Former PSA National Secretary, Richard Wagstaff has taken up the top job at the CTU with the stand down of Helen Kelly. Her resignation asks questions about the future of the CTU and how they remain relevant in an uncertain economic and political environment.
The Success of Helen Kelly
Helen Kelly has been so successful because of her leadership, charisma and powerful public persona. She has been the moral conscience of working class values in the mainstream and it’s this championing style of Presidency that has won her mana and respect. They are incredibly huge shoes to fill. She has made the Union movement relevant and at the forefront of debate without losing the moral high ground. The popularity of the current Union movement owes much to her, and without a charismatic leader to replace her, that popularity will wane.
Richard Wagstaff
Helen steps down before she has to, that means Wagstaff’s Presidency could be a stabilisation process while they re-arrange what team they will but together for the 2017 election or he could intend to lead. I think the former is more likely than the latter, Wagstaff is an excellent behind the scene Master of Whispers type fellow and will struggle to carry the same media performances that made Kelly so powerful.
Media Challenges
Whoever becomes the leadership – Wagstaff or a newly minted leadership team, they face huge challenges, not least media. With this Government strangling off critical voices in the media, the Union have no Campbell Live to turn to engage audiences to unjust labour abuses. Wall to wall Mike Hosking and Paul Henry does not a favourable media landscape make. This means the Leadership have to step up in terms of the dynamism of their media strategies and media appearances.
Political Challenges
The Union movement face a Government growing in confidence, the abysmal result of the watered down Health and Safety laws are proof of that. The Government is slowly suffocating Union access to workers in the private sector and undermining state sector workers by funding privatised social service providers hiring cheaper labour.
Economic Challenges
The agenda to hack off revenue streams to the state in order to justify privatisation will only gather fiscal demands as the global economy faces the long drawn out conclusion to the do nothing policies post GFC 2008. Job insecurity, rising unemployment, corrupt over valued stock exchanges swollen to bursting by greed obsessed speculators are all realities the Union movement faces. There are also more existential questions over the robotification of jobs.
Cultural Challenges
The negative media landscape denigrates Unionism and progressive politics so countering that is hearts and minds messaging. Currently those running most of the coms for Unions in Wellington are the least effective in reaching out beyond their own political schisms.
The next Generation
The next Generation leadership transition to Sam Huggard and Erin Polaczuk is not yet ready. Putting the full weight of the hopes and dreams of the union movement at a time of immense challenge on shoulders as young as Sam and Erin’s would be wrong for everyone concerned. I know Sam from University days where he was incredibly well liked and respected by everyone and I am a friend of Erin’s. Both are the future of the Union movement and both have to play roles in the new membership team moving forward but pushing them into the roles and demanding they lead in these conditions seems to underestimate the challenges ahead.
The next CTU leader
To replace Helen’s magnetism the CTU need another leader who can replicate that. Robert Reid from First Union has that power and that rhetoric, his performances on debate panels has been some of the best by any progressive commentator in the country.
Another possibility is to cash in on the Corbyn phenomena and look to get someone like James Ritchie back from the worlds largest Union. The new ideas in Unionism and strength of ant-austerity economics could be the very fire in the belly the union movement needs to capture the imagination.
Weakness
A core weakness of Union movement in NZ has been their weak social media and lack of places to have space on mainstream media. A coherent and populist social media platform is desperately needed with someone in charge of that sitting directly on the CTU Executive.
Solutions and what the 2017 CTU Executive should look like
These are the following roles and people I would appoint taking into consideration all the issues.
PRESIDENT: Either Robert Reid or James Ritchie, the movement needs a leader with the kind of articulative power of Helen Kelly.
SECRETARY: Erin Polaczuk – move her up from the PSA to where the 2017 election will be fought and won. She would be a perfect counter weight to Reid or Ritchie.
VICE PRESIDENT: Sam Huggard – as part of the team building, move Sam from Secretary to vice President so that he can also be a spokesperson focusing on younger workers during the election.
VICE PRESIDENT MAORI: Syd Keepa – Syd has enormous mana amongst Maori and his leadership has kept the focus on their plight. The man is a legend.
ECONOMIST & DIRECTOR OF POLICY: Bill Rosenberg – he is a genius but needs to gain more media attention.
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS: Morgan Godfrey – this would be a new position on the executive and would be responsible for a well constructed social media campaign. Morgan already works for First Union, he should be promoted to the front bench and given a much larger mandate to work together.
*PLEASE NOTE: I’ve removed my example of Union coms not working as the use of the example has offended some people.
Stop supporting Labour would be one of the first things I’d suggest. Why keep giving money to a friend who is just going to spend the money on knives and then stab you in the back? When Labour stand up for workers again, then the unions should support them again.
If unions were more militant then I’d join. Unite Union is the only union I’d bother to join.
What’s so good about unite Union? No seriously what sets it apart. Why’s it more beneficial.
Please reply.
Unite Union address the problems we face in a post-industrial society. Employment has become fractured and the unions of the past are no longer effective.
Guy Standing’s work on the precariat highlights the problems we have in bringing back collective empowerment. What we need is unions like Unite because they are better suited to addressing the needs of temp workers etc.
The only two remaining unions that are industry based and that have remained a force are those for teachers and nurses.
But it’s not only Unite’s structure that makes them more effective, they are more effective because they are more militant.
I like Guy. He also says we should shift focus from job creation to increasing worker benefits because wages are so stagnant.
His research into the Chinese work force took a lot of guts.
Guys got some balls alright.
No. 1 The staff at UNITE are not on big fat salaries
No. 2 They are all actively out there recruiting and building the union movement, in an area that is difficult, the lowest paid at McDs and all the fast food joints, at Hoyts and other minimum wage employers.
No. 3 The staff are all active politically – they organise and take part in the many stop work meetings that happen at these places.
No. 4 They all take part in other activities ‘demonstrations’ that happen in Auckland and other centres, the issues that matter e.g. the TPPA
No. 5 Some years back they had ‘mcfight night’ every Friday night at one particular McDs, what a commitment, show me that in practically any other union.
Very foolish, Fatty. Do you plan to be Jeremiah-lite forever?
Labour are and will continue to be the only game in town if the Left are to win the next election, or any election. Get down off you high horse and join the party and also join their policy debate, if you want to see changes. Bring a mate, bring fifty. Unions are based on solidarity with the whole movement, not just those of your soul-colour.
Of course if you aren’t interested in power or in improving the political outcomes, just go ahead with your first idea. I’m sure JK and the Nats will bless you for it.
It’s unfair to dismiss me as foolish Nick. Labour has been neoliberal since I was the age of three and I don’t think it’s fair that I should be told to just accept them and give them my support. We all draw the ‘lesser-evil’ line somewhere, but mine is way to the left of Labour.
I worked tirelessly last election for Mana (for free), but Labour ganged up with National, NZF and the Maori Party to ensure my party was eliminated. I don’t think I owe Labour much. I gave my electorate vote to a Labour candidate to try to keep out Nicky Wagner. I have seen my city suffer a political disaster that began when Labour handed Gerry Brownlee executive powers so he can impose his version of disaster capitalism on us.
I’m sorry if this is news to you, but Labour doesn’t represent my values. Same goes for many in my generation. We have MMP and therefore Labour are not ‘the only game in town’ for the Left. I much prefer the Greens, but even they test my faith.
I follow Labour’s policies very closely and I cannot see much worth voting for. Why give a party vote to Labour when I could give it to the Greens or Mana, which would drag Labour back to the Left?
And yes, you’re right, I’m not interested in getting power for the sake of power. If I was I’d just join National – their policies, like Labour’s, are actually quite good for my personal circumstances, but I’d rather push for a better society and speak for the disempowered. I’d rather try to gain power and keep my values, otherwise power is disempowering.
I’ve no idea what being ‘Jeremiah-lite’ is, but I would suggest the Labourites stop labeling those of us on the Left as being ‘foolish’ etc for not supporting Labour’s Blairite version of neoliberalism. We’ll stop laughing at you when your party finds a Corbyn. In the meantime I’ll use MMP for what it could be used for – promoting non-centrist parties.
Good points Fatty. I too would happily come back to the Labour fold but not without a change in direction. What we are seeing with the political left in both the UK and the US right now should make us all sit up and take notice. There are definitely some lessons in there, although I don’t think we have worked out what they are yet.
Oh Nick don’t be silly, you get off your Labour high horse. I would never join Labour, see the group that Little went into for a briefing on the TPPA, what a joke, all neo-libs who sat on their hands while the place burnt.
I am a member of the Greens, a consultative environmental party with a left wing agenda.
I think Labour are on the way out and there is little chance of them forming a government at the next election. How absolutely foolish of them to campaign against Hone, someone who has stood up for the poor and disenfranchised in our society.
I agree with leaving the Labour Party. Maybe they they should be sued for falsely claiming to represent working people and forced to change their name.
If you want want a militant union then join one and get active. Unions are the workers who belong to it.
Are you a worker and not in union? What are you on about?
In any case Martyn’s assessment of Morgan Goddfrey is bang on.
the social media game is all about youth and creativity. You only get one shot at it so choose carefully.
“Are you a worker and not in union? What are you on about?”
I’m a worker in three temp jobs at the moment – two of which are about to end and the other only pays peanuts. My next job will be a temporary job. By the time I join up to a union I’ll probably be out of a job…this is the reality for many people I know.
well just maybe listen with yours ears not your eyes,
Why are you picking on Stephanie? She is doing much more for the trade union movement than you are.
What a nasty comment Greg Presland. How am I picking on Stephanie? Pointing out her inability to look beyond her own schism isn’t a problem when trying to organise in a country as small as NZ?
That’s your position is it Greg?
I have been a tireless supporter of Unions throughout my life Greg, such an accusation is a tad beneath you Comrade.
You’ve made your point, now let it go.
If you’re not careful you’ll wake up one day and be Scottish Bob, ranting about the ongoing problems of the engineering union.
the point re Stephanie has probably been made to anyone receptive enough to get it… so on to the main content of post…
good on you for getting to the detail Martyn, CTU leaders since Jim Knox handed over the reigns from the NZ Federation of Labour in 1987 have all suffered a degree of cultural cringe and lack of confidence until Helen Kelly, they have also been captured by the Labour Party, substituting or at least emphasising electing a union friendly government over militant class struggle
the union movement should be largely independent of any parliamentary party and be able to survive whatever the class enemy can throw at the workers, difficult as that is in New Zealand with half a million self employed and aspirational SME operators, and thousands more agency, temp, precarious and dependent contractor workers
one thing Helen got very right was engaging with wider communities and families, unionism is escaping the “members only” ghetto at last
the next layer of CTU leaders need to be firmly action and organising based and linked directly to international organisations, The Daily Blog and The Standard do fulfill a lot of the role that an onto it CTU media centre could be doing
My first thoughts were for goodness sake the CTU need to stop being wedded to Labour and give credit where credit is due. Kelly loathed the success of UNITE a practical union for the low paid and downtrodden who have had enormous amounts of publicity.
Every single piece of industrial legislation that went through the house from 2000 to 2006 would have had a better outcome for workers had the SOPs been picked up that the Greens proposed. But little credit given to them.
Robert would be great and so would Mike Treen for that matter.
Hi Michal,
Could you elaborate on your comment about Helen Kelly loathing Unite’s success? Is this something you have personally witnessed or secondhand?
Yeah but nah. We have Morgan. We like Morgan. Go find your own Comms person.
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