The Thinking Tradesman

  1891 – The Squatters get all hearty We take the bait Get repressed by the state But out of it Arose our Party   1911 – we get serious The cane fields salted With Miners, then letters read To the cutters Who win their strike business   1935 – The Weil’s Rears its head The Communists fight While our officials fly But to beat this disease, we find That it is better to be Red than Dead   1955 – Left and Right Unite and Fight Against the scabs within the movement And in wake of the meeting Of these two strangers Our shearers win fair wages         1969 – Freedom’s fight Our Clarrie refused to pay his fines So we stuck to course We struck with force And to the Penal Powers said; “Good Night”   1972 – Clancey gets the arse The New Left expels the Moscow Line And the Green Bans hit full force   1983 – The Accord The strike rate dives Wages not far behind All the ...

  Toast and cuppa Shower with scrubber Then load the tools at some ungodly hour Look up the day’s site Got time for another bite? And then I don the Brown Hat.   6:30am On the Road by then At least the traffic Is somewhat bearable Stop by the servo Hot Coffee, bravo That’s life in today’s Brown Hat   Briefing time Foreman’s lines On timeframes, And incidents Set out the workplan Try avoid the Boss man For it is I who wears the Brown Hat.   Sun bears down Bakes the ground The Humidity Is 75 Percent Ground is hard FUCK! Get the bar Sweat drips off the brim of my Brown Hat Need a break And gotta hydrate But boss complains about his deadlines He hasn’t a clue He’s in for a blue For that bastard wears the Black Hat   Tools go down Upon Picket Line Assembled neath The closest tree Boss gets the message Shouts us electrolytes As I wave my face with my Brown Hat   8 hours ...

  Many years have passed, Since the days I was a gun But while slower, sleepier more serious I have become   Hire any rouseabout They’ll slash your lawn just fine But the weeds in their wake That’ll take up all your time   But pay the premium For a man who’s done his Trade A clean mower deck you’ll get And routinely sharpened blades   Ah, but the weeds be here Does that rousie know what’s done? General Biosecur- -ity Obligation [1] Could he tell you the names Of any of the WONS? [2] Or is his spare time spent At the end of a Bong?       What’s more, can he ID them? He relies on Photo Apps Rather than leaf; shape, size Margin, type. Flower Perhaps?   Ah but the damage is done They say a single years’ seeds Are really quite a nuisance They equal seven years weeds.   And all this, for one part of The trade. Chainsaws, Chemicals Pests, Diseases, and over a Million dif...

  Out the door one morn’ Commute appall’n From Birkdale the East Eagleby the beast- ly traffic, worse connections. Get onto site Bougainvillea causing strife So I tuck in, and Get on the knife Two Meters tall an’ 5 Inches Thorns an’ Barely the room for Cane Cutters broom but I will clear that damn thing all right. This is the life Exertive Challenges Rife As I hack and slash Away with Cane Knife When that one is done Slightly bigger one Is upon me So en garde ye Bloody plant. Three mill splinter deployed; Through Twill Cotton Shirt And upon scar tissue, did hurt A bit, but I’m Not digging it out Then clear out the trash It did catch and scratch Everything along that Narrow accessed flat But thank god for long pants, long shirt Gloves, Safety glasses Did save my face, and my arse, And my chest, and, well Better not make this farce       Queensland this is The cane knife; tis A symbol of work Made to swing in the dirt T...

In April 2024, I attempted to Unionise Airtasker. Airtasker is a gig economy platform that engages contractors to bid on customer's jobs advertised on the platform. As a former Airtasker worker, I know how bad the platform is. It is a race to the bottom in terms of wages and conditions. A few years ago (in 2020) I wrote an as yet unpublished essay comparing Airtasker to the infamous "Bull System," of casual labour. As part of this essay, I screenshotted various examples of jobs completed on Airtasker withing about 6 months of each other, demonstrating that Airtasker is is practice a race to the bottom. My investigation into Airtasker's standards exposed a completely unregulated market. Airtasker claims it is complying with its legal obligations, but it is clear to me that that are doing the bare minimum to cover their arses. For example, I uncovered numerous instances of renumeration below the Award Rates of the time.  There was an example of 8 hours "Landscape L...

 In a letter to Labor's Industrial Relations Minister, Murray Watt, the bosses of the Construction Industry have called for the outlawing of certain provisions in recent CFMEU Enterprise Bargaining Agreements. Of particular concern to me is the targetting of a provision that obliges the Employers to train their stass in how to identify and manage heat stress, and to train first aiders to respond to heat stress (Page 9 of the letter). While the letter makes it look like the bosses are only concerned about the Union determining the training provider, anyone who has had the displeasure of working a blue collar job on a non-union site will know the terrible track record of employers when there is no body of workers to hold them to account. I remember years ago working for Santa Fe Wridgeways, the Furniture Removal giant, just after they busted the TWU presence at their Brisbane Depot. The company nominated WHS Rep (who was also supervisor of the sheds) took a blind eye when I alerted h...

This is my copy of Stephanie Melton's "The Deficit Myth." Kelton is a neo-keynesian economist who has worked for the US Government. In this work she provides an easily accessible summary of "Modern Monetary Theory." There's alot to go into here, but her main argument is that most Federal Government's can finance major spending projects with debt. She argues that hyperinflation can be offset by not trying to solve bottlenecks and supply issues by throwing money at them (because that simply inflates prices of scarce commodities), and by paying off the bond market in a shorter timeframe than originally expected. Personally, my current thinking is more in favour of a classical Social Democratic Keynesianism (at least so far as minimal demands are concerned). Funding social welfare programs by taxing the rich and nationalised capital efficient industry (I'm thinking vaccines and pharmaceuticals) bypasses the inflation problem, and aligns more with my soci...

These two books I'm mentioning in tandem because they compliment each other well. "Prelude to Power," is the Left's attempt at a history of the ALP. Unlike "The Light on the Hill," Prelude is a through examination of the people, events, and general social conditions during the rise of the ALP (Whereas The Light is a list of individual MPs and their greatest achievement). As such, Prelude could only have limited scope. It is split into three sections, about half the book is dedicated to the political developments within QLD at the time, with the other 2 sections discussing the Trade Union Movement and the personalities that created the Party in QLD. It is full of lessons, but I'll say it was correct for Party MPs to vote against caucus decision when universal suffrage was offered at the last minute, that the development of class consciousness through class struggle is necessary to build the Party, and that it is necessary to identify the issues facing cer...

Got a copy of this classic. Its more of a reference book, than designed to be read cover to cover. It includes various folk songs from the colonial era until the 70s when it was published. It's a good addition to my few folk albums. I've got a signed copy of Text Egan's album "The Shearer's" from the faces of Australia series. I've also got a few of Redgum's albums downloaded, though that's unlikely to be in here because they came later (and a full discography of them would warrant a coffee table book of its own). I've also got a few of The Bushwackers' covers of the classics. Almost every agricultural profession has a "Lament" about the Hard Yakka and the poor food. The Shearer's, naturally, have countless songs, but the cane cutters have at least a few, with 2 versions of their "Lament."  

Today I'm posting another 2 books that could be read in tandem. Merritt's "Making of the AWU" is an academic account of the origins of the @awunion It starts by discussing the origins and experience of the squatters, followed by an account of the work involved in a Wool Shed (discussing the Shearers, and the shed hands or rouseabouts). It then goes into a thorough history of the unions early years (irritatingly it discusses the Amalgamated Shearers Union for most of it, though that's understandable). It's been a few years since I read this, but I remember Merritt discussing; the burr and the rabbit as the two main pests confronting the squatters, the experience of 'barrowing' or learning to shear, the general background of the Shearers (some being small farmers supplementing their income, some being urban workers, and some working as farm hands and builders labourers when the shearing season finished), and the violent reactions of some of the squatter...

My copy of Margo Beasley's History of the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union, now part of the United Workers Union. The union started as an initiative of the Sydney Trades Hall to organise cleaners and security guards (at the time known as watchmen), and grew to cover numerous previously unorganised professions (such as gardeners). By the 1950s it also covered paint manufacturing workers, asbestos manufacturing workers, and ships watchmen. It's original right wing leadership fell out of touch with the majority of its members, allowing the Left to organise rank and file campaigns, particularly among the ships watched and the paint manufacturers. These campaigns, coordinated by the "Protest Committee", centred around workplace bargaining, and calls for more recognition for marginalised sections from the leadership. These campaigns were generalised and explained to members by a series of newsletters printed by activists and distributed among the membership. The Victor...

  Here is my copy of Randolf Bedford's "Story of Mateship." I believe this was my Grandfather's copy, but we don't know for sure. I recently donated it to my Local Library, as I was unable to preserve it properly. The Story starts as a nostalgic reminisce on the development of Trade Unionism in Australia. It start with the famous line "Eaten bread is soon forgotten," decrying the short memory of people. It then goes on to describe the dire conditions workers faced in the 'bad old days' and explains that it was the unions that improved things for us. In it is evident the early stages of the AWUs mythology; nostalgia about the bad old days, the doctrine that the AWU and the ALP were the driving force of social improvement, and defining mateship as union solidarity. That it is also presented as a story rather than an essay or position paper also hints at the AWU's emotive style. The Story goes on to denounce the Communist Party. In general it ac...

Here's another few books I read in tandem. Mark Bray's "Antifascist Handbook," and Robert Paxton's "Anatomy of Fascism." Mark Bray's handbook acts as partly academic work, but mostly as political manifesto. It discusses the history of anti-fascist activism from the 20s and 30s, to the post war era, to the modern day. It discusses the actions and politics of the front groups that opposed the Nazi rise to power, the SPD'S Eisenfront Gagen Fashismus, and the KPD's Antifaschiste Acktion. It also criticises the KPD for refusing to work with the SPD in a united front. It does not discuss the rich history of Trotskyist Antifascist activism, and only briefly mentions the British Anti Nazi League and the Battle of Lewisham (and calls the ANL an SWP front, despite Dave Renton describing the involvement of the British Labour Party in it). Finally it discusses the modern "Antifa groups." He identifys the problem of machismo and glorification of...

Kate White's biography of John Cain Senior. Cain would be the Australian political leader I most identify with. Son of a small farmer, John became politically active at a young age, debating politics with his workmates on his farm jobs during the early 1900s. He moved to Melbourne and became politically active in the Victorian Socialist Party (one of the various Socialist groupings at the time). He was a keen orator, giving speeches on street corners and spruiking meetings outside the Party's cinema. Kate describes him as going from "Red ragger" to career politician. I identify with John Cain Senior because his political development is similar to mine (so far). I spent my early years as an activist in Brisbane, then once being expelled from my activist group I opted to engage in parliamentary politics. What's more, he worked blue collar farm jobs, while I'm a certified Horticulturalist (a far cry from the career progression of most politicians today).  

Its been a while since I reviewed a book, as I'm taking my time reading new ones. There is another book in the works on the history of sugar cane cutters. This however, is a classic I read a while ago. Carboni was a participant in the Eureka Stockade. He was elected to the leading committee of the movement in the lead up to the massacre. His account is considered the original great work on the topic. Carboni found himself in the middle of revolutionary movements across the world during his life, notably fighting in the bourgeois movement to unify and modernise Italy. The account starts with a description of colonial life and troubles. The violence that permeated everyday life was unbelievable. There were a number of instances where such monopolies made claim to an individual miner's territory. As the government was ineffective at managing these disputes, they were often solved "in the ring." The government was much more efficient at cracking down on individual licence...

A while ago I finished my facsimile of Louise Bryant's "Six Red Months in Russia." It covers the 3 months preceding the October Revolution, and the 3months following it. While she admits it is a piece of propaganda, it's worth noting it's the only surviving published work that discusses the immediate aftermath of the revolution before the civil war started in earnest. She also admits to the developments in her own thinking, as she initially supports the Mensheviks, but comes around to the Bolsheviks after seeing the Mensheviks sell out to the Kadets (capitalists). A few things to note from this book are that she dispells the myth that the October Revolution, and subsequent Soviet Government, were purely the work of the Bolsheviks. She identifies that the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, a Peasant Party initially aligned with the Mensheviks, were a major support base for the revolution (and in fact had representatives in the Soviet government). She also recalls the ...

This book goes back to my days as a hardened Trotskyist. In this work, John Rees examines the development of Dialectical thought, from Hegel through to Marx, Luxembourg, Lukacs and Trotsky. I read it so many years ago, it's hard to remember what I took from it, and what I had taken from elsewhere. I will say that reading philosophy like this broadens and deepens your worldview; everything from understanding why phenomena happen to the interlocking pattern of phenomena (totality).  

I read this tome years back while a hardened Trotskyist. I can only remember a few points from it, as I wasn't in the best state of mind at the time. Broadly, this history of the German Revolution covers the political trends that overthrew the Kaiser, established the Weimar Republic, and challenged capitalist hegemony over Germany. It is not, as some may believe, a history of the later counterrevolution. A few lessons from this tragic history are; the necessity of building the infrastructure of a workers party before the proletarian revolution occurs, the conflicting forces that emerge within a workers party (my reading group concluded that the early ultra-leftism inspired by the lumpenproletarian base could have been avoided if the revolutionary shop stewards decided to join in 1918), and the question of leadership behaviour (at the time I agreed with my reading group in concluding that Levi should have taken the olive branch, but now that I've been expelled from the revolutio...

My copy of Dave Renton's "When we Touched the Sky," to my knowledge the only account of the British Anti-Nazi League (ANL) of the late 70s. Dave Renton was a participant in the ANL and a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Renton's account draws out the importance of community organising. The ANL was launched following the success of the antifascist mobilisation at Lewisham, which greatly outnumber the fascists, broke the police lines defending the Nazis, and forced them to retreat. The success of the rally motivated the Left factions of the British Labour Party to join the SWP in establishing the ANL. As the Labour Party was generally disinterested in putting in the effort needed to lead and co-ordinate the movement, the SWP provided the cadre to staff the offices, street stalls, and poster runs. However, they were not the authoritarian presence some have made them out to be, as the mass base provided by the Labour Party was torn when it came to the ANL'...

I read Jean Devanny's "Sugar Heaven." It's a novel about the 1935 Weil's Disease strike that traces the development of a cane cutters wife from scab to trade unionist. Devanny was a member of the Communist Party in north QLD during the strike itself, and Diane Menghetti uses her novel as an eyewitness account in her essays on the strike in "The Red North," and "The Big Strikes." Devanny herself claims some of the characters were based on real people, and some were fictional. The novel starts with the background to the strike; the planning meetings of the committee, the prelude strike the previous year, the horror of the Weil's Disease, and the difficult job of cutting cane by hand. It then goes into the strike itself, and the protagonist gradually comes around to supporting the strike; having an epiphany during the tense moments of its first defeat. It ends with droves of workers, along with the main characters, applying for Communist Party...

Finished reading this novel by Keith De Lacy a while back. "Blood Stains the Wattle," is set during the Mt Isa disputes in the 60s. The protagonist, Peter Moonie, starts working in the mines just before "The Blue" starts. He finds his industrial feet in the first dispute, and becomes a leader in the second dispute. It is implied he was one of the workers blacklisted after the defeat. The novel focuses on a controversial Love Triangle centring on Peter between Margret and Patricia. Margret is passionate and irreverent while Patricia is a practicing Catholic. Peter was raised Anglican, and even as he starts to find his faith he acknowledged he can never be a Catholic. Peter initially dates Margret for several years, but that relationship ends abruptly. Patricia, meanwhile sticks to her principle and to her love, defending him in AWU circles while simultaneously criticising his every action as a strike leader. Toward the end of the book, Peter realises this is because ...

In 1984, Ted Egan recorded his album "The Shearers" for the ABC's "Faces of Australia Series." The Album revolves around the mythology of shearing, with Champion Shearer, Brian Morrison, relaying the AWUs legends around the shearing industry. The Cover Art features a painting of Jackie Howe, King of Shearers who shore the most sheep in one week with blade shearers. In the song of the same name, Brian relates that "the shearing industry legends often revolve around the top tally shearers, the guns." He also laments the weakness of the AWU in Western Australia, linking it to the Wide Comb Dispute which was unfolding at the time. He relays the AWU myth of 1891, comparing it to ANZAC Day; a defeat that defined a Nation. As a Horticulturalist from Queensland, I tend to identify with the cane cutters a bit more personally. And I've used a cane knife on occasion in my work (videos featured elsewhere on this page). However, the cane cutters never really re...