Alex White » nteu

Media beat up, part I

Alex — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:10:00 +0000

I recently had a debate with a friend about new media versus old media. One of the points I made was that journalists at major newspapers and TV stations are just as likely as PR spin doctors and politicians to be pushing a line. Furthermore, I argued that journalists “beat up” stories to get copy into the paper, emphasising minor differences and turning them into major divisions.

This was on show during the recent Federal Liberal Party leadership crisis and the dumping of Nathan Rees as NSW premier. The Press Gallery in Canberra was willingly a part of the Minchin/Abetz machine that ruthlessly white-anted Turnbull. What was even more telling was that the “insider” journalists were often no more informed than observers on Twitter.

A case in point that is particularly close to my heart at the moment is a recent story in The Australian: Union revolts over ETS.

The story is about the union I work for, the NTEU, which at its recent National Council, passed a motion calling for a minimum 40% cuts to carbon emissions in Australia, and for the “abandonment” of the CPRS. The motion ends announcing that the NTEU will work with the ACTU and others to promote this position. There is a separate motion that says the NTEU will work with the ACTU and ACF’s Climate Connector campaign.

Somehow, this simple motion (which was passed in early November without comment by the media) has turned into “breaking ranks” with the ACTU.

Now, perhaps I’ve got rosy-coloured glasses on, but my understanding was that the ACTU didn’t support the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, but rather saw it (like the Fair Work Act) as the “only option on the table” and thus better than nothing.

“The settlement between the Rudd Government and the opposition has sadly been driven by business self-interest in many areas, however the basic architecture to drive carbon abatement remains intact,” said ACTU President Sharan Burrow.

Now, of course, the NTEU has proposed development of carbon pollution reduction policies that do not “primarily rely on market mechanisms”. This does seem to me to be “breaking ranks” or a “revolt”.

It does however come at a time when the Rudd Government is being heavily criticised by the Opposition over its CPRS. It comes at a time when emissions trading has been put under sustained pressure and attack by climate change denialists.

The Australian is an avowed “campaigning” newspaper. The article’s author, Ewin Hannan has long experience (at The Age and then The Australian) covering politics and industrial relations. I can only assume he gets the ACTU media releases. I can only assume he read the NTEU’s policy motion. I can only assume he has an understanding of how unions, union conferences, and union policy motions work.

I cannot see how the NTEU’s motion turns into a “revolt”. Except of course, if there was a “line” being pushed.

Using Facebook as an organising tool

Alex — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:40:51 +0000

Facebook, like Twitter, is one of those social networking tools that unions are struggling to figure out. It is the most used social networking tool on earth, and an increasing number of Baby Boomers are starting to use it, expanding out of the younger 16-30 year old demographic.

Facebook has a lot of potential as an organising tool, but is not a panacea. (Photo via @kronikr .)

I have experimented with using Facebook as an organising tool for a while now. The NTEU for example has a Facebook profile, and a Facebook page. In this regard, it appears that Facebook is most useful in extending a union’s online presence. With Australia having the highest per-capita use of Facebook, it is likely that many members and prospective members will already be on Facebook.

However, Facebook is a straightjacket. The Facebook sysops have absolute control over their site, and can shut down union accounts (and have shown their willingness to do so in the past). If you build up a strong following, with many friends or fans, it is difficult to export their contact data – all the information remains locked up in Facebook’s platform.

However, unions can use Facebook as a useful tool for organising, so long as we realise that Facebook is not a universal panacea or silver bullet.

Often, union organisers will have to organise green fields sites – call centres, factories, offices and so on. Researching these sites, mapping and getting a scope on workplace issues is very important for organisers.

Facebook users will regularly put their work information into their profile, and much of this information is searchable. By simply doing a profile search, we can find people who may work at greenfields sites. If those people have also put other information on their profile, we could also find out their political views or whether they are likely to support unions (for example, if they belong to progressive causes or groups).

Many Facebook users also join groups that comment on workplaces. For example, there may be a group called ” Company X sucks”. These groups can contain useful information about the company, especially about the working conditions there.

Of course, the organiser will still need to do the hard work of organising, one-on-one meetings, phone calls and so on. And, not every company or workforce will be on Facebook. However, organisers can be more informed before they start.

Doug Cameron on Parliamentary Lobbying

Alex — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:58:41 +0000

An insightful video of Senator Doug Cameron on lobbying Parliament in Australia.

Doug gave this talk at a forum organised by the NTEU Victorian Division at the end of February. He kindly agreed to talk to a camera afterwards.

Parliamentary Lobbying – Lessons from the other side – with Senator Doug Cameron from NTEU Victoria on Vimeo.

Controversial trimester at Deakin leads to industrial action

Alex — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:05:21 +0000

Deakin University staff are standing up to get a collectively bargain. The NTEU Victorian Division has produced a video with Deakin staff explaining the importance of getting a collective agreement.

Unfortunately the Deakin senior management have been dragging their feet and have not seriously negotiated. Furthermore the senior management have insisted on ramming through the unpopular and controversial trimester, which would force teaching-intensive staff to teach for six consecutive trimesters, leaving no time for annual leave or research.

Last week there were urgent members meetings so that staff could consider taking industrial action.