Fill the ‘G // With the heads of the bourgeoisie

“Mr. Block is legion,” wrote Walker C. Smith in 1913. “He is representative of that host of slaves who think in terms of their masters. Mr. Block owns nothing, yet he speaks from the standpoint of the millionaire; he is patriotic without patrimony; he is a law-abiding outlaw … [who] licks the hand that smites him and kisses the boot that kicks him … the personification of all that a worker should not be.”

(I) said what we need now is federation
It’s the best kind of organisation
Through the process of delegation
Is how we shall make all the decisions

And once we decide what has to be done
That’s when we take some direct action
To bring about the total destruction
Of state and capital, hey, wouldn’t it be fun?

The bosses and the bureaucrats, we’ll have them on the run
We’re working towards their eradication
We’ll rid the world of all oppression
Through world-wide social revolution

We’re sick to death of their constant lies
Democracy’s just a clever disguise
(Through) our willingness to fight, we will energise
Then a free society, we will realise

Capitalism is an evil crime
They plunder the Earth, and they steal our time
So you better eat your turkey
And you better glut your wine
‘Cos your days are numbered
Bourgeois swine

— Federation, General Strike (1987)

The ALP election rally at the MCG yesterday attracted something in the vicinity of 40-60,000 workers and their families: between 40-60,000 less than the number needed to actually “Fill the ‘G”. Weeks prior to the rally, Victorian Trades Hall Secretary Brian ‘Working Class Discipline’ Boyd stated that: “Our challenge is to beat last month’s Grand Final official attendance figure of 97,431. That is over 100,000 plus, with the overflow [sic] watching the ACTU Sky Channel presentations outside on giant screens in Yarra Park. Be there to be part of history. Contact your union or community group to make sure you get into the famous MCG.”

In the event, there were plenty of seats available in case anyone was still unsure — after the costly failure that was its High Court challenge — as to the nature of the ACTU’s ‘grand strategy’ to defeat HoWARd’s laws:

During his address to the MCG crowd, Mr Combet unveiled a huge sign bearing a slogan he said would be used to fight the next election: “Your rights at work: worth voting [ALP] for”.

Soon-to-be-deposed Federal ALP leader Kim ‘Bomber’ Beazley addressed the prayer gathering, as did ACTU President and ACTU Secretary (and future ALP politicians) Sharan Burrow and Greg Combet, and the crowds were (presumably) entertained by the other comedians on stage — Corinne Grant, Dave Hughes and Brian Nankervis — ‘Working Class Man’ Jimmy Barnes, and Brian ‘Working Class Discipline’ Boyd.

working class discipline

Not unexpectedly, the Tories claim the rally was a ‘flop’, while trade union leaders claim that the failure to fill the ‘G was attributable to government and employer intimidation, on the one hand, and the Victorian State government and French TNC Connex‘s continuing failure to get the trains running on time on the other. Of course, a terrific (and very obvious) means of testing the HoWARd Government’s theory regarding the massive popularity of their highly class-conscious, legal and political assault on wages and conditions, would be for the Business Council of Australia (or some equivalent body) to organise a march and rally in support of the new industrial relations regime, and see just how many blockheads rock up. Which is about as likely as U2 helping to ‘Make Poverty History’ by donating the tens of millions of dollars they made on their just-completed tour of Australia to the Australian poor.

Rich wankers.

See also : Industrial Worker (IWW) : Available from Barricade

Unemployment for all, not just the rich!
Your right not to work: worth rioting for.