http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,3970447%255E2702,00.html
Unionists cut links with ALP By Kristine Gough, Work writer - March 18, 2002 KEY Victorian union leaders have resigned from the Labor Party and are considering forming a new political force for "working people", prompting a plea for unity from ALP national president Greg Sword. The ALP's core had been corrupted by "careerists and branch stackers" and had lost sight of the needs of ordinary workers, Electrical Trades Union state secretary Dean Mighell said yesterday. Mr Mighell and United Firefighters Union Victorian secretary Peter Marshall, who has also resigned from the party, said the executives of their unions had agreed to disaffiliate from the ALP. The announcement, coming as the party is reassessing its relationship with the union movement in an attempt to broaden its support base, was described by key union figures as a disaster for the party. "I think the ALP is in real crisis," said Victorian Trades Hall Council president Leigh Hubbard, who is "re-evaluating" his own membership of the party. Mr Hubbard said Mr Mighell's move was not surprising, given the union movement's widespread dissatisfaction with the ALP at both federal and state levels. Mr Mighell, a left-winger, strongly criticised the Bracks Government's record on industrial relations, saying his union got no benefit from its Labor affiliation. Many union members no longer considered the ALP a viable alternative to the Liberal Party and a new workers' party could be the answer, Mr Mighell said. Mr Mighell yesterday confirmed he had joined the Greens, but stopped short of anointing the environmental movement as the future ideological home for unions, describing the Greens as too "specific". Mr Marshall, a self-confessed "apolitical animal", said UFU members had begun work on the constitution of a new workers party, with input from Mr Mighell. Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Victorian secretary Craig Johnston, who is a member of the Socialist Alliance grouping of left parties, said he expected his members would mount a strong push for disaffiliation at the next AMWU state conference in April. Mr Johnston said he was impressed by the community-centred political vision outlined by Greens leader Bob Brown at a Trades Hall dinner in Melbourne on Friday night, but was "outraged" when federal ALP deputy leader Jenny Macklin spoke at the same function on refugees. "The ALP's position (on refugees) at the last election was a disgrace," he said. The AMWU contributes $250,000 a year to the ALP in affiliation dues, Mr Johnston said. Mr Sword said: "The most important thing for Labor and the trade union movement is unity." http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,3971830%255E421,00.html AMWU ponders new party Source: AAP - March 18, 2002 AUSTRALIA'S largest manufacturing union will discuss cutting its ties with the Labor Party at its national conference in July, the union's national secretary Doug Cameron has said. The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) will also consider forming a new political party for working class Australians and strengthening relationships with other parties such as the Australian Greens. Mr Cameron said the union wanted political representation that viewed Australian workers as its priority and the ALP no longer did that. He said it was often difficult to tell the difference between Labor and Liberal platforms. "Working people are looking for a party that boldly and unashamedly speaks for them and I think there's a view among union activists that the Labor Party is not that party presently," Mr Cameron told ABC radio. He said quitting the ALP was not a question for him to answer personally but one that was on the agenda for the AMWU national conference. "It's an issue for the union at its national conference and there are a number of options being looked at by the union," Mr Cameron said. "One is to disaffiliate, the other option is to stay within the party and try and transform the party to one that does boldly and unashamedly speak for working people. "The third is to have a closer relationship to other parties such as the Greens and the fourth is to work out whether we have a new working class party in Australia." Two Victorian union strongmen announced yesterday they had quit the ALP and their unions - the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the United Firefighters Union (UFU) - may vote to leave the party within a month. Dean Mighell, state secretary of the 18,000-strong ETU, quit the ALP on Friday and joined the Greens while UFU state secretary Peter Marshall also disaffiliated, accusing the Victorian Labor government of poorer industrial relations than the previous Kennett Liberal government. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
