOU personally seen 'union thuggery' in action?