Pub trivia
Barry Donovan writes: Re. “Rundle: no one cares about Shorten’s AWU days — and no one goes to the pub anyway” (yesterday). Unfortunately Guy Rundle has failed his own Melbourne pub test. In commenting on the claim that there is really no “pub test” today for the standing or lack of it for our national politicians because the punters don’t use them like yesterday, he landed renowned old drinkers in the wrong bars. Bob Hawke never drank in the “front bar” of the John Curtin Hotel because that was always occupied by Norm Gallagher and his merry BLF band. Hawke preferred the slightly more upmarket side bistro bar for his convivial sessions. And the jolly journos from the old Melbourne Herald and Sun News-Pictorial always drank in the upstairs bar with host Lou Richards at the Phoenix Hotel, making it even more perilous descending the stairs onto Flinders Street late at night. Rundle’s front bar — or downstairs — at that pub was the home of the production crews of the two papers. As an old journo who frequented both pubs in their heydays, at least that’s how I remembered them.
Richard Barlow writes: I wonder if Guy Rundle was scared by a unionist when he was a wee lad. I have worked as a union organiser for 20 years. I now feel like I am wasting my time each day organising workers to fight for better pay and conditions. I feel guilty now for giving members a voice in their workplaces. I hang my head in shame for every member I have assisted to stand up to bullies at work, who need help because of a workplace injury, or are struggling to get the hours they need. I am university educated, but so are many of my members. My union is not politically affiliated but I do get why some unions are active in party politics. Affiliated unions often represent lower paid workers where the “social wage” is a crucial component of their real incomes. Politics matters to people in a real way. I get that some union officials will want to become politicians, and some of them, like Shorten, will actually try and help people , for example, the NDIS , financial planning reform, and improvements to employment laws. It is not exactly an awful legacy. As the saying goes, “politics makes strange bedfellows”. If Shorten took donations from companies and got good deals for his members at the same time, and no-one has been able to show otherwise, then good luck to him. At least he didn’t piss it up against a wall at his local pub.
Good luck, Mayne
Geoffrey Heard writes: Re. “Mayne: the deck is stacked against my Macquarie tilt” (Tuesday). The behavior of the Macquarie board, presumably replete with a number of “independent” members, ought to give Stephen Mayne pause in his relentless pursuit of the notion of forcing the high achieving industry super funds to accept “independent” board members. These members would inevitably come from the directors’ club and would not be truly independent. They would want to see more of their own (often useless) ilk on the boards, preferably dragging the industry funds’ performance down to the industry average established by the general run of retail super funds which ought to be described as criminal organizations established to defraud members of their hard earned salaries — and their ability to retire in very modest comfort.
Barry
fair enough. At least I got the pubs right.
Richard
Stop being ridiculous and hysterical. For a start you seem to be confirming my point – that the Shorten thing wont matter to manY (that doesnt mean I’m equivocal about it as you are – having companies making direct payments to unions they’re negotiating with is an obvious conflict of interest). As for the rest, I didn’t damn union organisers for going to uni, or not coming from the floor or whatever.
I did say that people see the realm of Shorten et al as cut off from their lives, and part of a political caste, to which they have little access. And Shorten’s time on the ground floor of organising wasn’t that long, to say the least.
My impression from speaking to people in a variety of occupations and workplaces is that unions feel alien and mysterious to many of them, administered at a distance, and lacking real democratic accountability. Which may be why their membership has plummeted over the past 2 decades.
Well said Geoff Heard. Stephen Mayne is misdirected in his concerns about industry boards. Quite frankly, it is the current ‘Directors’ Club’ which has continuously made so many appalling decisions across pretty much every big industry. Mining, Finance, Banking, they all have more skeletons in their cupboards than successes.
And his desire to see learned people on the boards, (he may have said educated or ‘qualified’, but we knew what he meant) is exactly the sort of thing that gets so many of these companies into trouble.
A lot of the industry super funds have union reps who may not be across complex financial markets, and they are the ones I would want on industry boards. People who will tell the geniuses that what they are doing is stupid, a bad idea or even unethical.
The problem with boards generally in Australia is the lack of diversity, gender and otherwise. It’s the Club Directors groupthink BS that gets companies into trouble more than anything else.
Industry super funds need their expertise as much as they need a hole in their heads.
Richard – Thank you so much for your letter. Contrary to what Guy has to say above, I DO NOT think you are being “ridiculous and hysterical”.
The problem is that the RWNJs have, over the past few decades, demonised unions to the point where the ordinary Joe Blow doesn’t know what to believe anymore.
No one is going to tell him that unions are largely responsible for the good wages and conditions he enjoys, regardless of whether he is a union member or not. And they certainly aren’t going to tell him that if you get into trouble at work (through NO fault of your own), it is the union reps who will sort it all out for you, if you are a union member.
Of course, the employer couldn’t possibly be wrong about ANYTHING according to those who hate unions! Well I’m here to tell you, there are many more bast+rds among the hierarchy, than can EVER be found in a union.
No one seems to have listened to Bill Shorten’s evidence at the RC if they don’t understand that all the money given to his union by the bosses was used to educate and train union members. This was so workers could better perform their duties safely, to prevent injury (particularly long-term, debilitating injury) and to improve productivity – all of which was achieved, if the people, who are only too ready to criticise, care to look at the results.
There IS no conflict of interest, Guy. You would be better off having a go at that other disgraceful mob occasionally. You know, the ones who are supposed to be governing the country!!
I am not, and have never been, employed by a union. I was a registered nurse for over 45 years, so I saw all the workplace injuries, the chronic conditions which left people unable to work and heard all the sometimes horrifying stories about how workers were treated.
Unions do a lot of good in this country. Otherwise why would the bosses want to get rid of them???