--- "Pip, Peter & Zoe" <ppz@...> wrote:
---------------------------------
David

PB:So is this an initiative of the Socialist Party? I
notice that the
Socialist Trade Union Organising Group page (it seems
hastily
prepared/not spell checked) is on your comrade John
Gowland's site. Who
else is involved from the trade union movement?

I don't know all of whats happening in WA. But we
initiated it and some people especially from the ETU
joined in.
As for is it a SP initiative, yes, but has become
broader.

>And what is the
rationale for not being in the Socialist Alliance like
other militants
like Chris Cain and Craig Johnston?

Similar to those of Martin Kingham, Bill Game and
others not in the Socialist Alliance. Because its
become a complete farce.


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---------------------------------
Socialist Trade Union Organising Group
Socialist Union Organising Committee
We are a group of Unionists in Western
Australia campaigning for a
new workers party.
For a long time, the Australian Labor Party
has failed its members, unions, and the
Australian community as a whole. Whilst its history is
steeped in working class struggle, it is now
just that- history. Its success is still
based on the working class, but its power is being
used against workers and for the benefit of
those who control the ALP today, the bosses.
With its pro-free trade agenda, the ALP has deformed
into an integral part of the capitalist
system.

A number of concerned unionists argue that
the ALP can be taken back by the Trade Unions, but
this position has long been proved out of
reach. The ALP, with its policies and its
actions, has shown itself to be on the side of big
business and profit. The interests of
workers only seem to become a concern when elections
are imminent, and workers’ votes and union
donations are vital. Labor leader Simon
Crean is at the head of a campaign to lower union
influence within the party, while increasing
the influence of corporate sponsors. The
voice of the modern Labor Party is one nearly
indistinguishable from the Liberals:

“This is the firm that brought you healthy
corporate profits year after year, and the
firm that brought you improved export competitiveness.

This is the firm that floated the dollar,
that deregulated the financial system, and that gave
you lower corporate tax rates.

This is the firm that in the 1980’s,
educated the entire country about economics, that went
out and sold the vision of an Australia
engaged in the global economy, an Australia
that was a real player in the push for free trade
through APEC.

We were there for you in the past, and we
will be there for you in the future”.

-Kim Beazley, referring to the ALP in an address to
the Business Observers Group.

ALP National Conference January 1998

It’s understandable that Trade Union leaders
cannot yet see a viable alternative. The fact is,
that at the moment there isn’t one. But let’s
face it; it’s over for the ALP. Now is the
time for all Trade Unionists to link together in
breaking ties with Labor, and begin the process of
building a new workers’ party.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
------------

The Socialist Union Organising Committee
(SUOC) is a group of Unionists who have come together
to initiate a broad disaffiliation of workers
from the ALP. During the disaffiliation
process, we propose the support of unions for
pro-working class candidates, including
union members, Socialists, Greens and community
activists. The rank and file of all unions should
democratically decide who their union lends
support to. These candidates, working together
with the Trade Unions, must form the basis of a new
mass workers’ party, one that will take on
the historical role that the Labor Party has
neglected.

We invite all those who agree with these sentiments
to join us in the discussion and organisation
of a new workers’ party. We encourage
members to campaign within their Trade Union to break
all of its support (financial, material and
political) for the ALP. Freed up union
finances should be used in a Political Fund that would
support all progressive candidates and the
construction of the new mass workers’ party.

We need a new mass workers’ party, with the
following aims:

«A 35-hour week, without loss in pay, as a method of
job creation.

«Equal pay for equal work, regardless of age or sex,
and a liveable minimum wage, for all.

«For the right to strike and solidarity strikes. Right
to peaceful protest, without police intervention.

«Nationalisation of the major sectors of the economy,
including the banks, all transport, natural
resources, and communications (Telstra and Australia
Post).

«The removal of all anti-worker legislation.

«Free education from childcare to university.

«Free and comprehensive public health care with
massive investment in staffing and
infrastructure.

«No support for wars to extend markets and
profits.

«An end to racism, beginning with the removal of all
mandatory detention policies.

«Reorganisation of the Legal System (including the
courts and the police) for the community not
corporations.

«An end to all Free-Trade agreements and zones.

These are the most necessary demands of the
working class, and by no means form a comprehensive
list.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
---


We are seeking to unite with like-minded unionists,
nationally and internationally, to strengthen
the struggle for workers’ rights.

To be involved with discussions and organising of a
new workers’ party, contact SUOC at:
Post:     Western Austrtalia
P.O Box 3126 Bassendean Delivery Center WA
6942

E-mail: suoc@...   Web: http://suoc.tk



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