My first blog of the year, I hope you all had a safe and relaxing Christmas and New Year.
We're going to need you in 2016. Your contributions to locked out workers, for signing up to volunteer, for signing our petition, for telling ‘Talley's’ what you think helps give courage to these workers, as they continue to fight. They're going to need you, so get your friends and family to sign up to www.Jobsthatcount.org.nz [2] and stand together with them.
Here's Larry Haists quote of the day:
We're going to need you in 2016. Your contributions to locked out workers, for signing up to volunteer, for signing our petition, for telling ‘Talley's’ what you think helps give courage to these workers, as they continue to fight. They're going to need you, so get your friends and family to sign up to www.Jobsthatcount.org.nz [2] and stand together with them.
Here's Larry Haists quote of the day:
Larry
Larry could have been talking about the Talley brothers’
hatred of their staff…and their desire to destroy democracy and the freedom of
association.
Peter Grove also has a view on the Talley brothers’ corrupt behaviour and harassment of working people…he sent me the following in response to my item in this year’s first Wheelers Corner.
 |
| Peter Grove: |
I agree implicitly with your comments re Talley’s. Talley is a blow in,
from Eastern Europe who is no doubt enjoying his NZ Citizenship.
It is unlikely the country he hails from would countenance the dirty
tricks he is using simply to get his own way. It is not helpful given NZ’s
appalling employment record since the Douglas revolution, which instead of
getting better is slowly deteriorating. Nothing, of course will be done as he
is playing right into Kreyp’s hands.
With the advent of Chicken Little it seems Labour is a bigger spent
force than ever before and is unlikely to ever be in a position to be able to
reverse the fortunes of this country. I believe the movement to boycott all
Talley’s products is a good one. (I have had my own one- man boycott, since the
lockout of their workers at AFFCO plants some years ago). It seems to me that
the Green Party is offering the most hope of salvation with their policies on a
variety of subjects. I have confidence in James Shaw in his co-leadership role
along with Metiria Turei. The majority of the party has demonstrated
seriousness to governing not evident in many of the other parties, and among them
there are some very deep thinkers who are able to put a completely different
handle on the daily dross we are subjected to from our House of
Representatives.
Some of the dribble that goes down in the various debates is an
absolute disgrace. I believe the Nat’s entire mob is no more than a bunch of
sycophantic followers unable and unwilling to voice their objections to some of
the excesses being carried out under their noses. In my next post I will send
you an item that describes the political classes for what they are.
Peter.
Here is the information supplied by Peter Grove from the Guardian:
It makes really interesting reading especially the comments…check it out…and
thanks Peter G.
Here is the item on the Talley brothers from W/C
From: JOBS THAT COUNT <darien@jobsthatcount.org.nz>
Date: Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 1:28 PM
Subject: Talley's workers will need you again in 2016
Kia ora --
All year [2015], workers in the Talley's owned AFFCO meat plants have been in a
struggle with their employer. Their union, the MWU, tried to settle an agreement to replace the 2012 collective agreement which came after an 84 day lockout.
But in June, AFFCO Talley's began forcing their workers to give up their union pay and conditions by making it clear that not signing a new contract meant no job. Around the same time, Talley's lost two Employment Authority cases in other meat plants, where the health & safety of workers caused harm to worker. And Worksafe decided to prosecute
Talley's for a worker who was impaled on a meat hook at their North Island plant in Rangiuru.
In November, a full bench of the Employment Court found AFFCO Talley's had not only breached good faith and undermined the union, but had unlawfully locked out workers by forcing them to return to work on non-union agreements. Around 200 Wairoa workers refused to go back on these conditions and despite the court ruling, are still without work.
When MWU went to court ordered mediation, the company refused to allow the nationally and internationally respected Helen Kelly, former President of the CTU to be in the room to help represent MWU members.
A week before Xmas, the company got silly about workers wearing their union t-shirts to and from work - nice green, peaceful t shirts that say "Jobs that Count". Three workers were stood down for wearing them and another worker's job is on the line for videoing the intimidating actions of the manager in requiring workers to take off their t-shirts.
Two days before Xmas two of our outstanding workplace leaders, mothers and leaders, Bertie Ratu and Charmaine Takai were sacked for going to work early to talk to union members who were upset. This came after three weeks on unlawful suspension without pay.
The problem for Talley's is that people are noticing. People up and down the country are now saying they will never buy Talley's products again. There are questions being asked in international supply chains. As we've found out frequently, Kiwis are not keen on companies that treat their workers badly.
2016 is going to be another year of it. This wealthy family will appeal all court decisions and fight the workers every inch of the way. They will pick on union members and try to make out the blame lies with those who are part of the union.
So we're going to need you in 2016. Your contributions to locked out workers, for signing up to volunteer, for signing our petition, for telling ‘Talley's’ what you think helps give courage to these workers, as they continue to fight. They're going to need you, so get your friends and family to sign up to www.Jobsthatcount.org.nz [2] and stand together with them.
Date: Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 1:28 PM
Subject: Talley's workers will need you again in 2016
Kia ora --
All year [2015], workers in the Talley's owned AFFCO meat plants have been in a
struggle with their employer. Their union, the MWU, tried to settle an agreement to replace the 2012 collective agreement which came after an 84 day lockout.
But in June, AFFCO Talley's began forcing their workers to give up their union pay and conditions by making it clear that not signing a new contract meant no job. Around the same time, Talley's lost two Employment Authority cases in other meat plants, where the health & safety of workers caused harm to worker. And Worksafe decided to prosecute
Talley's for a worker who was impaled on a meat hook at their North Island plant in Rangiuru.
In November, a full bench of the Employment Court found AFFCO Talley's had not only breached good faith and undermined the union, but had unlawfully locked out workers by forcing them to return to work on non-union agreements. Around 200 Wairoa workers refused to go back on these conditions and despite the court ruling, are still without work.
When MWU went to court ordered mediation, the company refused to allow the nationally and internationally respected Helen Kelly, former President of the CTU to be in the room to help represent MWU members.
A week before Xmas, the company got silly about workers wearing their union t-shirts to and from work - nice green, peaceful t shirts that say "Jobs that Count". Three workers were stood down for wearing them and another worker's job is on the line for videoing the intimidating actions of the manager in requiring workers to take off their t-shirts.
Two days before Xmas two of our outstanding workplace leaders, mothers and leaders, Bertie Ratu and Charmaine Takai were sacked for going to work early to talk to union members who were upset. This came after three weeks on unlawful suspension without pay.
The problem for Talley's is that people are noticing. People up and down the country are now saying they will never buy Talley's products again. There are questions being asked in international supply chains. As we've found out frequently, Kiwis are not keen on companies that treat their workers badly.
2016 is going to be another year of it. This wealthy family will appeal all court decisions and fight the workers every inch of the way. They will pick on union members and try to make out the blame lies with those who are part of the union.
So we're going to need you in 2016. Your contributions to locked out workers, for signing up to volunteer, for signing our petition, for telling ‘Talley's’ what you think helps give courage to these workers, as they continue to fight. They're going to need you, so get your friends and family to sign up to www.Jobsthatcount.org.nz [2] and stand together with them.
1 comment:
Peter,
Some years ago in Wainuiomata was another blowin from Eastern Europe operating a large engineering works which was the mirror image of what Talley’s appears to be. The Company was called Brugger Metal Industries, manufacturing all sorts of metal trinkets. The workforce was to a fair degree largely unskilled and consisted of large numbers of Islanders on sophisticated metal working machinery. His company was the bane of the Factory Inspector’s lives due to breaches of machine guarding principles and lax training methods available for his staff. It was said he was responsible for the loss of more hands and fingers of staff working in the factory than any other employer in the area. The company was constantly in the courts as a result of safety breaches. It never seemed to make any difference, as, obviously payment of fines imposed, caused less damage to his bottom line, than would have the institution of safety training programmes and rigorous attention to sound guarding principles of his machines, mainly presses and metal guillotines. He eventually retired from the business and the weekly toll of injuries stopped almost overnight. I have no idea of what his industrial relations policies were. It is likely he fought the same kind of battles with the Unions which would have been instrumental in demanding better training and protection of his workforce.
I subscribe entirely to Larry Haist’s comments in your post today. I have long held the opinion that it doesn’t require brains to make money, only a lack of compassion for fellow men and innate greed. His comment that those sort of people eventually feel obliged to direct the course of humanity is very true, and is mostly based on their own experiences of ripping off everything in sight. We have all had first hand experience watching the antics of Dear Leader Kreyp who believes that by sitting on a few millions of ill gotten gains he is suddenly the font of all knowledge on the Human Condition It goes for most of the sycophants in his side of the Parliament, all of whom sit on considerable wealth, and consider the miserable Social Welfare provisions, represent a King’s Ransom to the unemployed, deserted mothers with children and the like, etc. The unfortunate part of it all is that Labour with its decided lurch toward Neo Liberalism is now making the same mistakes and has the colossal hide to wonder why it continues to languish in the polls. Gone forever are the days of Labour being a genuine Worker’s Party with it present population of lawyers and university graduates with next to no knowledge of the travails of the people it fondly likes to believe are its main supporters.
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