He had come from far north Queensland to Sydney to play football and obtained paid employment as a builders’ labourer.
The work was notoriously lacking in safety measures, the amenities on site almost non-existent and the wages poor.
He joined the union only to discover that those who tried to do something about improving wages and conditions on the job were soon dismissed, not only with the support of the union leadership but often at their instigation.
He joined the rank and file organisation which, in an excellent example of daring to struggle, eventually overthrew the previous, corrupt, leadership of the union.
I had these conversations over supper while workers in Hi-Vis gear and union shirts mixed it with white-collar types and activists. The supper menu reflected this diversity: party pies; meat balls and savs competed for attention with vegan wraps, sushi and mini quiches.
Workers and environmentalists had come together to discuss an environmentally-friendly, jobs-rich economic transformation under the auspices of the Hunter Jobs Alliance.
This dialogue is being generated by the changes in technology and energy production.
Carly White, a young fitter, noted this when she spoke about the need for a shift in how mining, manufacturing and power generation are done. The region’s four local coal-fired power stations, for example, are scheduled to close by 2035.
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