More blatant 'Conspiracy Theory' stuff.

[coljones]

Change the rules

[Phil Perry]

I was reasonably happy with the unionized dock workers when I sent my stuff out to Australia in 1970. .. the only dropped on item,. .ie the whole container that our stuff was in. . .everything we had suffered compression or as it's known in the docks, 'Drop Damage' The little bar fridge we had for a wedding present was 2 inches lower than when we put it in the container ( ! ) but, amazingly, even with the compression creases in the outer skin, it operated faultlessly for five years. . .! The telly was fecked, but, we didn't know that it wouldn't have worked anyhow, as the Auz system sent the intercarrier sound on a different frequency to the UK,so it would have been silent movies. . . . . .I later modifed the internal receiver to accommodate sound from the Aus system. . .being a tecchy geek. . .

 

The very first prog WE EVER saw and heard, was Kevin Dennis New Faces,. . .and we were amazed to note that they had advertising actually IN the programme. itself. .this was new to us. . . .being thick Pommies. . .

 

Very American,. . . .we thought. . . .

 

On the way BK to the UK in 1982, we lost one complete tea chest,. . .the one with half my vinyl record collection and ALL of our cutlery AND MY TOOLBOX. . . BUT at least all my Ham radio stuff was delivered safe and well. . . .. I oftne muse that some of those vvinyls would now make me sufficient money to buy a ranch on Aus,. . .but Wifey won't leave our two Daugters behind,. . ., so I am trapped in England until she has a tragic accident. . . . .

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

You've been reading the Telegraph again. The vast majority of union officials and employees are dedicated hard working individuals who have a long term commitment to the ideals of there union and their membership. There are bad people in all professions.

No Col, I never read that rag. Bitter personal experience this time.

 

 

[octave]

For the record, I have never been a member of a union. Mainly because the first 12 years of my working life was in the military and the rest of my life (I am 55) has been in self-employment. Having said that I can tell you that my time in the military was like working in a sheltered workshop. The high ups in the military very much looked after my interests. I can honestly say that whilst in the military I never had to work particularly hard. (note - never served in a war zone, so do not want to diminish from what these real soldiers endured).

 

When I was a child my father worked 48 hours a week, it was the unions that forced through the 40 hour week so that my father could be there for all of the weekend. You may think that the unions were out of line for making this happen but for me it meant EVERYTHING. Phil do you think the 40 hour week would have been provided as a kindness by the business owners?

 

My wife's first job was at the Commonwealth bank, she only had to work 40 hours a week. after a couple of years, she got a job at Telcom (now Telstra), she was able to work for a higher wage but for only 38 hours a week. When we had a child she was able to take 12 months off which was an amazing advantage for our child. Employers did not invent maternity leave, it was forced on them by unions.

 

These days I am still self-employed but my wife now works for a small engineering firm as their admin manager. Although she is reasonably well paid for an admin manager she is not well paid for the multiple roles she fills. She is not in a union but would probably fare better if she was. In this small business (engineering) workers a treated quite badly, my wife is treated better than others but this is because she is one of those feminists that you far right wingers hate) . As a small company, it is not subject to unfair dismissal rules.

 

She has worked there for 6 years and is the only employee that has been there for more than 2 years. The owner simply employs young engineers straight out of uni and expects them to work seven days a week for 5 days pay, either they leave or are sacked because they wont work late or on the weekend (for no more pay).

 

If there were a union, my wife could get help with negotiating with her employer, however, her only recourse would be to seek legal redress. I would assume your attitude (as a right-wing nut) would be that suing would be another example of the nanny state gone mad - suing a poor old businessman.

 

As I work shorter hours than my wife I make her lunch to take to work, usually she brings it home with her because she does not get time to eat it at work. I am guessing if she was in a union she would have some way of redressing this short of legal action.

 

As I said I am self-employed. For me, I am concerned that wages are static. The thing is higher wages mean my customers have more disposable income. The biggest insult to my self-employment is that my customers are worse off every year

 

So without unions, will my customers receive wage growth that they can hand on to me?

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

@coljones is right in that the vast majority of union reps are hard working and dedicated. But that can be said about MPs, lawyers and even bankers... Its the few that are driven by their own agendas and make the top that ruin it for everyone.

 

Anyone remember Norm Gallagher? Painters & Dockers Unions? etc. Blatantly corrupt but because they controlled progress of $m's, were able to openly line their own pockets - so it is little wonder others have a poor perception of them, and see unions of less relevance, deciding not to join.

 

I was a member of the ALP many years ago.. Before the age of 20, was on various committees; attended a dinner at the local Chinese restaurant and struck up a conversation with a senior area union rep. He was boasting how he was able to win some pretty hefty "rights", including paid meals (pre FBT) off a small company as a strike would have brought them to their knees. I am slightly left of centre, but his portrayal was an affront to fairness - it was adversarial for adversarial's sake.

 

I didn't renew my membership of the ALP. I am not saying any other political party is any better, either... there are good-uns and bad-uns in all of 'em

 

 

[octave]

Who remembers Craig Thompson? Union credit card to pay for hookers.

Heard a story of a building worker with 17 raincoats. He'd go to work on wet days without his raincoat, and the employer would have to provide a new one. Many projects costing thousands more than they should because of similar ruses.

 

Thank goodness that no employers ever use company funds for such things

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

@coljones ...Anyone remember Norm Gallagher? Painters & Dockers Unions? etc. Blatantly corrupt but because they controlled progress of $m's, were able to openly line their own pockets - so it is little wonder others have a poor perception of them, and see unions of less relevance, deciding not to join...

Nearly right, Jerry.

 

Gallagher led the federal takeover of the NSW branch of the Builders Labourers Federation, pushing aside the team of Jack Mundey, Bob Pringle and Joe Owens. I am proud to have been a member of the BLF during their tenure. Jack Mundey was widely considered incorruptible (especially compared to many of the Sharks feeding on Sydney's building boom). Many of the historic buildings saved by BLF Green Bans are now the high-priced pads of Sydney's arty elite.

 

Gallagher doesn't seem to have been quite so straight. He quickly undid most of the good work done for members and the environment by Mundey's team. Many Green Bans were removed, allowing historic buildings to be levelled. Mundeys team were black listed. Jack, now a middle-aged man, went back to labouring jobs, while the union Gallagher now presided over became corrupt.

 

Decades later I had the pleasure to talk to Jack Mundey when he addressed a rally against coal mining on the fertile Liverpool Plains. One of life's great pleasures is to see good work finally recognised.

 

Despite being a radical Union activist and former member of the Communist Party, Jack Mundey received a standing ovation from the assembled farmers!

 

 

[willedoo]

My first experience with unions was in the early 70's, during the cement strike. I was working for a transport company at the time and drove a semi-trailer (AB International with a V8 petrol engine) down to the Brisbane wharves to pick up a load of cement that had come up from Tasmania.

 

It was a slow day, trucks everywhere lined up waiting. It seemed like every half hour the whistle would blow and the wharfies would stop work for a pow-wow. A few hours went by, and I remember thinking, 'what a bunch of lazy wankers'.

 

Then one of the cargo ship crew came down and invited a few of us up for a meal and a tour of the ship. After lunch, we ventured over to the hold to check out the unloading. It was like looking into hell. The cement was in the 40kg. paper bags of the day, on pallets stacked on top of each other. The ship had struck big seas on the way up and the load had shifted, breaking open tons of bags. The only way to unload it was to physically feed a sling through the bottom of the pallet and crane it out. They'd got it all out except the bottom layer, which was almost engulfed in raw cement.

 

The wharfies were standing in waist deep cement. One would hold his breath, disappear beneath the cement (more than a metre deep) and feed the sling under the pallet. He would then emerge from beneath this big puffy mass of raw cement and try to wipe it out of his eyes, ears, mouth, nose etc., and spit out what he could while trying to get a few breaths. Then his mate on the other side of the pallet would do the same to retrieve the other end of the sling so it could be hoisted out. This had been going on for hours, and the stoppages most likely were to push for better pay for what they were doing.

 

I went on to butt heads with unions a couple of times during my working life, but on that day, I gained a bit of respect for them.

 

 

[coljones]

Australian Unions

[coljones]

Who remembers Craig Thompson? Union credit card to pay for hookers.

Heard a story of a building worker with 17 raincoats. He'd go to work on wet days without his raincoat, and the employer would have to provide a new one. Many projects costing thousands more than they should because of similar ruses.

And the big end of town doesn't use purchase orders for prostitutes? Some companies provide a chauffeurs service for the big boss so he doesn't get wet - even when it is dry.

 

 

[Marty_d]

And the big end of town doesn't use purchase orders for prostitutes? Some companies provide a chauffeurs service for the big boss so he doesn't get wet - even when it is dry.

If he doesn't get wet, she's not doing her job...

 

(sorry!!!)