Bill Shorten on sorting out unionists who cause drama "we'll do it the union way, behind closed doors".
Monday, 06 January 2014
We'll do it the union way, behind closed doors.
That was AWU Secretary Bill Shorten talking about the undesirability of discussing union shortcomings in public.
Better to do it the union way. Behind closed doors. Certainly closed to members and electors anyway.
When you think about it, he nailed it in that sentence.
I can't think of a better way to describe Labor's response to the Craig Thomson saga, The AWU Scandal, Eddie Obeid, Michael Williamson, Julia Gillard, Bruce Wilson et al.
"We'll do it the union way, behind closed doors."
The story below was published in The Age on 18 July, 1998 - 3 days after Bill did a GBO and withdrew his candidature to represent the people of the state seat of Melton.
Try to read Bill's last comment in the story as an elector from Melton.
"I reckon that when you're young you can do a lot more for working people as a trade union official than as a politician."
How lucky was Melton!
Union black sheep returns to the fold
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Australia's oldest union is coming in from the cold. After five years outside the mainstream of the Victorian labor movement, the Australian Workers Union says it is time to reinvent itself.
This week, the new leadership announced the union would rejoin Trades Hall Council, publicly declaring a desire to end the infighting and division that have long tarnished the union's reputation.
The catalyst for the detente has been the replacement of the state secretary, Mr Bob Smith, with a young organiser, Mr Bill Shorten. Mr Shorten, 31, has turned his back on a safe Labor seat in State Parliament to take over the troubled branch.
To say Mr Smith's departure has been welcomed throughout the trade union movement is an understatement.
The personal enmity between him and many key union leaders, which stretches back to the early days of the Kennett Government when John Halfpenny ruled Trades Hall, remains palpable.
Mr Smith was the driving force behind the AWU's partner, the Federation of Industrial, Manufacturing and Engineering Employees, leaving Trades Hall in 1993.
He sought and achieved notoriety through regular attacks on the Trades Hall leadership and, most notably, by meeting the Premier to distance himself from threatened industrial action during the construction of the Grand Prix circuit.
Such perceived disloyalty is not easily forgiven in union circles. ``He was not really one to try to work with other unions," the state secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, Mr Dean Mighell, said yesterday. ``With Bob, it was time to go."
Indeed, during the past 12months, Mr Smith's tenure had been dogged by allegations relating to the administration of the branch. His critics sought to link the allegations to his decision to leave early to contest the seat of Chelsea at the next state election.
``They started last year and continued through the ALP national conference," Mr Smith said this week. ``The allegations concern misappropriation, handing money over to the ALP for branch stacking, and double-dipping."
He denied the claims, adding they were ``handled" by the union's state and national executives. ``The reality is, it's a blood sport, union politics."
During an interview this week, Mr Shorten declined to weigh into the controversy. He said the central challenges for the union were to rejoin the mainstream, ``put the personality fighting behind us", and focus on recruiting members.
``In the early 90s, we left Trades Hall because of disputes between Halfpenny and Bob," he said. ``With the departure of some of the key protagonists, and the increased external threat from Reith, and Patrick-style employers, it means that unions cannot afford the luxury of factional divisions."
Mr Shorten said members of the union would not hear him publicly attacking other unions: ``We'll do it the union way, behind closed doors."
Nor does he intend to seek any accommodation with the State Government. ``There'll be no dallying with the conservatives," he said. ``There are no friends of the trade union movement in Liberal governments."
Mr Shorten has significant support among senior figures in the union movement. Before this week,the ACTU president, Ms Jennie George, had been privately urging him to reconsider his decision to enter politics.
The ACTU secretary, Mr Bill Kelty, said yesterday that Mr Shorten was a talented and enthusiastic organiser who would be a great asset to the union. He said Mr Shorten and a fellow official, Mr Mick Eagles, were a ``formidable duo".
``He (Shorten) is an innovator and that's what the AWU needs," Mr Kelty said. ``He doesn't carry political baggage."
Colleagues expect Mr Shorten to quickly move through the AWU ranks to a national leadership position before moving into Federal Parliament.
For now, though, he expresses few regrets about putting his parliamentary career on hold. ``I reckon that when you're young you can do a lot more for working people as a trade union official than as a politician."
THE AUSTRALIAN WORKERS UNION
1886 Australasian Shearers Union formed by William Spence.
1891 Queensland shearers' strike.
1894 ASU and General Laborers Union merge into Australian Workers Union.
1901 Spence elected to federal Parliament.
1927 ACTU established.
1956 Shearers' strike.
1966 AWU affiliates with ACTU.
1983 Wide comb dispute.
1993 AWU merges with Federation of Industrial, Manufacturing and Engineering Employees. Victorian branch splits from Trades Hall Council.
1993-97 Union swamped by internal divisions, allegations of financial mismanagement and membership losses.
1997 National and state officials declare uneasy truce.
1998 Victorian secretary Bob Smith resigns. Organiser Bill Shorten elected secretary. Union to rejoin Trades Hall.