 The Unite Union is perhaps the most radical union in New Zealand at the moment. Many other unions for example tend to be run by boring Bureaucrats. Take for example the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union. It used to be run by Andrew Little, who used this position to secure himself the position of President of the Labour Party. Bureaucrats like these don’t really want to rock the boat, as they are concerned about their own future.
The Unite Union has a completely different approach to organising the working class. It is staffed by some of the most experienced activists from Aotearoa. It has been extremely successful, as it has recruited thousands of workers in the hospitality. The hospitality industry is notoriously difficult to organise. There is a high turnover of staff. Many younger workers are stereotyped as being too feckless to worry about joining a union. Yet these workers have rallied behind Unite to take on some of New Zealand’s largest corporate bullies, such as McDonalds. The Super-size My Pay Campaign was successful in abolishing youth rates.
The current Unite campaign is to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Unite, with other groups such as the International Socialist Organisation, the Workers Party and Socialist Aotearoa, have been active in taking these petitions out to the streets every weekend. It would be rare to find another union, or even the Labour Party, to bother to engage with the public in this way. The petition has been signed by over 100 000 people across the country.
Furthermore, the Unite Union has courage. New Zealand has been hit hard by the recession, with the latest statistics suggesting that unemployment is now at a ten year high. Many other unions do not want to threaten the bosses at this stage, as they want to do ‘everything to preserve jobs’. This is complete nonsense. We should be fighting for higher wages in a recession, just as we should be prepared to fight for them when the economy is growing. The 25 cent an hour wage rise from John Key is an insult. He is a multi-millionaire, and has no right to tell to accept a few crumbs from the table. You should get involved with the $15 an hour campaign. Ordinary people can take on the system and win, if they are prepared to work hard and organise.
Reece W |
