“The Greens aren’t part of our movement.”
You’re at it again Paul. I feel as though you can’t open your mouth these days without taking some sort of jab at the Greens. I’m getting used to it now and have learnt to live with it. But, what annoys me is you don’t seem to realise that these sorts of statements are doing far more damage to the union movement than they ever will to the Greens.
Before I start though, let me set the record straight.
I am a Greens member. I have also been a union member for almost all of my working life. In fact, I was a union member and activist before I joined the Greens. I have been a delegate in every union I have been in and been extremely active in fighting for workplace rights, whether it was through involvement in the Your Rights at Work campaign or through local campaigns in my workplace.
And I’m not the only one. Do a quick survey of Greens membership and I’m pretty sure you would find an above average union density. In fact, some of the most committed unionists I know are members of the Greens and despite what you probably think we all do a pretty good job of aligning our Green and union values. In fact, if you look at the Greens policies you would probably find a party that has done a better job at aligning union values with our platform than any other party in the country, even the ALP.
But, I can deal with your attacks on the Greens. I know you see us a political opponent, even a threat. That’s not why you make me angry. I am secure enough in my commitment to green ideology and unionism for you not to bother me.
What really pisses me off though is that when you say things like this you’re doing damage to the union movement in this country.
As a lifelong unionist I (and I would hope you) understand that strong unions are built on a strong collective. Unionism is about using our collective resources to build power, so we can challenge the entrenched economic interests in our society. We need to work together as we cannot achieve what we want on our own. And yes, sometimes this collective can have different views, even different political alignments. What’s important though is that we work together in our workplaces when it matters.
Yet, when you says things like this it seems like you feel as though you are ‘above’ this collective. Apparently, you think you have the right to dictate who can be part of this collective and who can’t. Today, in one little sentence, you excluded over 10% of the population from this collective.
It’s this this same kind of thinking that obviously made you feel as though you could go on live TV, and even worse do so as if you were speaking for the union movement, and dictate that Australia needed a new Prime Minister.
It seems like you think the union movement is not about the collective, but about you (and potentially a few of your mates). What you say goes and if people disagree with you, it is apparently your right to exclude them from the collective.
And do you know what Paul, this is why the union movement is struggling. Unions aren’t about you and your political influence. Unions are about workers. Unions are about the collective. My voice, along with the voice of every union member, is just as valuable and important as yours.
When you come along and say ‘sorry, you’re not part of my movement’ what you’re doing is creating a union elite that is actively destroying the collective foundation that unions should be built on.
And when you think about it that way, why on Earth would people want to be involved in unions? If you don’t feel like you’re going to have any say in a union or if you don’t feel you’re actually part of collective, then why would think being a member of the union would be effective? If it all about union leadership, then why would anyone want to join?
Paul, the Greens are not what is wrong with the union movement. You are what is wrong with the union movement.