By Dean Parker In the back files of the NZ Herald, Jan 14, 1937, there’s a photo of a crowd standing and seated round a young Maori bloke. The young bloke is strumming a guitar, grinning and singing away. Some of the crowd gathered round are draped in blankets. Some wear hats. The photo was […]

By Helen Kelly, Council of Trade Unions President (Reprinted from The Standard) Helen Kelly speaking rally in support of Ports of Auckland workers The proposed changes to employment law make massive changes to the right to strike. Those opposed to the Bill by Jamie Lee-Ross to allow replacement labour during strikes, need to be consistent […]

Bunny St McDonalds had its second McStrike today with seven members of staff dropping tools and coming out to join the picket line, in fact they’d already come outside before the picket line had even been set up. The picket began as supporters came around the corner and saw the workers already set up outside, […]

By Matt McCarten Sunday Jun 16, 2013 Peter Dunne Sometimes I despair at the stupidity of some of the people who run our country. Peter Dunne built his reputation over three decades as someone smart and reliable. I was once told by a wise old union boss that the only thing anyone could ever hope […]

Two West Auckland McDonald’s stores were short of workers and customers last night as workers at Lynmall McDonald’s walked off the job to strike for fair and equal pay for fast food workers. Four workers stopped work at the Lynmall foodcourt McDonald’s and marched across the road to a bigger restaurant owned by the same […]

Reprinted from the June 12 Philly Daily News in the USA http://articles.philly.com/2013-06-12/news/39927797_1_fast-food-workers-wage-dorian-warren DAVID MAIALETTI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Shadeya Ivy, who earns $7.50 an hour working at McDonald’s, is thankful she doesn’t have a family to feed or an apartment of her own. BY WILL BUNCH, Daily News Staff Writer bunchw, 215-854-2957 POSTED: June 12, 2013 […]

By Mike Treen, National Director, Unite Union (Reprinted from The Daily Blog) It looks like McDonald’s NZ has been using accounting tricks to avoid paying tax in New Zealand. In 2011 there was a special payment of $154 million that was paid for by borrowing the money from the Bank Mendes Gans NV, which manages […]

The Unite bargaining team has received a settlement offer of the Collective Employment Agreement from FIRST Security. As a part of the bargaining process members of Unite Union are required to vote on the offer before it can be completed. The offer will be accepted if the union members concerned ratify the settlement by 50% […]

The following letter to the editor of the Marlborough Express was written by Turi Taurima, a Unite member at KFC Kent Tce. The Express failed to publish it but we think it deserves publication. Dear Editor I refer to your ‘apology’ with regard to the cartoon published in Wednesday’s Express. Although, disappointed by your decision […]

Reason 1. Low Pay. Reason 2. No Overtime after 8 hours working. Reason 3. No Staff Meal on Shift. Reason 4. No help to a worker’s family in the event of death Reason 5. No bonuses: Workers at KFC, Pizza Hut, Carls Jr and Starbucks get a union organised bonus for Christmas, May Day and […]

By Mike Treen, National Director, Unite Union (Reprinted from The Daily Blog) I get sick of reading how the rich continually steal money from the people and hardly ever get punished for it. Just this week the NZ Herald reported that “Two-thirds of New Zealand’s richest people are not paying the top personal tax rate, […]

Sisters in the struggle at Pamnure McDonald’s As the McStrike campaign spreads out from the city centre actions to working class Auckland suburbs, the Unite union has been deploying a variety of tactics that have reaped successes in recent weeks. On Friday, June 7th, all the crew went on strike in Panmure McDonalds, led by […]

“When Migrant workers are under attack- stand up, fight back!” echoed through the night air of Auckland’s Balmoral suburb, as the first protest in a Global Day of Action against McDonald’s got underway in New Zealand. The Balmoral store was built in the face of widespread community opposition with its huge private car park and […]

New Zealand will be the first of 30 countries that will be seeing protests against McDonald’s today in a global day of action over abuse and exploitation of migrant workers. The Auckland action organised by Unite Union will be at 6pm outside the Balmoral McDonald’s store. The protest was called by the National Guestworker Alliance […]

Question 26: One of arguments in favour of tax cuts on incomes is that they are needed to keep people in New Zealand. Do people migrate because of allegedly high tax rates in New Zealand? There is no evidence to support the claim that people leave New Zealand because of the allegedly higher tax rates. […]

KahInn Lee: Why Big Business Wants More Guestworkers in the USA KahInn Lee is a former McDonald’s guestworker in the United States on the front lines of immigration reform. A McDonald’s franchisee used KahInn and other guestworkers as a sub-minimum wage, exploitable workforce—but the workers stood up to expose the abuse and stop it. Corporations […]

By Mike Treen, National Director, Unite Union (Reprinted from The Daily Blog) I often get caught by surprise at the depth of racism in our society. At the same time we see so many generous acts of solidarity and support regardless of race. As a young man I was somewhat infected by a belief that […]

Nationwide, hundreds upon hundreds of retail and fast-food employees organize for a livable wage. By Dorian T. Warren NEW YORK – “Great Gatsby,” meet Raise Up Milwaukee. And New York. And Chicago. And St. Louis. And Detroit. How ironic that while the film is re-creating a past era of excess and greed, employees in the […]

Question 25: The government claims that they need to reduce tax on the rich and companies to boost growth in the economy. What is the record in New Zealand and overseas? Unfortunately for the government the periods of highest growth in NZ and the USA were associated with higher not lower taxation. The Treasury estimates […]