Sharan Burrow, ACTU Support Climate Change Initiative

President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), Sharan Burrow, recently said that that is “no question” that climate change will eventually become a standard clause in a union log of claims (a claim is something that a union would bargain to have included in a collective workplace agreement).  Ms Burrow said “We are confident you can reduce energy and water use by enormous amounts just by looking at the nature of the work practice…we also think you can generate healthier workplaces … and the nature of the working environment’s design.  “We know that we have a long way to go by way of recycling and the products that are used can be examined for their energy efficiencies.” (The Australian, March 06).  

Unite (UK) and the USW to Merge

Reports from LabourStart today highlight the imminent creation of truely international trade union, with Unite, which has 2 million members in the UK and Ireland, and the Unites Steel Workers, which represents 1 million workers in the USA, Canada and the Carribean, announcing their plans to merge. One cannot help but compare the formidable prospect of a 3 million strong trans-Atlantic union with the sorry state of union fiefdoms in Australia and New Zealand.

Trade Union Membership Up in the USA

I recently found an interesting story through Labour Start, on Australia Day (26 January) the Center for Economic and Policy Research ran a story about union numbers increasing in 2007 in the United States.