Trevor Loudon's New Zeal blog has moved to

TrevorLoudon.com

redirecting you there now

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Fast Food Power Grab?

Today's strike by a handful of Starbucks workers in Auckland is believed to the first in the Seattle based chain's history.

Organised by Matt McCarten's "Unite" union, a few Auckland workers will be downing pinnies and steam wands today in support of wage demands.

McCarten's Marxist controlled union has deliberately targeted low paid workers in largely non unionised areas such fast food outlets, service stations and movie theatres.

By June this year Unite had signed up significant numbers of members in targeted workplaces.

"1000 Auckland restaurant workers from McDonalds (500), KFC (300), Starbucks (90) and Pizza Hut (80) joined the new Unite campaign for decent pay and working conditions for restaurant workers. These workers along with the 300 Burger King workers and 35 Denny’s workers will be part of a push for collective employment agreements at job sites. Over the past month recruitment has tripled the numbers of workers involved in the campaign to 1300... Unite Website

Since falling out with the Alliance and then the Maori Party, McCarten has been working with the the Socialist Workers Organisation, The Socialist Party of Aotearoa and other Marxist groups to form a new "working class" political movement.

Unite's aggressive push to build membership and support in low paid industries, where the public has some sympathy with the workers pay levels, may go some way to aiding McCarten's ambitions.

3 Comments:

Blogger Mike Readman said...

It's funny a Marxist controlled union is asking for more money for workers, if Marxism took over NZ, workers would get a lot less!

6:12 PM  
Blogger Just my opinion said...

Scary! That man is dangerous. Perhaps a few years in exile to North Korea will set him straight!

1:44 AM  
Blogger Gooner said...

What's 1000 x $2 (as an example). Hey, $2,000 per week. Enough to pay McCarten all year. That's all they're doing. Supporting someone who couldn't get a job in the private sector.

9:00 AM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home