By Tim Gooden (Geelong branch)
At our last Socialist Alliance branch meeting, members in Geelong
decided they wanted to collect money for the 110 locked out workers at
Geelong Wool Combing. The workers, members of the Textile, Clothing and
Footwear Union, have been locked out since April 28.
But we also wanted to involve the workers themselves, so I was delegated to visit the picket line and suggest to the shop stewards that they organise the workers to participate in the money-collecting stalls. I quickly realised that my request was going to take some explaining: these workers are very proud, they have never been locked out before and, in their words, they “never beg”.
I explained how street stalls are used for campaigning, that we would hand out leaflets about the dispute to inform the public and build support. This would counter the local media, which had given the workers demands no coverage. I also explained that shaking the bucket was not begging, but a way in which all workers can join the fight to make sure the bosses’ lockout tactic fails.
On the following Saturday morning, most of the active members in our branch joined the mobilisation. Armed with A-frames, buckets and card tables (and after a pancake breakfast together), we all headed out to various parts of Geelong with five stalls.
It was a bit slow at first because not too many people had heard about the dispute. Most people made a donation only after reading the leaflet and a fair bit of spruiking was required to get people’s attention. But the end result was great — $580, mostly from the working-class areas. As well, members reported having had some really good yaks with people about the lockout and got to know some of the wool combers better.
After the stalls, we drove up to the picket line to hand over the money and discuss how things were going. Well, the workers were stoked and immediately wanted to know if we could all go out again the following Saturday. The next week we raised another $400 in the smaller suburbs and the wool combers, who were now getting the hang of doing public stalls, decided off their own bat to hit the two Sunday markets and the footy game, and collected another $400 dollars.
Last Saturday was our third bucket-collection mobilisation and I am pleased to report that the wool combers’ stalls are now better than ours. They have made up information boards that include photos and a copy of the lockout notice, and they are spruiking like they’re at the fruit markets.
Geelong people are answering the call. People now donate without being prompted. One ex-CityPower worker donated $250 at a stall. And, at last, the local media have begun to cover the dispute, reporting last week that the wool combers have received a second month-long lockout notice.
The Socialist Alliance has played an important part in helping these workers fight the boss. In the process, we have mobilised our members more and begun to establish valuable credibility with other unionists as a serious, pro-worker, campaigning organisation.