construction
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in building, construction and materials around the world.
1971: The Kelly's Bush green ban
A short account of how construction workers saved the Kelly's Bush area of park land in Australia from development by refusing to work, and kick-started a movement of environmentally-minded industrial action.
Over 100 Australian workers in court over walkout
107 workers and their families will face court today in Perth, facing prosecution for taking industrial action following the sacking of their union representative.
In the first test of the Howard Government’s new building and construction IR (Industial Relations) laws, 107 workers and their families will be in court today in Perth, facing prosecution for taking alleged industrial action following the sacking of their union representative. The workers face fines of up to AUS$28,600 (£11,500).
Sabotage and striking on the job - Louis Adamic, 1931
Louis Adamic immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia at age 14 and was naturalized in 1918. This essay describes his experiences as a casual labourer in a variety of jobs during the 1920s, including his meetings with fellow workers who were members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the 'Wobblies'.
(This text is Chapter 32 of the Rebel Press reprint of Louis Adamic's classic book 'Dynamite! A Century of Class Violence In America 1830-1930'.)
Rank and File or Broad Left? (Review)
A review of "Rank and File or Broad Left: Democracy versus Bureaucracy - A short history of the Building Worker Group" by Brian Higgins, from Black Flag magazine.
I feel old, I really do. In February 1986 I quit my job at the start of what turned out to be nine months on the dole, and walked straight onto a picket line. The "Laing's Lockout Committee" dispute remains one of the most significant of the post-Miners' Strike era, full of lessons about the possibility of resistance in the face of the most difficult of conditions and determined of opposition.
UK: Picketing brickies released
Three bricklayers jailed this month for picketing building sites where they'd be refused work have been released.
RTE news reported that Keith Kelly, Billy McClurg and Andrew Clarke told Ms Justice Mary Laffoy today that they would not picket sites operated by Collen Construction.
The three men were previously jailed after refusing to give such an undertaking.
Tronchet, Lucien, 1902-1981
A short biography of Swiss building worker, labour organiser and anarcho-syndicalist Lucien Tronchet.
Born in Geneva in 1902 while a building workers’ strike in favour of the 60-hour working week was underway (it was Switzerland's first general strike) Lucien Tronchet became an anarcho-syndicalist militant from 1920 onwards and played his part in all of the social disputes in Switzerland.
Heathrow: Three day strike at Terminal 5
Construction workers for Laing O'Rourke at the Heathrow Terminal 5 site are likely to begin a three day strike from Tuesday morning at 6.45 until the same time Friday morning over their ongoing pay dispute.
Workers have rejected Laing's offer of 67p/hour bonuses, demanding the £1 awarded to other workers on the site some time ago.
An overtime ban has been in force since 28th January. This is the most recent of a series of strikes at Terminal 5, and will be a joint action by members of the GMB, TGWU and UCATT unions.
BACKGROUND
* Heathrow building workers set to strike again
Heathrow building workers set to strike again
A second strike by workers building Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport looks set to go ahead.
On Tuesday, employers Laing O'Rourke offered scaffolders and labourers an extra 67p an hour in bonus pay - short of union members' call for £1 an hour.
But GMB and Transport and General Workers' Union said until members are balloted, the strike will take place.
Hundreds are expected to walk out on Friday and Monday for the second time.
The GMB stated:
New Orleans residents resist bulldozers
With a cell phone crooked in her ear and scores of activists cheering her on in the 2000 block of Reynes Street, lawyer Tracie Washington sent a backhoe and its crew packing from the Lower 9th Ward Thursday morning...
It was more than a seemingly symbolic victory for Washington and her group, the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund, which is representing homeowners in the Lower 9th Ward and will ask a federal judge today to stop up to 2,500 demolitions of homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters. The teardowns apparently are being contemplated by Mayor Ray Nagin's administration.
Strike action hits new Heathrow terminal 5 site
Nearly 1,000 workers building a £4. 2bn terminal at Heathrow airport went on a 24-hour strike today (16 Dec ).
Picket lines were set up at Terminal 5 (T5) from before dawn as workers from three unions took action over bonus payments.
“More than 900 people have stopped work today,” said Steve Kelly, construction branch secretary of the GMB union, who was on a picket line.
