Australian Workers' Union

This week saw the Fair Work Commission (FWC) bring down an adjustment to Penalty rates in Australia for some Retail and Hospitality Workers. If you read the newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch TV coverage it comes across as the greatest betrayal of the working man (or woman) since the great Depression. In this article I 'll give my view on this. Disclaimer: I own a couple of Small Business 's which (potentially) benefit from this decision. I have looked after the HR department of a larger

and this is strongly reinforced by the mainstream media’s continued portrayal of feminism in clichéd, confrontational terms.” The education profession of Australia is dominated by women due to the gendered nature of the Australian workforce. Most AEU (Australian Education Union) Branches and Associated Bodies have roughly 65-70% of women members and yet this majority rarely translates into 70% active members being women or women holding 70% of decision making positions (AEU). (White, 2004) reports

All policies by any sporting body are put into place to ensure the safety of players and fair play in the game. The Australian Rugby Union Association (ARUA) have developed policies that provide players and officials with guidelines that protect them from unsafe behaviour and strengthen the positive image of rugby union. These policies consist of a code of conduct that includes expectations of behaviour, anti-doping, medical policies including concussion guidelines, sport supplement policies, illicit

name will be written in the history of the American workers’ movement, and with feel will this history recall the names of the strikers of this shop—of the crusaders.”— Jewish Daily Forward (Drehle) On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire broke out. Proper workers’ rights and fire prevention installations were not in place or were not followed. There were no sprinkler systems and the doors were locked to keep the garment workers inside. From sparks to embers, the fire lasted a short

them in a sweatshop that consisted of “poor ventilation, overcrowded working environment, and dangerous machinery.”(Lyons) In addition, “Not only did Blanck and Harris have a suspicious history of factory fires, they were also well known for anti-worker policies.”(Downey) On March 25, 1911, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory employees were in jeopardy when the building had caught on fire. During the incident, there were four elevators with access to the factory floors, however, only one of the elevators

As 147 workers perished in the Triangle Fire, people finally understood the problems within the garment factories. Under the Triangle Shirtwaist Company owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the women laboring to sew waist skirts were dissatisfied with their terrible working conditions and low wages. While working, the women, made up of mostly poor Italian and Jewish immigrants, would constantly be yelled at and called sexist slurs by bosses and forced to work long, tiring hours for little pay. Tired

floors 8, 9, and 10. Some cutters were smoking, even though it was prohibited. Though it is not certain, people believe that a cutter flicked a cigarette butt or hot ash, into one of the waste bins with flammable cloth in them. Many of the garment workers before the year of 1911 were unorganized, mostly because they were young immigrant

background, Orleck points out that Cohn “…realized that if [she] wanted to really understand the workers, [she] should experience the life of a worker in a shop”. She took a position in the “white goods” trade which Orleck describes as, “…particularly hard to organize”. This was a result of the nature of the “white goods” trade being run out of small sweatshops where the work required little skill and the workers, most of whom were under 15 years old, were from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Therefore

The tragedy of March 25, 1911 was a crucial turning point and important era of awareness of worker powerlessness during the age of early American industrialization. The fire that consumed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory remains a haunting memory for this nation. The fates of innocent workers sent a wave of grief throughout the entire nation. The victims died as a result of a serious neglect for safety features within the facility and brought widespread attention to the dangerous working conditions

A year after shirtwaist workers thought they had won a war, the Triangle Fire proved that it had merely been a battle. Under the Triangle Shirtwaist Company owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the men and women laboring to sew waist skirts were dissatisfied with their terrible working conditions and low wages. While working, the garment workers, made up of mostly poor Italian and Jewish women immigrants, would constantly be yelled at and called sexist slurs by bosses, and forced to work long, tiring