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The socialists are revolting

by Whaleoil on January 9, 2012

The Socialist Aotearoa folks and assorted socialists aren’t happy with Len Brown. They just posted this their Facebook wall:

That is a bit unfair on Len Brown. He is only doing what he thinks best to protect Auckland’s investment in the Port Company after the legacy of Mike Lee which saw massive write down’s in value. He did after all promise to govern for all of Auckland not just the Union bosses of the Maritime Union.

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  • Kosh103

    Well they are not wrong. It is a scab labour situation now.

    • Anonymous

      Labour’s been scabby at the best of times.

    • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

      Best to pick the scabs and let the puss run as my old grandfather used to say.

    • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

      I worked in a strike once, actually more than once. But once I did, and I crossed the picket line. mark Gosche was the union organiser and he assaulted me as I crossed. I turned and planted him, laid him out flat and went to work.

      What ensued from that was a two month terror campaign orchestrated by the union rep. They painted scab on my locker, on my uniform, on my name badge, on my docket book, they wrote scab on the soles of my shoes in twink. They called me scab instead of my name. The management of the Hotel got a bit annoyed when I kept on wearing the badges and the vandalised uniform, but their cowardly attacks had to be met head on.

      After two solid months of not getting their way and having me crack the union rep confronted me and the moment he laid a hand on my shirt I dropped him. Then turned and asked who was next. I was never bothered by the union workers again.
      I also refused to work with them and ran my side of the restaurant with one other guy who also was victimised by the union thugs. We scored plenty more tips for sure than them.

      I was 19 at the time. I have hated unions ever since and always will.

      • Bunswalla

        Nice work. DId you blow the smoke off your gun-barrel, holster your silver revolver, mount your white horse and ride off into the sunset?

      • Anonymous

        To buns:
        Nah, he probably put his hand in his pocket, scratched his balls, adjusted his jockeys and carried on.

      • Troy

        That’s awesome dude, you tell it like it really is amongst “normal” people who just want to work and enjoy it above all.  Unions have been high almighty for far too long in this country, and the latest episode shows that not only are they a pack of wankers, they are a pack of stupid wankers. 

      • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

        @85275dc05370f0c88cfd49ecc09a4de0:disqus Why yes I did…that Other guy I worked with, his name was Tonto.

      • Kosh103

        Sounds like you were the nasty bully, assulting people left and right as you pleased. You were lucky you were not  jailed for assult.

      • devlsadvocate

        “Other guy I worked with, his name was Tonto.”

        Hah, there’s always an Indian coworker….

  • Anonymous

    I would have said “Pussy infected Scab” myself

  • EX Navy Greg

    Good evening Kosh. What would your ideal outcome for this situation be ?

    • Kosh103

      The ports stop playing games with the workers had won rights and then everyone would be getting on with the job as opposed to the situation we now have.

      • EX Navy Greg

        I see where you’re coming from, but surely if the hard won rights are no longer affordable, and is indeed reducing the viability of the business ( which will cost jobs ) then compromises should be made? They have been offered a 10% pay rise on an already very good wage, with no loss of conditions.

      • Kosh103

        I am not saying they should not have accpeted that offer – IMO they should have (with the promise that non union members do not get  what the union got). But if the PoA had not have played hard and fast with union rights at the outset this would never of happened.

      • EX Navy Greg

        Fair enough, but I’m not sure an employer is allowed to discriminate on the basis of union membership.Thanks for your answer.

      • Kosh103

        You can provide union members with extras. It has been done before elsewhere.

      • EX Navy Greg

        I didn’t know that,  could you give me some examples ?

      • Kosh103

        Education. The union there was tired of non union members getting the one off payments teachers gen. get upon settlement. So, the settlement before last, it was agreed by the Dept of Ed that only union members would get the one off lump sum payment and non union members would get nothing.

      • EX Navy Greg

        Actually now you mention it civilian NZDF staff had the same deal last round. Employees on the PSA collective got a one off lump sum,$ 500 I believe,  but those on an IEA did not. Fair comment.

      • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

        I used to negotiate my own deals at the Bank I worked for, I insisted that my deal shouldn’t be passed on to unionised employees and my bosses always smiled and said there was no way they were ever going to get that much.

      • Kosh103

        @ WO – and I am betting they said the same thing to the unions as well about you.

      • Bunswalla

        Kosh, you regurgitate the redundant phraseology of the classic activist for the Worker’s Revolutionary Party. Solidarity Reg, and all that, but this is 2012, not 1912.

        You treat your relationship with your employers – the people or company that pays your wages – as a battleground. Every negotiation is a skirmish, and if one side sees weakness in the other it goes for the kill.

        Wake up and smell the opportunity brother! That’s no way to conduct business. If the wharfies and management work TOGETHER you’ll end up with better wages and conditions, because the company will be stronger and make more profit. 

        I don’t think even you could construe the Maritime Union’s actions as being designed to increase POAL’s profits, and it is a futile and ultimately self-destructive path they’ve chosen.

        As WO has noted below, just because an employer has given union members a better deal in the past, there’s nothing to stop an employer giving non-union members a better deal either. Your argument is spurious.

      • Vij

        Kosh103, go away, you are a moron.  Sorry, moronic idiot.  

      • ChrisP

        I am a tertiary academic in education Kosh and non-union member. We get the same as the union members. So, your example is not a blanket truth in education. In fact, as as soon as membership in the tertiary union became non-compulsory, over 70% left, and that continues to this day. Why?

        Because people can tell that unions have betrayed their origins. Its not about protecting jobs or conditions anymore. Its about the more aggressive and vicious elements maintaining control of the union, and ipso facto, their power over the workers. This is called bullying and most “left wingers” decry bullying in any other circumstance. Anyone who doesn’t wish to join them is called scab – nice.

        All your rheotoric about workers rights is just crap. Its about power and control over workers.

      • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

        Yep and Kosh, the non-union workers may not have got the $500 but they also didn’t have to pay union dues which is about $300 of that, then they didn’t have to attend stop work meetings, they sure as fuck didn’t go on strike and lose any pay so I’d say the non-union workers were well ahead, but knock yourself out remaining in your clothe-cap world of the past.

    • EX Navy Greg

      Engage with people you disagree with. It is always more illuminating than the alternatives . See the above posts

  • Anonymous

    F**k the “scab labour” BS.
    If the productivity of the port can be raised to an excellent level, I wouldn’t give a shit who does it. If the productivity level is raised, it sure as hell won’t be union labour doing it, and good riddance. 
    MUNZ have no idea how despised they (and unions in general) are in this country. They’re about on a par with pedophiles.

    • Agent BallSack

      You can cure paedophiles.

  • Killjoy

    Wow. Glad I’m not of a “leftist” persuasion- look how quickly they turn on one of their own!

    By rights I should support a leftist party (given my greater than not social views) however its this sort of rubbish that turns me off…

    • http://voakl.net/ Ben Ross

      Same here.
      So contracting out we go.
      Didn’t I post somewhere earlier this month for those with an Enterprising side to create a Contracting Company so you can tender your pool of Labour to the port?

      So contracting is a go-er?
      Next on the list
      1) Ownership model to get that Return of Investment humming along
      2) Location for POAL to get the ROI up and inefficiencies out of the way (as much as possible)

      • EX Navy Greg

        Did I hear correctly that the present ROI is about 6% ? Better than the bank, might be time for a partial float.

  • http://voakl.net/ Ben Ross

    Yes Greg you did hear right, time to get the ROI up a little bit more and do a float like the Energy Companies National is doing?

    • EX Navy Greg

      Yep, could be done, if they are getting 6% with the horrendous cost structures they have now, with a bit of pruning, and (say) a 25% float (cash injection) 9-10% should not be too hard to achieve. Interesting times.

      • http://voakl.net/ Ben Ross

        Shall we try 49% Float and see what happens?

  • http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/ Inventory2

    Boy; the Lefties are quick to cannabilise their own. Robert Winter, Idiot/Savant and Martyn Dadbury have all demonised Brown, and now there’s this “scab” condemnation by Socialist Aotearoa, which is of course run by Joe Carolan of the Unite Union; McCarten’s mate.

    I guess Cathy Casey will be the union candidate for the mayoralty in 2013. She and McCarten will be able to plan their campaign without even getting out of bed! It’s all just a bit too incestuous for me…

  • Orange

    What’s up with his ear lobe?

    • EX Navy Greg

      He’s been slapping it again : D

  • http://bwwebblog.blogspot.com/ Bawaugh

    I recall Richard Prebble had a technique for crossing picket lines.

    Find somebody you know in the line and say hello ____ and hold out your hand. Human nature means that you respond by holding your hand out. You shake their hand and pull yourself though the picket line. 

  • kevin

    He must use the same photoshop artist as helen did…

  • Symgardiner

    Kosh… you should work out how much the PPTA/NZEI deductions cost over the life of the teachers agreements and compare that to the “signing bonus”.

    • Kosh103

      Given that you do not have to be a union member, teachers are free to leave or stay and decide which is of more benifit to them.

  • Symgardiner

    And yes, that does mean that the govt is funding the PPTA/NZEI in these agreements. 

  • Notrotsky
    • http://voakl.net/ Ben Ross

      Awesome, that and watching a female using an AK-47 hitting the target (firing range) and not being blown backwards has made my morning

    • Agent BallSack

      Standard = Biggest circle jerk in history.

  • Gravedodger

    Your headline says it all really