thanks indy! it's good to see criticism of the union bureaucrats

Not surprising that the EPMU officials chose to back the ERA, since they had a strong hand in drafting it back in 2000. They are fully committed to a 'partnership' with the bosses and base their negotiations on the union officials ability to be better at making profits than the bosses.

But the reason why there was no strike at Air NZ is that ALL the unions involved are playing by the rules, including the SFWU.
The first rule they observe is that they cannot go on strike until their agreements come up for negotiation. The SFWU agreement doesnt come up until May. When the bosses with the EPMU collusion approached SFWU members illegally with threats to join the EPMU the response of the SFWU leadership was to seek mediation through the court.
A more effective response would be to occupy Fyfes office and picket his residence. The same tactics would apply to the EPMU top officials.

Since any strike that involved unions not up for renegotiation would be illegal, it would have to be organised from below based on a rank and file strike committee across as many unions as possible.
Such a committee should put the demand for a united strike on the CTU leadership not in the expectation that it would agree but to force their hand and bring down all the weight of these bosses' law enforcers on the troublemakers.

To win public support for a strike its demands would have to be full re-nationalisation under workers control (only the workers have the skills to run an airline). Instead of a board of directors made up of cutthroat bosses, a board of management of the workers would run the airline.

No payment of compensation to private shareholders (parasites). The state has bailed out private shareholders many times. Like Skycity, private investors in Air NZ gamble on never losing their money.

No concessions to patriotism since there is nothing about national ownership that adds to risk free air travel in foreign made planes with foreign engines. (This is not an argument for buy NZ made planes).

The first step in this direction has to be the formation of a rank and file committee prepared to put in the hard work to organise an effective strike.

Dave Brown (CWG)

Thanks for printing my piece, but next time, please credit THE SPARK.The article above was a collective SPARK magazine effort, written ,edited and published by Workers Party editorial board members.

Don Franks

Sounds like its time for the One Big Union comrades

changed. thanks don

The EPMU can't be that bad. I heard they donated $1000 to the Workers Charter newspaper.

Of course, you're also assuming Air NZ workers were up for illegal strike action. These people have mortgages to pay and kids to feed, and they're hardly known for their radical streak.

I would fully support the EPMU or SFWU breaking the law if their members were for it. I just know from my time working at Air NZ that they would not be.

Air NZ workers may or may not have taken the plunge, but did not have reasonable opportunity to make an assement. Union officials almost never raise the possibility of illegal strike action as a serious option in a dispute. In over 30 years participation in union struggles I've never seen that happen. That is why genuine revolutionary socialist leadership is needed for workers interests to be advanced in situations of intense struggle.
DF

Or, perhaps, you'll just marginalise unions even further. I respect your position Don, but I think we need to strengthen unions and radicalise workers a bit more before we can contemplate taking illegal action.

Marginalise unions from WHO exactly anon?

I have never in my life seen a need to "radicalise workers". Life does that to workers and officialdom of all stripes runs up to soap it away.

I have seen many and many a time where workers were not given the facts, when they were given carefully selected facts, and many a time when they were falsely told, "there is only one option". Or even more falsely told " Labour will fix it". I have several times in the course of disputes been literally pushed aside by workers who said never mind that, we're off, when there was some big issue and I, as a union functionary was looking round to try and make a tidy assement of the situation. Once was when Bill Andersen was jailed, once was when we didn't get a cup of tea. Another time was when the whistle had gone and workers saw the need to extend the debate beyond the limits of the smoko break.It took two hours.

Unions are strengthened by doing what the mass of informed workers decide.
Unions are weakened by doing what the bosses law hypocritically tells us we must do.

Don Franks

,

You're right, workers don't need radicalising, they need educating. The problem is, the majority of workers have bought into the whole capitalist ethos of consumerism... we need to start the education here before we'll ever see a ground swell of support for socialist reform.

d