FINALLY!
I AM ELECTED CFMMEU NATIONAL SECRETARY A REPORT TO THE MEMBERSHIP FROM CHRISTY CAIN
Delegates, Sisters, Brothers & Members, Finally, after 14 months of waiting for a simple rule change, I have now been elected as your National Secretary. The National Executive met on Friday, 25th March and all of the Construction & General and Maritime Divisional representatives voted UNANIMOUSLY for my appointment. Two representatives from the Manufacturing Division attended the meeting and voted against this. It is my intention to work with all the Branches around the country, in helping to bring this great UNION together! Without doubt, it will have its challenges, but it must have buy in from all the States, and just as importantly the entire membership. Let me be quite clear, this is the most strategic, progressive, organised, fighting UNION in this country by far, and I ask you all to not listen to the Murdoch Press or Liberal Government, whinging about how we do our business. It just highlights their incompetence in what and how a Rank & File REAL TRADE UNION should be run.
It is my intention to be seen on the construction sites, the wharfs, the ships and also, to go where ever necessary to engage and talk to the members. That is only a small part of my job, but a critical part in having the membership take some ownership of their UNION.
Yes, we have to be involved politically, industrially and socially and I understand that, however, the members and the UNION will always come FIRST. We have a lot to do and I can assure everyone reading this, we will leave no stone unturned in continuing to deliver not only for us, but all like-minded UNIONS!
IF WE DON’T DO IT, THEN WHO WILL? Organised labour, is unionised labour, is educated labour! WE ask for your ongoing support.
wake up cl ive! e! one! k o j a t a wh lot are g you
PUT THE LIBERALS & PALMER LAST! Members of the CFMMEU, it is vitally important that we DO NOT make the same mistake twice. Whilst I would not want to tell you how to vote, I am certainly asking you to put these anti worker, anti union candidates LAST. We need to keep our wages and conditions of employment! We need to do everything possible to stop and abolish:
This Liberal legislation is set out to destroy any form of working class power. We need to fight for social equality, just like our fore fathers and mothers did. Struggling together! Fighting together! Winning together! When working women and men come together, we can change the cause and direction of this Country. Let us think hard before we cast our vote. Have the conversation with your family, friends and co-workers about what is best for you and your family. Having these conversations can help in finally getting rid of this rotten Government.
• The Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC); • The Registered Organisations Commission (ROC); • The Building Code (the Code); and • Anti Worker Anti Union Government Legislation.
YOUR UNION SAYS, PUT MORRISON LAST! THEN, PUT PALMER NEXT TO HIM!
We need to expose the Liberals biased legislation. We need to stop the union bashing from this Government and their mates in the Murdoch Press.
WE ARE COUNTING ON YOU - VOTE THEM OUT AT THE UPCOMING ELECTION.
We need to stop casualisation, privatisation and automation. We need an Australian Flagged & Manned Shipping Industry. We need to fight for secure Australian jobs. REAL JOBS & LONG TERM JOBS! We need to keep Medicare, and just as important, expose what this rotten Morrison Government has done to the pensioners and aged care. WE HAVE A FIGHT ON OUR HANDS, AND YOU ALL NEED TO BE PART OF IT!
MAKE NO MISTAKE, A VOTE FOR PALMER IS A VOTE FOR MORRISON.
Let’s not waste another 3 years of struggle on these parasites, who have undermined everything we have fought and died for to achieve for working people and their families! For the record, I will be voting LABOR. We don’t always agree with the ALP, but they are committed to preserving the working conditions and entitlements of all hard working members of this union. If you want to keep your RDO’s, and your Union Agreements and you don’t want to go back to the Award, PUT THE LIBERALS AND PALMER LAST!
Members, I know what way I’m voting in the upcoming Federal Election.
MELBOURNE SITE
The UNION is out there, all across Australia, trying to outline what the dirty Liberals have done to working class people. A vote for Clive Palmer, Pauline Hanson or Barnaby Joyce, is a vote for another 3 years of a Morrison Liberal Government. As a trade unionist, how can anyone vote for these anti-union mobs. Suing workers, suing unions, doing nothing for our pensioners or health care workers. Watching them totally destroy the local manufacturing industry, the shipping industry and the vehicle industry. All AUSTRALIAN industries, totally crushed under this Liberal Government, bringing in exploited foreign labour to take thousands of local Australian jobs! The selling off, of all of our ports, and now the Australian Building & Construction Commission, the Registered Organisations Commission and the Construction anti-union Code to receive more funding.
FR IENDS , Y M TS UN O C E OT V UR O Y DS OUT! VOTE THE LIBERAL BASTAR The total rorting, and putting Australian’s back onto the Award - that is a 60% decrease overnight of YOUR wages and conditions! Getting rid of penalty rates for all lower paid workers - is that not enough to convince you all? Now they want to double the fines for Construction and Maritime workers, which affects all of our families and is an absolute disgrace. MORE CONSTRUCTION AND MARITIME WORKERS WILL BE KILLED ON THE JOBS UNDER THIS LIBERAL GOVERNMENT!
QUBE DISPUTE I’m not sure how many of our members reading this have ever been on a 12 week strike? In Western Australia, our MUA wharfies ended up in a massive dispute with Qube. Qube are owned by Patricks and were on a course of trying to destroy our union. Scabs were flown in, workers were being sacked, all because wharfies wanted to keep what we had, and lock up decent wages and conditions in their EBA. The membership quickly got organised and over the 12 weeks of struggle, started to grind Qube down. This same mob, with the help of Michaelia Cash tried to take
us back to the Award (60% less pay). Eventually we won this dispute with a collective agreement in place, signed off for the next three years. Well done to Will, Doug, Paul, Jeff & George over in the MUA WA Branch, and to all the officials and rank & file members who stuck fat! Also, a big thank you to the many Union’s that supported the MUA industrially, financially and morally.
A special thanks to our CFMEU Construction Division and ETU for their massive contributions, and for all those who got the numbers to the picket lines. The wharfies totally appreciated your help. QUBE RALLY
us to the Federal Court and put us back onto the Award
PATRICK’S EBA UNANIMOUS YES VOTE
NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SECRETARY’S MEETING
TOOLBOX MEETING MELBOURNE
TOOLBOX MEETING MELBOURNE
SVITZER RALLY
JOHN SETKA VIC SECRETARY OF CFMEU WITH CHRISTY CAIN GENERAL NATIONAL SECRETARY OF CFMMEU
BATTLES WE DON’T FIGHT, WE LEAVE FOR OUR CHILDREN!
OUT AND ABOUT It’s been a busy month since the last newsletter. From the picket lines, to the wharfs, to the ships, to the construction sites and toolbox meetings, I’ve been talking and listening to the rank & file. I also attended and participated in the Construction Division’s National Conference in Hobart, where I addressed the Conference as the new General National Secretary. I spoke on a way forward for our new Union. This will never be one person’s Union. We all have an important role to play, and we all need to step up and help our youth, our indigenous, our women and our proud retired members. WE, YOU, and all of us have an obligation to help. If WE don’t do it, then who will?
ONCE AGAIN, LET’S ALL WORK TOGETHER, LET’S ALL FIGHT TOGETHER - BECAUSE THAT’S HOW WE WIN!
ORGANISE! ORGANISE! AND ORGANISE AGAIN! All the best and stay safe,
Christy Cain CFMMEU - General National Secretary
CFMMEU NATIONAL OFFICE Level 6, 540 Elizabeth St Melbourne, VIC 3000 (03) 9274 9201