Author: withsobersenses

Living The Dream in the Trade Union Movement

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May Day in Wollongong circa 2000 photo by Sharon Pusell

In this episode of Living the Dream Dave (@withsobersenses) chats with Godfrey Moase (@gemoase) the General Branch Assistant Secretary of the National Union of Workers. Godfrey had a number of criticisms of our last show . We talk about these and Godfrey also addresses the broader strategic and tactical possibilities for anticapitalist struggle and how they relate to trade unions.

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You can find some of Godfrey’s writings here:

Other things we mention include:

Music by The Sweatshop Union

(This podcast was recorded as ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie drenched Queensland)

MUA occupies Rio Tinto: lessons in our #righttothecity

rio tinto
Credit: Queensland Unions

Anni and I were walking down Albert St after having lunch and talking shit and we ran straight into a foyer occupation by the Maritime Union of Australia. There were about 50 members there, and some others from the CFMEU and the ASU – I don’t know if the latter were officials or not but the bulk of the MUA were members. The occupation was a protest against Rio Tinto (whose office is in the building) crewing ships in Australian waters with non-Australian crews paid with lower wages than they would have to pay locals.[i]  As we got there the cops were assembling and were threatening to arrest people if they didn’t leave. The threat was that they would be locked in, arrested and charged with trespass. The crowd were standing tall and answering back to the cops – who were obviously flustered and made a few not so vailed threats ( ‘you will be arrested and I hope we can keep it all non-violent’.)

Continue reading “MUA occupies Rio Tinto: lessons in our #righttothecity” →

Living The Dream after your #penaltyrates got cut

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In this episode Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) talk about the recent cuts to penalty rates by the Fair Work Commission . We dismiss the idea that this attack is actual just a product of ‘the Right’; rather it is a continuation of the 100+ year tradition of arbitration supported by the ALP and the mainstream of the ACTU in the context of the real contradictions of capital accumulation. We discuss the movement against penalty rate cut as well as the Big Steps walk off of early childcare educators and the challenges the class faces to recomposing our power and secure emancipation.

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Stuff we mention includes:

Mazel Tov Cocktail podcast

Fair Work Commission 4 yearly review of modern awards – Penalty Rates

Elizabeth Humphrys, ‘Australia Under The Accord (1983-1996)’

A Fiery Defence Of Sally McManus: Thank Civil Disobedience For The Gains Of Today

The problem with ‘Join your union’

In Defense Of The “Apex Gang”

Insights into Low Wage Growth in Australia

Top industrial judge resigns in disgust over ‘biased’ system
Music by Barrett Strong

Living the Dream whilst fighting for your #righttothecity

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Protest at West Village Picture: Jack Tran

In a special episode of Living The Dream, Max and Natalie (@DrNatOsborne) join Jon (@JonPiccini) to discuss radical happenings in Brisbane of late. We talk about the election of Jonathon Sri in the Brisbane City Council elections of last year, why Brisbane is experiencing such a strong wave of ‘right to the city’ activism and how these two interconnect. Musings on the interconnections between social movements and elections, the global and the local and culture and politics abound.

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South Brisbane Greens – https://www.facebook.com/SouthBrisbaneGreens/
Right to the City Brisbane – https://www.facebook.com/righttothecitybrisbane/
tactical urbanism – http://tacticalurbanismguide.com/
Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance – https://www.facebook.com/WARcollective/
Jonathon Sri, Councillor for the Gabba – https://www.facebook.com/jonno.sri/
Henri Lefebvre – https://chisineu.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/lefebvre-henri-writings-on-cities.pdf

Music by the Mouldy Lovers – which was the painfully obvious choice.

Living the Dream drops the #Bernardibomb

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In this episode of Living the Dream Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) have a very quick chat about Cory Bernardi quitting the Liberal party. We discuss how this is more evidence of the breakdown of politics/the rise of antipolitics; the attempts by the RBA to keep capital accumulation going through monetary policy whilst everything crumbles around them and what this means for radical strategy and tactics.

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Stuff we mention includes:

Leftflank

National Press Club: Malcolm Turnbull

National Press Club: Bill Shorten

Unlegislated measures carried forward in the budget estimates—
February 2017 update

Novara Media

The Linguistic Nature of Money and Finance

Chart Pack Graphs on the Australian Economy and Financial Markets

Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision

Antonio Negri Logic and Theory of Inquiry: militant praxis as subject and as episteme

Music from Fat White Family

Living The Dream in 2017

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Invasion Day 2017 – Brendon Qu

In this episode of Living The Dream  Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) go through the entrails with an inverted periscope to try to see what we should expect for 2017. We chat about Invasion Day and the rising tide of Indigenous struggles, the Centrelink debacle, anti-Road protests and more. We are pretty optimistic about the year ahead and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Articles, people and groups we mentioned or are relevant:

Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance –WAR

Celeste Liddle

Amy McQuire

Police Clash With Flag-Burning Protesters At Invasion Day March In Sydney

White Purity

The Safety Pin and the Swastika

How the Centrelink debt debacle failure rate is much worse than we all thought

Adani coalmine activists gear up to fight: ‘This will dwarf the Franklin blockade’

‘Leave our land alone’: Queensland traditional owners vow to fight Adani’s Carmichael coalmine – video

Cottle, A. (2011), ‘The Colour-line and the Third Period: A Comparative Analysis of American and Australian Communism and the Question of Race, 1928-1934’, American Communist History, vol 10, no 2 , pp 119 – 131.

Working for the Class: The Praxis of the Wollongong Out of Workers’ Union

Anti Poverty Network SA

unite  

We play music from A.B. Original and DISPOSSESSED They are rad – support them.

#WTF2016 ? Living The Dream takes the down bound Trump Train out of here

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In this episode of Living the Dream Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) talk about the weird as hell political environment of the Age of Trump. Was 2016 the worst year ever? Are we caught in the midst of a rising reactionary wave? And why do the failures of the liberal establishment feel to so many people to be failures of the Left? (And what is the Left? Are we the Left?) What’s with the amateur sociology about voting demographics that is everywhere now? Do we really have to choose between identity politics and Left economic populism? Where can we draw hope from and what about the historical experience of working class anti-racism? All this and more!

Articles/organisations we refer to include:

Behind the News with Doug Henwood

Hard Crackers  From A Small New England Town As Told To Noel Ignatiev

The Weimar Analogy

KING: There’s a huge education level drop-off with the Trump cabinet picks

Tsiolkas – The Second Coming The Politics Of Rage Won’t Let Us Listen To One Another

Many in Milwaukee Neighborhood Didn’t Vote — and Don’t Regret It

It Was My Primal Scream

Revolutionary Hillbilly: An Interview With Hy Thurman of the Young Patriots Organization

Ghassan Hage – Recalling anti-racism

Knives out for Hanson staffer Ashby, accused of profiting off candidates

redneckrevolt

The great student swindle: how young people are being ripped off

Music by Sharon Jones and Dap-kings and Joe Pug

And watch this footage of this amazing  meeting between the Black Panthers and the Young Patriots.

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