A community assembles at Ringwood for justice

When you can do nothing else:

bear witness.

~~~

Employee relations under the Howard Government were a low point in employer-employee relations in Australia. The election of the Rudd Government has not restored normal service - hence the ACTU has now embarked on Your Rights At Work Mark II.

Union Solidarity was established to provide community support for unions and union members who withdrew their labour from employers in an effort to gain better wages and conditions, to press for union involvement at the bargaining table, and generally to right those wrongs that can come into the workplace when employers consider only their rights and economic interests and no one else's.

You will find Union Solidarity community assemblies in support of unions and their members across Melbourne as and when the need arises. The caravan, the coffee pot, the barbie, the warm fire and a microphone and cardboard and textas to explain to passers-by what is going on. Union Solidarity is something of a free-form organisation. No membership fees, joining-up handshakes or anything like that. It relies on community support - and how often the community turns up!

On Monday next, 23 June,

Union Solidarity will assemble not at a workplace

but to rally outside the

Ringwood Magistrate's Court,

39 Ringwood Street, Ringwood

at 9.30am.

The prosecution at Ringwood Magistrate's Court that Union Solidarity is interested in is that against Anthony Elliott, of Elliot Engineering. Elliott is the defendant in a trial arising out of a community assembly in May 2007. Elliot faces a number of charges. The prosecution will argue that he drove a truck in a reckless manner through a picket line. A number of Union Solidarity supporters sustained injuries as a result of Elliot's alleged actions.

Union Solidarity expects to see that justice takes its course.

Spotlight goes collective

We, members of Union Solidarity, knew Spotlight was being unfair and we went public to say so. Now the Workplace Authority has agreed with what we knew all along to be true. Spotlight has decided that John Howard's workplace laws are too complex and life would be easier if it negotiated a collective agreement with the Shop, Distributive, and Allied Employees Association. Miss Eagle chopped up her discount card in anger and protest last year and hasn't darkened the door of Spotlight in all that time. Will have to see what has changed in the last fourteen months!

The policy is here...the campaign hots up

The IR policy has arrived - or most of it. Remember, there's still fine details to come in the transitional policies.

Everything you need to know, including a photo of Klever Kevvie from Queensland who's here to help, is available here.

The "Your Rights at Work" Campaign would like to hear what you think. So would Miss Eagle.

If you live anywhere near Upper Ferntree Gully and would like to assist Miss E leaflet the neighbourhood for the YRAW Campaign, please email her off the sidebar.

New from the industrial front

Amcor Flexibles
29 Bell St
Preston
[Between Chifley Dv and Albert St]

The AMCOR strike is entering a new phase tomorrow (Monday 14 August). To comply with a Federal Court order, the AMWU State Secretary will recommend a return to work at a mass meeting at 10am.

A letter given to the members states the intention of the meeting.
"The purpose of the meeting is to comply with section 1 (b) and (c) of the order"
These sections direct the union to "take all steps reasonably available under its rules" to ensure a return to work.

The Federal Court has threatened to jail AMWU officials and seize union assets if the union fails to comply with the order. Unions however are democratic institutions; the recommendation to return to work can either be accepted or rejected. The feeling to stay out until the issue of forced redundancies is resolved is strong. AMCOR workers need supporters before, during and after the meeting. More updates will come. You need to keep in contact with the website and the picket. Things could change very quickly in the new situation.

Please consider turning up and give your support if you haven't as yet. Spread the word. Messages of support: contact@unionsolidarity.org
Community picket roster: Paullie 0402 273 677
More info: Dave Kerin 0412 484 094 Joe Montero 0402 679 201, 9486 6306

Call for Community Assembly at Amcor

Under the Howard Govt's new industrial relations laws, unions, their officials and individual members can face draconian fines for picketing. This doesn't stop the men and women of Union Solidarity. Union Solidarity doesn't picket. It holds community assemblies. The call went out last night for urgent support for a community assembly at Amcor. It is set out below. Amcor is under a cloud because of an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission into a suspected breach of the Trade Practices Act which also involves Richard Pratt's Visy Industries.

Amcor Workers on Strike Urgent Support Needed

Community Assembly - Amcor Packaging

Friday 4 August

7.00am onwards

29 Bell StPreston

(Between Albert St and Chifley Drive)

About 100 workers at Amcor Packaging in Preston voted tonight (Thurs 3 August) to continue a strike in support of union delegates and members victimized by management. AMWU delegates have been targeted for forced redundancies. The workers at the plant defied a commission order to return to work and possible fines under Howard's new IR laws.

These rank and file workers require our full support!!

more info: Dave Kerin 0412 484 094 Joe Montero 0402 679 201, 9486 6306

Spotlight Vigil - Bayswater, Melbourne

Dave Kerin, wise man of Union Solidarity

Spotlight, which proclaims itself to have Australia's largest fabric, craft & home interior superstores, has placed itself in the centre of industrial controversy in recent times by placing new employees on Australia Workplace Agreements (AWAs) which cut wages and conditions. This has led to protest after protest outside Spotlight stores across Australia. Today, the protest shifted to Spotlight's store in Canterbury Road, Bayswater in Melbourne's eastern suburbs organized by the Eastern Community Action Group.

Bob and Jenny came after hearing about the Vigil at the Knox City leafletting campaign.

Dave Leydon chaired proceedings

This story has a postscript. Please go here.

Kerin, Union Solidarity and organising in the community

Dave Kerin at the establishment of the Outer Eastern Suburbs Community and Unions Coalition

Thursday 15 June 2006

All over Melbourne, community groups are being established to fight the Howard Government's Work Choices legislation which is changing the face of industrial relations and workplace equity in Australia. Last Thursday night, the Outer Eastern Suburbs Community and Unions Coalition was established at a meeting at the Knox Community Centre. Now organising such a group in the Outer East can be a bit difficult - simply because a lot of people do the one hour commute to the city. There are industrial areas, particularly in the Bayswater and Mitcham areas, but in these days when there is 24 hour shift work and unpaid overtime it can be difficult to pick a good time for meetings and difficult to attract people to a meeting when it can mean breaking into precious family time. But sufficient people turned up last Thursday night to establish a well-organised group.

Miss Eagle walked into the meeting and didn't know anybody - except the man in the back row: the grand old man of left-wing community organisation in Melbourne, Dave Kerin. (Sorry Dave - don't mean to be ageist or imply extreme antiquity.) Dave is the co-founder and co-ordinator of Earthworker and Union Solidarity and an ex-BLF official active in the anti-deregistration battle in the 1980s. Dave is also a significant player in the RMIT Community Advocacy Unit.
If you would like to get involved in the Outer East campaign against Work Choices, get in touch with Miss Eagle by emailing off the side-bar or you can phone:

Dave Leydon on 0408 998 849

or

Josh Cullinan on 0416 241 763.

The next meeting of the Outer Eastern Suburbs Community & Unions Coalition

will be at

The Knox Community Centre

cnr Scoresby Road and Mount Highway, Bayswater

at 6pm

on

Wednesday 12 July.

Community choice? Give us a real choice.

Miss Eagle is putting on her shoes to-night and heading over to the first meeting of the Knox Union-Community Solidarity Group. Now the shoes won't look like the ones above. More like a pair of Diana Ferrari's.

The meeeting, to discuss the formation of a Knox group to provide a community base for the opposition to John Howard's Work Choices, will be held at 6pm in the Meeting Room at the Knox Community Arts Centre, cnr Mountain Highway & Scoresby Rd, Knox. It is being organised by the AMWU Eastern District & Union Solidarity. Further information can be obtained by give Chris Spindler a call on 0425 784 819.

See you there!

Community support needed at Campbellfield

Under John Howard's No Choice Workplace laws, picket lines are outlawed. So community organisations are springing up right across Melbourne. One of the prime purposes of all this community activity is to provide support for workers in troubled workplaces. People from the community and other trade unionists turn up to particular places. The latest advice is set out below. It is at Preston Motors Mitsubishi in the northern suburbs.

Political & Industrial Protest at Preston Motors Mitsubishi

!!DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOWS :

-TIME : 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

DATE : 10 June, 2006 (SATURDAY)

PLACE : Preston Motors Mitsubishi

1551 Sydney Road Campbellfield 3061

Workers and Locals set to show Unity and Solidarity!!

Workers at Preston Motors Mitsubishi are set to get a significant boost in their campaign to maintain wages and conditions with the AMWU - Vehicle Division (Vic. Branch) setting up a political and industrial protest on-site in Campbellfield this weekend.

State Secretary Gayle Tierney said

"We invite workers and their families to drop-in and show support for the 23 workers who are on the frontline in this battle against the Work Choices legislation.

These workers and their families do not deserve to have their wages and conditions placed under attack.

However, it is clear that the Company want to impose a wage freeze and to remove important conditions that have been in existence for a number of years. This is simply unacceptable."

."With this dispute we are in it for the long haul. We apply the principle that no worker will lose a single cent or have a single condition abolished as a result of the Work Choices legislation. Our job is to ensure that what we have today we will have tomorrow.". said Union Official David Nunns.

MEDIA CONTACT :- Union Official David Nunns 0425 784 812