Loser

The votes have been counted, and I wasn’t elected. No surprises there: I knew I had no chance from the moment the how-to-vote instructions arrived in the mail from Chris Warren. More than half the members of the MEAA are too apathetic to even bother voting; most of the remainder are lemmings unable to make an independent judgement and instead simply follow the instructions of Der Fuhrer. Unless you can raise $10,000-plus yourself, you will never be able to beat the union hierarchy as an outsider. And why would you bother – we’re hardly talking about running the country here.

But this wasn’t what it was meant to be all about. It was never supposed to be me versus them. Strange as it may seem, I ran for the MEAA federal council because I thought after a number of years of voluntary service, I still had something to contribute. There was never an agenda beyond wanting to help my fellow members in the harsh industrial environment we are in today.

The tragedy is that despite exhortations from some other union members, I deliberately avoided being part of a ''rival'' ticket because I didn't want this election to turn into an us against them battle. I naively hoped that we could transcend all that, but the irony is I was forced into that stance because of Chris' heavy-handed intervention. And so the dirty laundry got aired very publicly.

I think I missed one branch council meeting in the past two years. I attended virtually all section committee meetings, marched under the MEAA flag at the Your Rights at Work rallies, and voluntarily sacrificed numerous nights and weekends in the past few years for the union. Not to mention the potential personal cost and career damage that comes from sticking your head up as a workplace delegate.

After those years of self-less service, this was the thanks I got: we don’t want you, we’ll even tell people not to vote for you. So now, I can only return the favour: when I’m next asked to help organise a stopwork meeting or distribute an industrial bulletin in my workplace, I’ll simply have to reply that given the union hierarchy’s rejection of me this election, I’ve reviewed my commitment to the union and decided it’s not worth the effort. Find someone else to do your work for you.

That’s the greater tragedy: because of their pig-headed, win-at-all-costs mentality, the union leadership end up losing the loyalty of yet another foot soldier.

One disturbing trend in this union is the increasing centralisation of all power and decision making at the top. This runs counter to the theory that if unions are to survive in this industrial environment, there needs to be empowerment of the rank-and-file. Instead, the hierarchy of our union is stuck in a Stalinist mindset of ruling with an iron fist, not tolerating any dissent and surrounding itself with hand-picked yes men and women. There is a growing trail of talented and committed people who have either been treated appallingly or given up on the union in disgust or alienation.

People seem to forget that the full-time union officials are paid out of our membership subscriptions to work for us. Yet, when it comes to the democratic functioning of the union, the attitude seems to be: ''we dictate to you''.

Ironically, at the same time as the elections were held, the union’s latest glossy publication, Censorship and Control of the Australian Press, was released. It laments the decreasing freedom of the press in Australia, yet the hierarchy has no problem with stifling freedom within their own union.

At least I've proved something to myself - that while the union hierarchy may pay lip service to democracy, they don't actually practice it.

* There is one bright footnote to this saga. Sue Marriott, a former union official who was shafted several years ago by the hierarchy, was elected a Victorian vice-president, despite the hierarchy urging members not to vote for her. Fortunately, the members have long memories and remembered Sue fondly as an efficient and committed union organiser, and ignored Chris Warren’s orders. Well done, Sue.