Let’s put the champagne on ice!

Assistant National Secretary Mick Doleman, who has been co-ordinating the federal election campaign for the union, calls on members to get to work and get rid of John Howard and his draconian IR laws.

As John Howard considers the date that can give him the best chance of winning a fourth term in office, many of us (including me) hope that no matter what date he chooses, the Australian electorate will see him off - not only as Prime Minister but also as the Member for Bennelong. What a fitting conclusion to his prime ministership of this country! But wishful thinking is not for political hardheads. We have to work hard to get rid of this bloke, and all the wishful thinking in the world will never work without a strategic and well-resourced campaign to get rid of the Coalition Government.

This is shaping up to be the most critical election in the history of Federation and for the first time in living memory, the key issue is industrial relations. Even the high profile Patrick's dispute in 1998 - with goons in balaclavas, guard dogs attacking workers at their workplaces and miles of media footage of Patrick's attack on workers - didn't rate a mention in the subsequent federal election.

Yet now in 2007, the critical issue for the electorate is WorkChoices and, more to the point, the treatment of working men and women in this country is No. 1 from an election point of view.

A future Labor government will have to recognise that the effective union campaign against WorkChoices and our systematic efforts in the marginal seats campaign got Rudd into office. They can't claim it was interest rates, or global warming, or national security because Rudd has been very clever to replicate (at least in parliament and via the media) support for Howard's policies in these fields - with the exception of differences over global warming. This affords the union movement a great opportunity to influence future Labor government policies including on industrial relations in the interest of working men and women.

Of equal importance is the relationship we have developed with the community at large as a result of the marginal seats campaign. Through this campaign the union movement has come out clearly as a voice for workers, whether in unions or not, against the brutal attack on them and their families.

A union movement that has a union density of around 20 per cent does not have the level of influence it did in the 60s and 70s when we were much stronger. But through its efforts in the marginal seats battles and the campaign against WorkChoices, the union movement has muscled up its influence and respect among the community at large.

The lesson we have learned about connecting with the community in the last two years needs to be a constant feature of future trade union work. The relationship of mutual interest between unions and the public will go a long way towards boosting the union movement's total effectiveness in the industrial and political environment we work in.

If Labor wins the federal election the ACTU needs to refocus the marginal seats campaign towards a community-union coalition that continues to work on issues of interest for working men and women and takes up important political and industrial issues for the community in which we live. This will require the same level of determination the union movement has displayed thus far in our campaigning against this government.

The unions face a real challenge to re-invent themselves and take broader responsibility beyond their own crafts in order to reposition themselves as standout champions of the working class. All too often the union movement has been too easily satisfied with just getting the alternative government over the line and giving a big sigh of relief that they have got rid of the conservatives, only to whinge and moan that the Labor Party in government have done nothing for workers and the union movement.

If we don't fight the Labor government as hard as we do the Libs, we deserve everything we get from a Labor government (including nothing). However I believe the maturity and leadership displayed by the ACTU headed by Sharan Burrow and Greg Combet will ensure we do fill that space after the elections and continue to campaign and fight for justice against the growing influence of the employers and multinationals whose wealth is staggering beyond belief.

The MUA will play a crucial role in the federal elections and will put enormous financial and human resources into getting Labor over the line. We look forward to working with people like Greg Combet and Bill Shorten (to name just two) who will be, in my opinion, in Cabinet in short order after the election. We are working to encourage every one of our members to get on the electoral role and ensure that their families including their children are enrolled.

The MUA over the last five or six years has worked hard to develop ALP policies at branch and national level of vital importance for our members, in shipping, stevedoring and the oil and gas sector. We will continue to push these policies to fruition if Labor is elected.

Comrades, put the champagne on ice, let's get off our backsides and get to work on getting rid of Howard and his gang.