May’s meeting was as usual at 11:00 in the Rod Driver Room at the Dickson Tradies (upstairs at the Quality Hotel entrance).
The guest speaker for this meeting was Alex White, Secretary of UnionsACT. He spoke on campaign strategies for the next Federal elections.
Photo: UnionsACT
Pictured with Clive Palmer are Helen Sutherland and Jane Timbrell representing the “Fair Go for Pensioners Coalition” at the Palmer United Party’s Budget Speech in Reply at the Hyatt Hotel on 13 May 2015.
International Workers’ Memorial Day is on the 28th April, when unions pause to remember workers who have been killed, injured or made sick on the job, and to reaffirm our commitment to fight for the safety at work of all working people.
Vintage Red members Dennis and Rene raise the banner outside the office of the federal member for Monaro, John Barilaro (NP), in Queanbeyan during the recent NSW elections.
Photo: Jane Timbrell
April’s guest speaker was Jon Stanhope, the ACT Chief Minister 2001-2011. Jon subsequently took a two-year term as Administrator of the Indian Ocean Territories (Christmas & Cocos Islands), in 2012-2014. Jon was also Norfolk Island Deputy Administrator for two years in 1991-93.
Jon’s message is that we have not dealt with our historical failure to extend our democracy to the people of Cocos and Christmas Islands, nor have we dealt fairly with Norfolk Islanders.
Here is a report on his talk: Continue reading
Our next social lunch was to have been on Tuesday April 28th at the RUC Turner.
This lunch has been postponed until the next day Wednesday April 29th & is still at the RUC.
Instead, Vintage Reds are notified that Tuesday 28th is the International Day of Mourning, also known as Workers’ Memorial Day, commemorating all those who have lost their lives at work.
Please see the details for this commemoration at: http://www.vintagereds.org.au/events
We are taking orders for a second run of our T-shirts. The shirts remain at $30 each for activists, $35 others. If you have not already, please join us on this website. Meeting notices and events are posted here.
We need a minimum of 20 T-shirts to place an order. We need to collect the money before we place the order.
Send orders to: vintagereds.canberra@gmail.com
Please be careful with selecting your size. Some members have found the shirts to be a bit smaller than they expected.
Best to use the guides to the sizing, below.
Fifteen stalwart comrades enjoyed a very pleasant lunch at the RUC in Turner on Monday the 30th. This was an outstanding result with a few having to pull out in the last few days.
Also hearteningly 10 VRs used the website to RSVP! A significant number of the others gave personal confirmation of attendances (due to the huge activist requirements over the last week, meant that we have seen one another often!). This was fantastic and has shown that VRs are happy to use the website to ease coordination workload for promotions etc.
Margaret Ryan was the lucky luncher to win a Dendy Premium movie voucher. Margaret had RSVPed via the web site and so was given 2 tickets in the draw. Future social lunch functions are expected to be exclusively via the website.
For info about the next lunch > Read more Continue reading
Vintage Reds members joined several thousand Canberrans in Garema Place on Palm Sunday, 29 March, to protest against the government’s inhumane treatment of refugees.
It was good to see a very strong showing of union members. Lots of individual union flags, as well as an umbrella “Unionists for Refugees” banner.
Photo: Leo Bild
Continuing the impressive line-up of guest speakers at our monthly meetings, the Vintage Reds March meeting heard from both Alex White, UnionsACT Secretary; and Richard Denniss,Executive Director of the Australia Institute, a progressive think-tank based in Canberra (http://www.tai.org.au).
