Doug Cameron's intimidation steps up

BY
SUE BOLTON

The Federal Court will decide on July 22 or 23 whether to overturn
the suspension of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union’s Victorian
secretary Craig Johnston. Johnston was stood down by the AMWU national
office on July 12, against the wishes of the state branch.

Johnston was quoted in the July 10 Australian Financial Review
on as saying: “I am of the firm belief that this whole episode is part
of a political campaign to get rid of [me].” Johnston will be banned from
attending the week-long AMWU national conference which begins on July 21.

He has been accused by the national office of “gross misconduct”: but
the alleged “victim” of such behaviour has signed a statutory declaration
distancing herself from the charge and asserting that national officials
have attempted to pressure her to support it.

The campaign against Johnston from the national office continues, undeterred
by the collapse of their evidence. A July 18 AMWU national council meeting
voted to stop any funding from going to community radio station 3CR in
Melbourne because it is “Trotskyist” and supports Johnston.

The meeting also voted to disaffiliate the union from the Victorian
Trades Hall Council. The VTHC executive passed a motion on July 12 opposing
national interference in the state AMWU branch, and agreeing to continue
to relate to Johnston. The AMWU is the biggest affiliate to the VTHC, contributing
about 16-20% of the VTHC’s funding.

The AMWU national council can get away with making such a decision because
all union dues go to it. The state branches receive only an allowance from
the national office.

According to a report in the July 19 Age, the administrator appointed
by AMWU national secretary Doug Cameron to replace Johnston, Dave Oliver,
wrote to VTHC secretary Leigh Hubbard on July 15 complaining that Johnston’s
faction, the militant Workers First, was using VTHC meeting rooms to organise
against the national office. Oliver said that the union would remain disaffiliated
until the VTHC recognised his appointment.

In a letter sent to all Victorian AMWU members in July, Cameron says
that he strives to ensure that the union “engages employers on industry
building and job creation, as well as enterprise bargaining” and “appeals
to prospective members as a strong, effective, forward thinking and smart
union”.

This language echoes that employed by ALP members advocating the Prices
and Incomes Accord between unions and the ALP between 1983 and 1996. Unionists
were told that the accord was smart and intelligent unionism as opposed
to the “old-fashioned” and “thuggish” approach of militant industrial action.
The result of unions “negotiating industry development” with bosses meant
that many negotiated away jobs.

Some unions, mostly in Victoria, have now broken with that approach
and their members are starting to regain some of the conditions and wages
that were lost during the 1980s.

At a Sydney public meeting on July 18, Victorian AMWU organiser Paul
Wisniewski said there was “no question that [the national office is] trying
to get rid of Johnston before [the industry-wide AMWU] Campaign 2003. We
believe that Cameron has done a deal with the Australian Industry Group
over [union-controlled entitlement fund] Manusafe.”

Victorian AMWU printing division secretary Jim Reid, not part of Workers
First, also attended the public meeting. “When Cameron and company are
attacking, they’re attacking the Victorian branch generally and not just
Workers First”, he said. “The Victorian branch is the only branch which
is offering any dissent to the Cameron leadership.”

“Because we’ve offered some dissent to Cameron, our division has come
under attack. Nobody can even offer an independent thought, an opposing
view to the Cameron line — if you do then you get belted over the head.
One man’s megalomania is seeking to destroy the biggest, most militant
and most productive branch of the union.” said Reid.

From Green Left Weekly, July 24, 2002.

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From GLW issue 501