Re: Replying to Jose was Re: The speech that Barnes should have given

["Alan Bradley" <alanb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Gary MacLennan
> My knowledge of the Australian DSP was then SWP is very sketchy as I
> refused to join the fusion process at the end of the 70s. So I cannot
> really comment on the parallels and differences in Australia between
> Barnes and Percy's 'turn to industry'.  Alan might fill in here.

Norm Dixon might be better, as it was before my time.  I suspect he may be
in Melbourne at the moment, though.

My overall impression of the turn is that we engaged in some interesting
campaigns (eg "Jobs for Women" against BHP's discriminatory hiring
practices), learnt some interesting things about how to go about
industrial/union work (political work in industry), massively improved our
financial base (many comrades were earning more money in industry than in
their previous jobs!), and halved our membership.

The results are therefore a bit mixed:  we benefited in many ways, but the
whole basic project was a silly idea.

The unions will be protesting against the World Economic Forum tomorrow
(many workers are there today, of course).  The Construction, Forestry,
Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and AMWU (manufacturing workers) are likely
to be very prominent.  There will be more workers in basic industry there
than we ever influenced in the turn....

Alan Bradley
alanb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx