MINDLESS MUSINGS

When I was a kid, I remember seeing all these posters around the Sydney CBD saying, “Hands of the BLF”. I would see them marching through the streets on news programs chanting that same line. The grown-ups told me they were a powerful union; the letters stood for Builders Labourers Federation. I remember walking under all the scaffolding in the city over the footpaths and the boarded-up construction sites. I also knew that these BLF people were on strike a lot. I hadn’t really put it all together at that age. To me the only strike that mattered was a teacher’s strike – day off, you little ripper!

Growing up I would hear stories about the outrageous antic of dock workers telling their bosses to fuck off and these same workers getting ridiculously high wages and penalty rates. Construction workers receiving extra pay through things like danger money, height allowance or fucken dirt allowance. Garbos getting a ludicrous number of sick days because of working in the rain.  I have actually met people with over a years’ worth of accumulated sick days!

It sounded wonderful! Growing up working class, it felt like these people were doing the good work of Robin Hood. Getting a job backed by a strong union seemed like a clever career strategy. Economics be damned! Fuck those rich business owners! If they don’t want to share, we’ll force them to.

I had no idea of the history behind these movements. The atrocious working conditions and abysmal wages. The ruthless and often violent pushback by the industrialists and their backers. These disputes didn’t end in the industrial relations commission (it didn’t exist). The early versions of strike action often ended in the hospital or the morgue. Brutality and standover tactics were used by both sides.

I had no idea of the history behind these movements. The atrocious working conditions and abysmal wages. The ruthless and often violent pushback by the industrialists and their backers. These disputes didn’t end in the industrial relations commission (it didn’t exist). The early versions of strike action often ended in the hospital or the morgue. Brutality and standover tactics were used by both sides.

More about the history and legacy of the movement in later posts. I just find it disheartening to see how the union movement is slowly but surely fading away. The vicious circle of people refusing to join the union because it is too weak and weakening it by doing so. I have worked in union and non-union jobs and the misery an unchecked asshole boss can inflict, combined with minimum wage is enough to convince me to stay a member. This is especially the case for unskilled labour: machine worker, manual grunt, forklift or truck driver – less than a dime a dozen.

One realisation I had about this was when we had a load of freight arrive late. The supervisors gathered as many hands as they could and waited while we unloaded and sorted the goods. This was a union yard. I remember telling my coworkers that thanks to the union this delay was the companies problem. If there was no union, it would most definitely have been our problem. Supervisors standing beside us (or in the fucken way!) telling us to hurry up.

 “It’s time for your lunch break? Bullshit!”

 “Your shift is over? Leave now and don’t bother coming back buddy.”

Sadly, it seems the writing is on the wall for the union movement, and many will be very sorry when it’s gone. People have forgotten all about the battles of the pioneers. Refusing to work while they and their families were starving. Threats and intimidation. Beatings and murders. Most importantly, people seem to forget the truth behind the statement “you get nothing from the bigwigs without a fight. No improvements to workers’ rights and conditions ever came from asking nicely.”

Granted there is a plethora of labour laws in place to prevent a return to the days of child labour and sweat shops, although there will always be a black market. Those laws were won by the suffering of the union members who went before. Trouble is nobody is going to pay union fees to an ineffective union out of gratitude for things done in the past.

There are also a bunch of laws that weaken unions and tie their hands with red tape. It is a hard sell to ask a new worker to hand over a portion of their hard earned for the protection of a withering brawler; especially when that worker knows full well that they will receive the same benefits of any improved conditions and/or any pay increases that this old battler might win for their members.

I know the union movement is far from perfect. As are the human beings that run it. Corruption, personal agendas and incompetence are unavoidable. The same is true for a police force, but how do you reckon you would go in a Mad Max society? Anarchy is definitely not a step up and in terms of survival of the fittest…A corporation versus a divided bunch of workers vying for jobs – does ‘race to the bottom mean’ anything to you?

Corporations are profit driven and this does not bode well for workers. There is only so much profit you can generate, but those shareholders are insatiable! In the end it will always result in cutting the bottom line. The number of workers, the equipment they use, the regular maintenance of that equipment, the hours they work and the pay they get is all part of that bottom line.

A powerful union that goes to far can force a company to take their business elsewhere. Somewhere with lax labour laws and no unions.

Not an ideal choice.