Would more trade union disaffiliations from the ALP help Tony Abbott’s Coalition?
They won’t. In fact by freeing themselves from the dead hand of the dominant ALP right (which now runs the government), the union movement can win its political independence and the means to rebuild and strengthen itself. Unions can express themselves in the elections by supporting the Socialist Alliance, the Greens and other progressive candidates. Or they can field their own candidates on progressive platforms. This way they won’t be silenced by conservative Gillard Labor. Our slogan “Vote Socialist and Greens – Put Abbott last” sums up the best fighting stance for the labour movement and progressives. The alternative stance, still backed by most trade union leaderships, is “Vote Labor because we cannot let Abbott win.” However, a consequence of this stance is that Abbott wins anyway – either by having his policies implemented by a conservation ALP government or worst still by large numbers of workers voting for the Coalition because their leaders are not prepared to lead an independ
