THE machine men at the top of the Tasmanian union movement have defied logic and ignored the lessons of recent history by calling for the re-election of Lennon’s Labor, in a recent Unions Tasmania vote: Unions fall behind Lennon
It seems many Tasmanian union bosses think their members can’t be trusted to actually decide for themselves. At the very least, they could have advised their respective memberships to “put Liberal last”.
Are some bloated union power brokers so out of touch that they think the rest of us have forgotten that Paul Lennon openly sided with a John Howard victory at the last federal election, to protect the interests of the logger Barons?
Who can forget that, with the backing of Lennon’s Labor, the Tasmanian branch of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union publicly threw their bulk behind Howard at the now notorious pre-election logging rally in Launceston.
Do some musty old union waxworks at the top table really think the rest of us have forgotten just how infatuated Paul Lennon is with the Big End of Town, at the expense of the employee?
Only in Lennon’s Tasmania must a worker be deemed to suffer 30%-or-more whole person impairment to their body following a workplace injury, before the injured person is allowed to take common-law action to get some redress from a negligent employer. Lennon’s U.S. styled anti-worker laws don’t even take into account the hidden aspects of injury, such as chronic pain.
Then I exercised what little power was left to me by voting with my feet.
But hey, why should some of the soft, manicured Split Saveloys amongst the union elite give a toss? In their ruthless pursuit of Labor pre-selection and fat pay packets, they’re unlikely to ever cross the path of the broken bodied and the powerless.
Influential Tasmanian union heavies now expect us to keep a straight face as they piously warn us all about Howard’s harsh industrial relations changes, introduced soon after the Coalition election victory that Lennon and the CFMEU approved of so heartily.
As a long time member of the Health and Community Services Union, I felt insulted and powerless when, after 2 phone calls to the union last week, I eventually found out that HACSU executives joined the Unions Tasmania vote for Lennon’s re-election.
Then I exercised what little power was left to me by voting with my feet. I politely told HACSU executives what they could do with their union. I promptly joined another health union that respects its members’ ability to choose for themselves by staying non-partisan in the lead-up to the State poll.
With friends like Paul Lennon’s Labor, I figure that working people in Tasmania don’t need to add union bosses to their list of enemies.
Neil Cremasco
Judds Creek
Judbury
