What’s the plan, comrades?

I got a call from a friend this week asking if I had seen the front page of Wednesday’s Australian. It was covering the 2012 Federal Budget.… Go to Article

Proposal to start a Brisbane University Staff & Students Assembly

To our friends

We are writing to you to announce the formation of, and invite you to participate in, the Brisbane University Staff & Students Assembly.… Go to Article

Launch of Brisbane Workers Assembly

Meeting – Launch of Brisbane Workers Assembly

Dear friends and comrades

Recently a small group of us looked around and realised that we need to do something about the lack of self-organisation in the working class.… Go to Article

17 Group — problems of global capital and labour and their social impacts

The May meeting of the 17 Group, a mere handful of days before the May Day March, on Wednesday the 2nd of May at 7 pm in unit 6 at 20 Drury St West End will very seasonably deal with contemporary problems of global capital and labour and their social impacts.… Go to Article

Important meeting re National Museum of Labour – Thursday 3rd May

Dear Comrades and Friends,

The Brisbane Labour History Association and the Queensland Council of Unions are holding a meeting with Kim Sattler, Unions ACT Secretary, to promote the National Museum of Labour.… Go to Article

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

‘Two sides of every story’? Related to this title is the the death of the man who ‘inspired’ the song by Bob Dylan.Compare… Go to Article

May Day in Brisbane 2012

The organisation of the May Day 2012 celebrations in Brisbane is in disarray and needs to be fixed. It has become a mates day at the beer tent for union organisers and a few rank and file – a pub with rides for the kids.… Go to Article

Theses on the Party

‘The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles’

— Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party

Theses on the Party

by Dave Eden

I would like to thank comrades for inviting me to speak at this meeting and the comradely attitude it displays.… Go to Article

Book Launch – We built this Country

BOOK LAUNCH
WE BUILT THIS COUNTRY

BUILDERS’ LABOURERS AND THEIR UNIONS

1787 TO THE FUTURE

by Humphrey McQueen

The book should be compulsory reading for new and old union officers and organisers; it will certainly challenge them to decide whether they are workers’ representatives or ‘workplace relations practitioners’.… Go to Article

Queensland: a state of mind

[Editor’s Note: After the once-in-a-generation result in the 2012 Queensland state elections, it is timely to reprint Queensland: a state of mind by Humphrey McQueen.… Go to Article

Evading the class struggle

by Humphrey McQueen

The Socialist Alternative is committed to the self-emancipation of the working class. Its 2012 Marxism conference shows why that will be necessary.… Go to Article

May Day in Canberra

Exercise Our Right to Strike

Organise to block WorkChoices and rewrite the FairWork Act

Under current industrial laws these activities are illegal.… Go to Article

Sale of Queensland Rail finished Labor in Queensland

There is a prevailing belief in the ALP that they can spin their way out of any situation. This sometimes works with people without ideology or class consciousness.… Go to Article

Queensland State Election 2012 — build extra-parliamentary opposition

In the 1970s, workers were denied democratic rights in the workplace and on the streets. Back then, electoral gerrymander prevented parliamentary opposition.… Go to Article

Reigniting the Struggle- For a Brisbane Workers Assembly(Draft)

a meeting has been organised to discuss this proposal on 15^th March at 5.30pm at Freedom House 69 Thomas St West End 4101

The accumulation of capital is Australia remains much stronger than that in much of the world – especially the global North.… Go to Article

4ZZZ’s Opening Statement in 1975

And something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

— ‘ballard of a thin man’ by bob dylan

Editor’s Note: Thanks to the efforts of Peter Gray we now have the transcript and sound track of 4ZZZ’s initial broadcast on 8 December 1975.… Go to Article

Navvies rocked this city

By Humphrey McQueen

Canberra 1911-16
Canberra Historical Journal, New Series, 67, December 2011, pp. 17-24.

For the Federal Area to become a Federal Capital on the ground as well as in law, hundreds of navvies had to construct before tradesmen and other labourers could build.… Go to Article

Workers Vocabulary

by Humphrey McQueen

“I cannot understand this language. I cannot make it out. This language, which is half slang, I cannot understand at all.”… Go to Article

Our back pages: Black Friday / General Strike

This picture is from a collection held by the John Oxley Library / State Library of Queensland (W. Davies collection).

The 1912 Brisbane General Strike began when members of the Australian Tramway Employees Association were dismissed when they wore union badges to work on 18 January 1912.… Go to Article

Review: We built this country

Review: We Built this Country

We Built This Country – Builders’ Labourers and their Unions,
by Humphrey McQueen, Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, 2011, 364pp, $30.00

Review by Howard Guille

This is the second book of Humphrey McQueen’s research into builders’ labourers and their unions.… Go to Article

Lock the Gate

Hi to all who may be about to come to Drew’s talk to the 17 Group on the 1st of February.… Go to Article

‘You cannot buy our soul’ – critique of the Industrial Relations Club

Grace Collier claims in a Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) article that Fair Work is fostering a cash-in mentality.

The article states variously that ‘14,897 people put in conventional unfair dismissal applications’ then just a few paragraphs on that ‘37,262 people lodged individual cases, mainly consisting of unfair dismissal and general protection matters’.… Go to Article

Freeport Indonesia Workers Struggle

Sympathisers of
Freeport Indonesia Workers Struggle
Around the World
Dear comrades,
On behalf of Freeport Indonesia workers, especially those who still fighting for our rights and better welfare who to date there are 7 thousand of them request you to assist us in continuing this struggle.… Go to Article

Man on roof challenges bank sale of Community Centre in West End, Brisbane

Friends of Ahimsa House Press Release

At 10am on the morning of Wednesday 14th December, a Friend of AHIMSA House, Bernie Neville, will climb onto the roof of the building at 26 Horan Street, West End and hang a banner in opposition to the impending sale of this community space, slated to be finalised this Thursday the 15th December 2011.… Go to Article

Solidarity with West Papuan Workers — Grasberg mine Freeport

Tembagapura, 25 February 2012 .

West Papua – Grasberg mine Freeport operational again disturbed, was not a result of his finished cases of post-strike.… Go to Article

Rally at Labor conference: not in malaysia – not in nauru – end mandatory detention – refugees are welcome

Hi all,

The rally for refugees at the national Labor Party conference is now just over a week away. We are pleased to be able to announce that Ged Kearney, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has now confirmed to speak.… Go to Article

*Solidarity Vigil for Julian Assange, High Court, The Strand, London

MONDAY DEC 5th. *from 8.30 a.m. *Solidarity Vigil for Julian Assange, High Court, The Strand, London

An anti-war solidarity vigil will be held outside the High Court, The Strand, London on Monday Dec 5th against the extradition of Julian Assange.

… Go to Article

45th anniversary of wave hill walk-off and strike.

the 45th anniversary of the wave hill walk-off and 9 year strike, the longest in australia i believe.

back in 1966 we were into the 17th year of the menzies (pig iron bob) federal government and there was no government sympathy for aborigines and land claims nor workers on strike.… Go to Article

Australia shatters its party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child

by Gerry Georgatos

It is indeed now common knowledge that Australian adult prisons are incarcerating children as young as 13. The human rights struggle to free these children from our adult prisons has been an arduous one, with the major obstacle the Australian government and the horrific prejudices and stereotypes they have shoved down throats so as to perceptually modify views.… Go to Article

Human rights day forum in support of Tamil asylum seekers

The international celebration of UN Human Rights Day, observed annually on 10th December to mark the anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.… Go to Article