At the public event here, nearly 30 people heard Kennedy describe the accomplishments of the coal miners’ fight. She also explained the importance to the labor movement of the actions across the United States in recent months that have involved millions of working people in the fight to win legal status for immigrants without papers.

On behalf of the supporters of the Militant Fighting Fund, chairperson Felicity Coggan introduced several other speakers. The first was Russell Mayn, secretary-treasurer of Local 13 of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, which organizes dockworkers and seafarers.

“Unionists and the ideals they stand for know no boundaries,” Mayn said. He explained that the union had applied its principle of “Touch One, Touch All” to the case.

Other speakers were Barry Wilson, president of the Auckland Council for Civil Liberties, and Jill Ovens, a senior organizer for the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU). “I have to support the Militant in this case—people must have the ability to speak out,” Ovens said.

SFWU organizer Nicki Jonas read a message of solidarity from Susan Bradford, a Green Party Member of Parliament and endorser of the Militant Fighting Fund. Sneh Kumar, a National Distribution Union (NDU) member who works at an Auckland garment factory, read a support message from NDU national secretary Laila Harré. A lively discussion and social followed Kennedy’s remarks.

In the following days, Kennedy took up several invitations to meet unionists and others. At the monthly meeting of the Maritime Union’s executive board, she thanked the union for its moral and financial support to the struggle. She also visited other union offices and the union-backed Working Women’s Resource Centre.

During a union-organized tour of the surface coal mine at Rotowaro near Huntly, about one hour’s drive south of Auckland, Kennedy heard about the successful strike battle waged by coal miners last year for a national contract.

Kennedy also met 15 meatpacking workers at an informal lunchtime get-together in a carpark at the Auckland Meat Processors site. A July 5 public meeting in Christchurch, held in the local Trade Union Centre, involved unionists and supporters of workers’ rights. Among those in attendance were an organizer of the Shearers Union and an official of the New Zealand Meat Workers Union who works at a meatpacking plant near Christchurch.

“Miners worldwide face the same problems, and it is important to recognize we have common interests among all trade unionists,” said Harold Gibbens, who spoke on the panel with Kennedy. Gibbens is the convener of the Energy and Mining Industry Council of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union. He works as a continuous miner operator at the Spring Creek underground coal mine on the West Coast of the South Island.

“The union is important,” Gibbens said. “On nonunion sites we see declining wages for miners, longer hours, and the company controlling the health and safety of miners, which leads to more workplace injuries and deaths.”

After the meeting, Gibbens told the Militant that miners “won’t work if we think it is unsafe.” He said that “when there was a roof fall 20 meters [66 feet] into the mine at Spring Creek on April 10, initially the company wanted us to go on the other side of the fall and continue to extract coal while the fall was being cleared. We made our stance clear that we were willing to work on cleaning up the fall, but we would not resume coal extraction until it was safe to do so. After a standoff for a couple of days, they accepted our position.”
 
 
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Miner in Australia fights firing after refusal to sign individual contract
Court dismisses Utah coal boss lawsuit  
 
 
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