Industrial Workers of the World

Today at the IR Rally in Melbourne approximately forty members of the "General Strike Block Fiesta" met at the Bourke St Mall to call for a General Strike and a real campaign of industrial action to defeat the IR Laws.
A nice position was found for the block in front of the stage. They carried placards such as "General Strike", "More strike - less talk", "It worked in France - strike!". As we waited for the rally to begin we warmed up with drums, whistles and chants. Various soccer chants and even the odd Cliff Richard song were adapted into calls for a General Strike. Soon the rest of the marches arrived and along with them came a veritable sea of ALP and Union Leadership hacks. Bracks, Burrows and Beazley all took to the stage to lecture the crowds on how voting for the ALP at the next election is their only hope of salvation. Throughout these speeches members of the block heckled and kept up their chants for a General Strike. This succeeded in bringing the wrath of various slick and scary looking “Young Labor” types who attempted to cover our signs from the cameras with their ALP signs, manhandling a few of the block and telling us to “get a job” and other sophisticated strategies. One hack told me to shut up during Brack’s lame speech on the grounds that it was a “privilege to hear the Premier”. Despite this harassment and the wave of ALP electioneering from the stage ourspirits remained strong.
The strategy of the ACTU/Trades Hall was best summed up by Sharon Burrows who finished this speech with this empowering quote

"We are going to talk about this `til there is no other issue but decency and fairness in workplace rights as the next election issue," Ms Burrow said.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/IR-protests-patriotic-says-Beazley/2006/06/28/1151174241377.html

Wow – the unions are going to keep “talking” until Beazley hopefully wins the election and then hopefully winds backs the new laws. This gem was greeted with the chant “Less talk – more strike”.

Unlike the inspiring campaign recently fought and won in France with a series of General Strikes and other direct actions, the Union Leadership is determined to herd the workers into an electoral strategy alone based on electing the ALP. There is no faith that the Union Movement can protect itself industrially. There is no thought to what happens to the workers of this country if Beazley is not elected.

The only good thing that came from the stage today was when a descendant of the women who sewed the Eureka flag took to the stage and the crowd together took the Eureka Oath "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties". We need to take these words seriously today and take a stand like the Diggers by calling for and promoting a General Strike against these laws. . The March 29th Trades Hall Delegates Meeting called for Unions to consult their members on a General Strike. We can’t afford to let Trades Hall ignore and squash these calls for real action.

The General Strike Block today was endorsed by Eureka Sedition and the Melbourne I.W.W. The Wobblies had a banner and their Melbourne Branch was in attendance and handed out I.W.W. stickers. Many of the people who attended the block seemed to come from various Melbourne anarchist groups. Socialist Groups and Union Solidarity would not touch the Block with a barge pole. These groups need to get their heads around the fact that if they continue to uncritically support the ACTU/Trades Hall electoral strategy and don’t openly start campaigning for real industrial action they will be complicit in helping to sell the workers of this country down the river.

Today’s General Strike Block was admittedly like a flea on the giant arse of the Union Movement but calls for a General Strike need to grow if there is any real hope to defeat these laws. So between now and November talk to your friends, union comrades etc and join the General Strike Block in November. Even if we don’t succeed in getting a General Strike of the ground at least you wont feel like a dick as you stand there and listen to yet another crappy speech from Greg Combet.
Remember GENERAL STRIKE WANT YOU!