The self serving right wing fantasy that Unions have to be apolitical
Simeon Brown, Judith Collins, Chris Luxon, Ryan Bridge, Duncan Garner and Erica Stanford all clutched at their Pearls last week crying out that the Unions were being political and that their mega strike put the union over their patients/students/vulnerable people.
It is such a bullshit self serving right wing fantasy that Unions have to be apolitical.
Look at the Federated Farmers, Taxpayers’ Union, Business NZ, NZ Initiative, Atlas Network, Campaign Company, Hobsons Pledge, Free Speech Union and Groundswell – THEY ARE ALL OVERWHELMINGLY POLITICAL, yet the Unions working together to criticise the appalling agenda of this Government that undermines all the egalitarian good the State Public Sector is supposed to represent, and suddenly its the end of Western Civilisation!
The Unions SHOULD be political, they SHOULD stand for values deeper than corporate profit margins or donors interests, they SHOULD proudly uphold the egalitarian foundations of this Nation, they SHOULD empower worker rights.
To pretend that they shouldn’t be political is a right wing fantasy, we shouldn’t indulge such blatant double standards.
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Please recognise that politics is the organisation of human affairs. There is church politics, playground politics, club politics, common room politics, office politics, and organised group politics.
In case the right wing nut jobs had not noticed unions had strikes in the terms of the last government .Also note that the results were massive increases for nurses teachers police and front line workers .The COC is now screwing those same people out of revenge for those overdue increases and the next government will have to step up to address those same issues again .
Alleging a strike is “political” raises the spectre of the government invoking the penalties against unlawful strikes.
After the success of the FOL ban on nuclear ship visits, political strikes were made illegal in this country, with extreme penalties, including confiscation of union funds and property, extending to confiscating union members engagedin political strikes funds and propertry, even the family home if that is the only property they own.
This reminds me of when despotic governments declare the opposition (rebels/freedom fighters) must disarm and surrender all leverage while every avenue or argument against the incumbents are being actively criminalised.
Totalitarianism and authoritarianism is much closer than you think.
The thin line of Democracy is currently being badly bent in favour of the extremely wealthy.
But we, the so-called “middle”, completely outnumber the greedy elite.
Wake up, sleepy Hobbits, indeed.
The frog never recognises the moment they are cooked AF. Mmmm yummy.
Don’t get eaten , dear kiwis.