Pickets AND Politics Comrades

Community pickets help win reinstatement for sacked Finlay Engineering workers

We publish below the Melbourne-based Socialist Party's report of the victory next to the press release of the ACTU. Note the ACTU release says that negotiation won the workers reinstatement, not class struggle. While the Socialist Party grouplet over-eggs its own importance...
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Comments
Anthony Main Says:
5/5/2006 2:15:22 AM

None of the disputes the editor mentions have come from hitting a boss at the point of production but more so from an employer / government back down. Thats why it was the first serious victory against Howard. Not necessarily because SP was involved. It is armchair critics that need to 'get some perspective' I challenge readers to compare the program of SP to that of the ALP. There are plenty of articles on the SP site that outline this. Sp is in fact one of the only parties to outline a genuine strategy. www.socialistpartyaustralia.org I also call on the editor to not confuse a short report about a picket line with an analysis of the Australian political situation or a strategy to defeat Howard Anthony Main

Marcus Strom Says:
5/4/2006 11:27:24 AM

I don't dispute that the SP has a degree of support. And I know they have decent activists. None of that is in dispute. I'm also certain the SP was involved in the community picket. The 'over-egging' came with the claim that this was the FIRST serious setback for Howard's IR laws. What about the Cowra meat workers? What about the Warriewood (Sydney) juice workers? There have been plenty of setbacks in workplaces around Australia for Howard. This just happens to be the first the SP was involved in, so they talked it up (ie: over egged it). People need a bit of perspective. One point of the post was to show that a class struggle approach with community pickets (which the SP does champion) is important, but that we need to build politics around it. Pickets are a tactic, not a strategy. By the way Dan, grouplet just means small group, which the SP is. No drama. Marcus Strom

Dan Murphy Says:
5/4/2006 3:02:07 AM

Bit of respect. Now first of all I don't think this story is linked correctly as I couldn't get to it from your site. Secondly, and more importantly, what's this shit about ' a grouplet over-egging its own importance'. You've got no fucking idea who turned people out on that picket line. SP (of which I am not a member) maybe small in the big scheme of things but in the Melbourne Left they matter. They do have real support from unionists, rank and file workers, on inner city housing estates. They also have quality activists and organisers. I would bet my that some of their people played key roles in setting up and maintaining that picket line on tuesday. As such they are perfectly entitled to go back to their office and advertise their role on their website. When you kick a real goal in the struggle you can do that. If this website is going get stuck in polemics and throwing around words like 'grouplets' its gonna get real old real quick.

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