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May 18th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda In a time where union membership is on the decline some commentators, including Australian Workers Union President Paul Howes, are saying one more HSU sized scandal could see the end of unions as we know them.
Pat Leonard served as the Barrier Industrial Council Secretary for nine years and he says the recent incident has been blown out of proportion and it shouldn’t affect Australian unions more broadly.
“Well, from where I sit, I reckon a lot of people think that’s happening in all the trade union movements, which is wrong.”
The controversy involving Mr Thomson does coincide with a decline in union popularity but, Mr Leonard says, there will always be a need for trade unions.
“It’s not only in Broken Hill, it’s all over the place that unionism is down but it will come back, it will have to come back for the simple reason that you can’t get a kick in the guts every day of the week and not respond to it.”
He says the loss of popularity suffered by the unions reflects a lack of understanding about how significant a role they have played in securing the rights workers have today.
“Young people have got to realise that they’ve got to have some protection.
“The only protection you ever get against your boss is the trade union movement and I’ll tell you what, I was proud to be a trade unionist.”
Referring to current pay negotiations taking place in Broken Hill Mr Leonard says that, at the height of its power in the 1900s, the union movement would have stood up for the employees.
“The easiest way to fix that up a few years ago was (to say) ‘Right-o, have a few days off’.
“But the whole thing is, the government’s changed this, that you’re not allowed to go on strike anymore.
“That’s taking away you’re working conditions and all the working conditions of Broken Hill, they weren’t given to us, they were fought for and won.”
Mr Leonard says Broken Hill workers can feel proud because it was in the Silver City that the trade union movement has its deepest roots.
“We’re more or less the national capital of unionism and we probably had the round table conference in Broken Hill long before they did anywhere else.
“That was one of the things we could always be proud of, that we could hold our own at any level.
“My belief is that there will always be trade unions.
“Here in Broken Hill, mining’s going to come along again, but Broken Hill will be Broken Hill for a long time to come and I’m proud to say that I come from Broken Hill.”
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