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Labour and the unions

by Whaleoil on November 19, 2011

In the NZ Herald today Phil Goff says he isn’t captured by the unions:

There is a perception that Labour cares more about what teachers want than parents because you agree with teacher unions on such issues as national standards.
I’m not being directed by any bloody union – a teachers’ union or any other. In fact, the people that I quote most often are two groups. One is the principals. Because you put a principal in charge of a school because he or she has the professional capabilities and skills to run a school and to do it well. And when 98 per cent of the principals who are meeting vote no-confidence in National Party standards, you listen to them.

Of course Phil Goff forgets that the principals have their own union, the NZ Principal’s Federation, which has coordinated mass protest against government policy.

But back to his claim that he isn’t be “directed by any bloody union”…well let’s look at the facts shall we:

Those in bold have a union background.

1 Phil Goff Mt Roskill Insurance Workers Union (Organiser)
2 Annette King MP PSA Delegate
3 David Cunliffe MP MFAT PSA Union Delegate 1987-90, Convenor 1989-90
4 David Parker MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
5 Ruth Dyson MP Delegate Clerical Workers Union
6 Parekura Horomia MP Member of the Printers Union, Rep and participant for 7 years
7 Maryan Street MP Worked for PPTA and a couple of other unions (finding out which ones)
8 Clayton Cosgrove MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
9 Trevor Mallard Hutt South Secretary of King Country PPTA
10 Sue Moroney MP Union organiser; regional educator for the Trade Union Education Authority; National Secretary for the NZ Equine Workers’ Union; Journalist for the Northern Hotel, Hospital and Restaurant Workers’ Union
11 Charles Chauvel MP National Affairs Officer for the AUSA in 1987,
12 Nanaia Mahuta MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
13 Jacinda Ardern MP President of International Union of Socialist Youth 2008
14 Grant Robertson WLG Central President of Otago University Students Association; Vice President and then Co-President of the NZ University Students Association
15 Andrew Little CANDIDATE President of the NZ University Students Association and EPMU National Secretary
16 Shane Jones MP
17 Su’a William Sio MP Union official, New Zealand and Samoa trade union movement; Steering Committee Member, South Pacific Oceanic Council of Trade Unions; Union Organiser, Trade UnionEducation Authority (TUEA)
18 Darien Fenton MP Secretary of the Service & Food Workers Union 1997; Vice President NZ Council of Trade Unions 1999-2003;
19 Moana Mackey MP Worked in Trade Union movement
20 Dr Rajen Prasad MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
21 Raymond Huo MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
22 Carol Beaumont MP Joined Union at 16 and remains Union member; worked for NZ Council of Trade Unions – established organising centre in Auckland & elected secretary
23 Kelvin Davis MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
24 Carmel Sepuloni MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
25 Rick Barker MP Secretary of Service Workers Union; Executive of CTU; Delegate of ILO; Otago Hotel Workers Union
26 Deborah Mahuta-Coyle CANDIDATE Press Secretary in Labour Leader’s office (Māori advisor)
27 Stuart Nash MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
28 Clare Curran MP Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union; Service & Food Workers Union
29 Brendon Burns MP Manager, Government Communications Unit 2002-2005
30 Chris Hipkins MP President Student’s Association (Victoria University);
31 David Shearer Mt Albert NO UNION BACKGROUND
32 Michael Wood CANDIDATE Board of the Roskill Union Health Centre; FINSEC
33 Phil Twyford MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
34 Steve Chadwick MP Union Rep for the NZ Nurses association 1976-86
35 Kate Sutton CANDIDATE On the union affiliates’ wish list
36 Jerome Mika CANDIDATE EPMU
37 Iain Lees-Galloway MP President Student Association (Massey University); Worked for NZ Nurses Organisation;
38 Josie Pagani CANDIDATE On the union affiliates’ wish list
39 Lynette Stewart CANDIDATE NO UNION BACKGROUND
40 Jordan Carter CANDIDATE On the union affiliates’ wish list
41 Kris Faafoi MP NO UNION BACKGROUND
42 Christine Rose CANDIDATE On the union affiliates’ wish list
43 Glenda Alexander CANDIDATE CTU organiser in Otago
44 Susan Zhu CANDIDATE NO UNION BACKGROUND
45 Rino Tirikatene CANDIDATE NO UNION BACKGROUND
46 Sehai Orgad CANDIDATE On the union affiliates’ wish list
47 Megan Woods CANDIDATE NO UNION BACKGROUND
48 Mea’ole Keil CANDIDATE SWFU
49 David Clark CANDIDATE EPMU member since 2006 (Updated from tipline info)
50 Richard Hills CANDIDATE NO UNION BACKGROUND

In Labour’s top ten list spots 80% are from a union background. In their top 20 it is 70% from a union background, in their top 40 it is 62.5% and in their top 50 it is 58%.

Not on the list are: Ross Robertson, he was a Consultant Industrial Engineer for Auckland Tomoana Freezing Workers Union and Lianne Dalziel who was Regional Rep to the National Council of the Federation of Labour and its successor theNZCTU, 1985-90; Legal Officer and Secretary of Canterbury Hotel and Hospital Workers Union 1984-87. The other two candidates not on the list are Damien O’Connor and Louisa Wall. Wall was backed by the SWFU for the Manurewa selection.

In 2010 there were about 379,649 union members. The Department of Statistics estimates the NZ workforce is 2,350,000 unions represent about 16% of the work force in total. Most of the unionised workforce is in the public sector, so the actual number of real world workers that are members of a union is under 10%. Labour is top heavy with union hacks, or union backed candidates.

MMP is touted at delivering MPs to parliament that represent the demographic of our society. It would appear that the union movement is heavily over represented. Bear in mind that those same unions who so heavily dominate the Labour party are als the same unions that want to retain MMP. That should be a clue to all of the rest of us who aren’t in unions to Vote for Change in the referendum.

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  • Kosh103

    Labour should be proud of their union connections and boast about them. Supporting the workers should be shouted from the rooftops and National should be ashamed of their anti worker stance.

    • BJ

      Anyone who’s unhappy with their lot  being just a worker should get some guts to go start their own business from scratch which is what most business owners have done -and then see how you go at running it!

    • Dion

      In that case, have you ever asked yourself why Labour aren’t more honest with the public about their union connections?

      • Kosh103

        Because uneducated hacks rip them apart for it.

        • Super Guest

          Unions have more interest in consolidating their own power than in the workers. Helen Kelly is a prime example of a union hack on a power-trip.

  • thor42

    @Kosh103:disqus  “National should be ashamed of their anti worker stance.” 
    National should be proud of their pro-choice stance for workers.  There – fixed it for you.  

    • Kosh103

      Typical right winger – misrepresenting the truth.

      • Ben Ross

        Ahem…

      • Anonymous

        Pot. Kettle. Black.

  • Mully

    Labour should be ashamed of their “Pro-bludger” stance – it’s been a while since the Labour party have been for anything resembling the “worker”.
    And a while since unions have been anying but “pro-unions”

  • http://votenz.blogspot.com/ Joel

    I don’t know if it’s possible… but I think I may have gained a tiny bit of respect for Stuart Nash… gosh what’s come over me? 

  • Madison

    As a skilled worker in a manual labor career I can say that I’ve had 3 run-ins with Unions (one of which lasted a full year.)  As for protecting workers I’ve had the unions work hard to have me dismissed and to ensure that I was not allowed to earn as much money as a far less qualified and less experienced co-worker.  The other 2 run-ins include the Union organisers verbally abusing and harassing me because I didn’t want to talk to them at their booth and calling me a soulless bastard who was going to suffer under the new regime. Standing up for workers, not when I’ve seen them.

  • Rach

    I noticed when Phil was on the radio the other day, his favorite word tend to be bloody!
    Wait til November 27th when there is a bloody coup, he will really know the meaning of the word.

    Seriously though, is that a word a wanne-be PM should use with reckless abandon?

  • Gazzaw

    Take a look at the list. There’s no REAL working class unionists there. Where are the miners, wharfies & freezing workers ? There’s no one who actually got their hands dirty. All we have on that list is a bunch of ex-office worker tossers, teachers & students.

    Fuck me John A Lee, Mickey Savage, Harry Holland et al would be spinning in their grave at this lot claiming to be unionists.

    • Ben Ross

      Now wouldn’t be an irony if those miners, wharfies and freezing workers and others like them voted National or were National supporters – never know these days

  • Pingback: Labour not directed by unions – yeah right | Kiwiblog

  • Petal

    Cold blade through the heart.  Well done Cam.

    80% of the top 10 on the list?
    75% of the top 20 on the list?

    Yeah.  That Labour list isn’t union dominated at all.

    But as someone else mentioned, why deny it?  Why aren’t they proud?  You don’t see National going around saying repeatedly they have nothing to do with business and farming.

    Labour are rudderless without a compass and no sign of a shore on the horizon in any direction.

  • Kosh103

    Go the Unions ;0P

  • http://twitter.com/DylanReeve Dylan Reeve

    Where else would left wing politicians “grow up”? What about National’s candidates – what are their backgrounds? One would assume business executives. Then would it be fair to claim they are “captured by big business”?

    • Kosh103

      Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.

    • Ben Ross

      Errr I sense a general type of stereotyping all round here. Actually Cam  do you mind posting a list of the top 50 National Candidates/MPs according to the current list ranking and see what kind of background they have?
      Just interested to see and get some balance here

    • Jester

      The problem is Dylan, that executives and managers don’t start off as executives and managers. They have generally started off on the first rung of the ladder and with hard work and application improved their lot. I hope you grasp that concept of hard work and reward.

      Where as it appears from the list above, that many were professional students, indoctrinated by the unions and still feeding off the union tit by doing their bidding in govt

      As one astute poster noted, the list is bereft of the salt of the earth grafters, it was hard to criticize the old union lot as you knew they put in a hard days work and were genuine in their belief. The same couldn’t be said of the rag tag bunch of professional agitators above.

      • BJ

        Labour can’t possibly represent the workers because any one who knows how to work,  by definition will make their way across to the right

        • Ben Ross

          Idealist Socialist when they are young and battle hardened realist conservatives when old?

  • Mo

    Sehai Orgad -  President of the Waikato University Student Union (WSU)

    • Gazzaw

      Found any real unionists yet Mo? That lot on the list probably think a picket is something you paint white and stick up outside the house in St Marys Bay or Thorndon to keep the working classes out of your front garden.

  • Anonymous

    This list says it all really, no wonder Hulun destroyed New Zealand in her decade of reign…..

    The Pinko’s really need to wake up and smell the coffee, perhaps it is because they can’t affort real coffee, to much sniffing Greggs Instant Coffee!

  • Sooty

    Is everyone nwho has not been in the union of the rainbow faction