Take matters into your own hands!

With the Labor government’s administrator taking over the CFMEU, Albanese has spearheaded one of the biggest attacks against the union movement in generations. Hundreds of officials have already been sacked. Any members, delegates or organisers deemed to undermine the administration are to be weeded out, potentially facing up to two years in jail. All union assets, derived from members’ hard-earned dues, have been seized, placed under the control of this tinpot Führer. This is a disaster not only for CFMEU members but for the workers movement as a whole.

How the hell did we get here? Since the Building Bad media hitjob Albanese, with the full backing of the ACTU, signalled his determination to ram through the takeover of the CFMEU. Instead of fighting back, CFMEU head, Zach Smith, greased the skids for his Labor mate Albo—pleading the union guilty by taking over the Victorian branch to clean out “criminal” elements. Other officials promised to wage a struggle to “the ends of the earth.” But workers were kept waiting…waiting… waiting. It was only after officials had handed the keys of the union to Albo’s head kickers in suits that protest rallies were finally called. This could have been the opportunity for real strike action, to shut down all construction sites and send the administrator packing. Instead, workers were sent back to work, with union officials offering little more than an illusory appeal in the bosses’ courts and more hints of unspecified action in the sweet by-and-by.

Today, building developers are salivating at the prospect of taking back hard-won union conditions. Hanging on to existing gains and turning things around can only happen in opposition to Mr Irving KC and to the old leadership’s strategy that has allowed him to take over the union. It’s clear union officials have no strategy to defeat the administrator. To think otherwise is self-delusion. There is still time to act, but it will have to come from the initiative of the rank and file. It’s your union! Talk to your workmates, find those who, like you, refuse to roll over and die without a fight. Get organised! Contact workers at other job sites and come up with a plan to strike back. No more waiting for directions from above. The ball is in your court. One thing is certain. If you don’t fight, you lose!