WORKERS CHARTER and Conference

Workers Charter - please forward WORKERS CHARTER
Dear comrade,

Leftists, unionists, environmentalists & social justice activists have come up with a Workers Charter. We want to build a mass grassroots alternative to corporate domination.

We are asking people to do three things (many have already done the first one or two):

(1) Endorse the Workers Charter.

(2) Register for the Charter conference.

(3) Forward this email to your friends.

The draft text of the Workers Charter appears below, followed by details of our conference and endorsers.

Workers Charter - please forward WORKERS CHARTER
Dear comrade,

Leftists, unionists, environmentalists & social justice activists have come up with a Workers Charter. We want to build a mass grassroots alternative to corporate domination.

We are asking people to do three things (many have already done the first one or two):

(1) Endorse the Workers Charter.

(2) Register for the Charter conference.

(3) Forward this email to your friends.

The draft text of the Workers Charter appears below, followed by details of our conference and endorsers.

Please read on.....

In solidarity,

Grant Morgan
for Workers Charter steering committee
021-2544 515
(09) 634 4432 (day & evening)
workerscharter@actrix.co.nz
PO Box 13-157, Auckland
----------------------
d r a f t t e x t
Every worker is a human being who deserves the right to dignity.

For that right to be at the heart of our society, workers need economic justice and democratic control over our future.

But what motivates society today is the selfish right of a privileged few to gather wealth from the productive majority.

Workers are mere commodities, exploited and discarded like any other. Our status in society is worsened by market competition, free trade and commercialisation of public assets.

The wealth of New Zealanders on the Rich List skyrockets. Meanwhile the living standards of the majority fall, and one in three children grow up in poverty here in Aotearoa.

Wars of conquest to control global resources, like the US colonisation of Iraq, expand corporate wealth and power at the cost of mass bloodshed and suffering.

Profit-driven exploitation of the environment is fueling global warming, an oil crisis and other threats to life on our planet.

The end result is massive growth in social inequality and environmental destruction. Our humanity and our environment have been sacrificed to the god of profit. Our ability to resist is undermined by laws that ban most strikes.

As a positive alternative, the Workers Charter promotes these core democratic rights:

1. The right to a job that pays a living wage and gives us time with our families and communities.

2. The right to pay equity for women, youth and casual workers.

3. The right to free public healthcare and education, and to liveable superannuation and welfare.

4. The right to decent housing without crippling mortgages and rents.

5. The right to public control of assets vital to community well-being.

6. The right to protect our environment from corporate greed.

7. The right to express our personal identity free from discrimination.

8. The right to strike in defence of our interests.

9. The right to organise for the transfer of wealth and power from the haves to the have-nots.

10. The right to unite with workers in other lands against corporate globalisation and war.

These rights can only be secured by workers organising to extend democracy into every sphere of the economy and the state. This will involve the complete transformation of our society to serve the needs of the majority rather than the greed of the minority.

The privileged few will resist fiercely. They will use their economic and political power to try to deny workers our rights.

A mass mobilisation around the Workers Charter can give us the strength to win the battle for democracy and reclaim our human dignity.

c o n f e r e n c e
The Workers Charter conference will be a fantastic opportunity to debate the draft text, regroup activists from around the country, network with Australian leftists and organise a broad movement for workers' rights.

Everyone who wants to work constructively with other Workers Charter supporters is welcome to attend conference. A big turnout will raise workers' confidence that a mass alternative to corporate power is possible.

Want to register? Email back.

If you live outside Auckland and require a billet, email back.

Workers Charter conference
Saturday 22nd October
10am to 5pm. Social in evening
Auckland Trades Hall
147 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn
$20 waged/$10 low income. Includes food & social.

PAYMENT OPTIONS
* You can pay the $20/$10 at the door, or
* You can send a cheque (marked "Workers Charter") to: Workers Charter conference, PO Box 13-157, Auckland

e n d o r s e r s
The Workers Charter will gain in legitimacy the more people who personally endorse the draft text. (This doesn't mean you endorse every single word, since you may want to see changes to the draft, but does mean you endorse the Charter in general outline.)

Want to endorse? Email back.

Add your job/community role and your town of residence. (It will be stressed that you endorse as an individual, not on behalf of anybody else.)

LATEST LIST OF ENDORSERS
The Workers Charter is personally endorsed by these 154 individuals:

n JOHN AIKEN, socialist (Kaiwaka).
n PERCY ALLISON, chair of Poverty Action Coalition (Auckland).
n STELLA ANDERSON, university student (Wellington).
n DON ARCHER, factory union delegate (Christchurch).
n RACHEL ASHER, social worker (Auckland).
n KELLY-ANNE BAILEY, food distribution (Rotorua).
n MARGARET BAILEY, food distribution (Rotorua).
n BEATRIZ BASSI, Public Service Association delegate (Sydney).
n BRONWEN BEECHEY, call centre worker (Auckland).
n TOM BERTULEIT, Socialist Alliance member (Adelaide).
n TRACEY BEVAN, student & part-time worker (Hamilton).
n CORDELIA BLACK, executive member of Victoria University Students Association.
n PAUL BLAIR, beneficiary advocate (Rotorua).
n BEATRICE BLEILE, associate maths professor at University of New England (Armidale).
n SUE BOLTON, national trade union convenor for Socialist Alliance (Melbourne).
n KERRY BOREWICZ, nurses union activist (Wellington).
n JENNI BOULTON, journalist (Auckland).
n LORNA BOWLES, admin service officer & public sector union activist (Penshurst).
n NORMAN BREWER, software engineer & journalist (Sydney).
n CAROL BRIDGENS, postal workers delegate (Auckland).
n GRANT BROOKES, nurses union delegate (Wellington).
n TOM BUCKLEY, film maker (Auckland).
n MIKE BYRNE, Community & Public Sector Union delegate (Brisbane).
n JOE CAROLAN, union organiser (Auckland).
n CATHY CASEY, Auckland City councillor.
n HOPE CLARK, EPMU delegate at Works Infrastructure (Whangarei).
n NICOLE CLARK, university student (Wellington).
n DAVE COLYER, gardener (Christchurch).
n RAFE COPELAND, Auckland University student.
n LUKE COXON, union organiser & social justice campaigner (Auckland).
n PAUL CRESSWELL, postal workers union delegate (Lower Hutt).
n MATTHEW DAVIS, community volunteer (Perth).
n SHAUN DAVISON, PPTA regional chair (Whangarei).
n PETER DE WAAL, president of Campus Left (Auckland).
n RITZ ELLIS, OSH officer at Wild Cherry Logging (Rotorua).
n CLAIRE ENGLISH, female national queer officer for National Union of Students (Brisbane).
n LYNN ERICSON, beneficiary advocate (Rotorua).
n TODD EVERINGHAM, unemployed (Armidale).
n GORDON FARRIS, community activist & home educator (Wellington).
n INGEBORG FINA, retired (Iluka).
n BECCY FINLAY, union organiser (Auckland).
n JOE FLEETWOOD, vice-president of Maritime Union of New Zealand (Wellington).
n ROGER FOWLER, director of Mangere East Community Learning Centre (Auckland).
n PETE FRANCE, musician & Massey University music tutor (Auckland).
n NICK FREDMAN, national councillor of National Tertiary Education Union (Sydney).
n JASON GARDINER, social justice activist (Tauranga).
n SHUA GARFIELD, postgrad university student (Sydney).
n ANA GAVIN, journalism student (Rotorua).
n DAVID GLANZ, national executive member of International Socialist Organisation & Socialist Alliance (Melbourne).
n MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN, retired (Sydney).
n TIM GOODEN, secretary of Geelong Trades & Labour Council.
n VAUGHAN GUNSON, artist & ASTE teacher union activist (Whangarei).
n TONY HAINES, ex-national councillor of Printers Union (Auckland).
n HARRIET HARKER, caregiver (Rotorua).
n RON HARRIS, ex-Drivers Union organiser (Rotorua).
n JENNA HARWOOD, Trade Aid worker (Wellington).
n GEOFF HEALY, beneficiary (Auckland).
n OLIVER HOFFMAN, lecturer & social & environmental activist (Auckland).
n JOHN HOLLOWAY, mental health nurse (Wellington).
n BERNIE HORNFECK, longtime union activist & trustee of Apumoana Marae (Rotorua).
n HOROMONA HORO, kaiako (Rotorua).
n TIM HOWARD, community activist (Whangarei).
n TARIQA HOWE, writer (Auckland).
n PETER HUGHES, rail union delegate (London).
n ROBYN HUGHES, RAM councillor on Auckland Regional Council.
n WILLIAM JACKSON, mill worker (Rotorua).
n IAN JAMIESON, wharfie & co-convenor of Freemantle MUA port committee.
n CHARLOTTE JOHNSON, Telstra union activist (Brisbane).
n GEORGE JONES, retired teacher (Tauranga).
n JOHNNY JONES, retired boilermaker (Auckland).
n ANNA KEENE, translator & teacher (Tauranga).
n TIM KEENE, projectionist (Tauranga).
n SYD KEEPA, Apiha Maori, National Distribution Union (Auckland).
n TUHIPO KEREOPA, therapist (Rotorua).
n CHARLOTTE KINNIBURGH, shop assistant & massage therapist (Christchurch).
n TIM KIRCHLER, co-convenor of Gold Coast branch of Socialist Alliance.
n DAPHNE LAWLESS, tertiary union delegate & UNITY editor (Wellington).
n NIKO LEKA, enrolled nurse (Newcastle).
n ALAN LIEFTING, Green Party candidiate for Waimakariri electorate.
n HEATHER LYALL, social worker (Auckland).
n ANDREW MARTIN, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union activist (Brisbane).
n DION MARTIN, National Distribution Union organiser (Palmerston North).
n GARY MATHEWS, beneficiary (Auckland).
n JOHN MATHYSSEN, Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union delegate (Rotorua).
n PAUL MAUNDER, union & social justice activist (Blackball).
n REBECCA MAWSON, shop assistant (Wellington).
n JOHN MAYNARD, postie & vice-president of Postal Workers Union (Wellington).
n MATT McCARTEN, director of Unite Workers Union & media columnist (Auckland).
n ALLAN McEVOY, mental health social worker & welfare guardian (Auckland).
n ANDREW McLEOD, artist (Auckland).
n HUMPHREY McQUEEN, labour historian & Seeing Red editorial board member (Canberra).
n JO McVEAGH, student & worker (Dunedin).
n JUDY McVEY, CPSU job delegate and Victorian Trades Hall councillor (Melbourne).
n JIM MEYER, union organiser (Wellington).
n CHANZ MIKAERE, rangatahi co-ordinator of Maori Party (Rotorua).
n JASON MIKAERE, youth worker (Rotorua).
n ALEX MILLER, National Tertiary Education Union & Socialist Alliance (Sydney).
n COLIN MILNE, secretary of Te Awamutu Peace Group.
n JOHN MINTO, educationalist & social justice campaigner (Auckland).
n BEN MOONEY, retired boilermaker (Auckland).
n GRANT MORGAN, organiser of RAM & secretary of Socialist Worker (Auckland).
n ALEX MUIR, office co-ordinator of Unite Workers Union (Auckland).
n ANDREW MULLIGAN, Labour Youth (Hamilton).
n LAURAYNO NGAWHIKA, teacher (Rotorua).
n ANNA NICHOLSON, environmental & social justice activist (Hamilton).
n TREVOR NOEL, National Distribution Union organiser (Whangarei).
n ROD NORGATE, beneficiary advocate (Auckland).
n JIMMY O©ˆDEA, housing advocate (Auckland).
n KEVIN O©ˆDEA, truck driver (Auckland).
n PAT O©ˆDEA, electrician & union activist (Auckland).
n SONY O©ˆDEA, community volunteer (Auckland).
n MATT OLIVER, CTU Youth Council (Auckland).
n DEAN PARKER, Writers Guild (Auckland).
n LEN PARKER, manager of Socialist Centre (Auckland).
n HAKOPA PAUL, Maori land consultant (Rotorua).
n TE OROHI PAUL, Maori land consultant (Rotorua).
n ANTHONY PECOTIC-VIDILO, chef (Rotorua).
n PANIA PENE, insurance officer (Rotorua).
n ROBERT PIHEMA, carpenter (Rotorua).
n DAIMON PITIROI, call centre project manager & Maori welfare advocate (Auckland).
n LAUREL PORIMA, weaver & artist (Rotorua).
n STEVEN PORIMA, linesman (Rotorua).
n HELEN POTTER, projects manager for Maori Party (Wellington).
n ANNA POTTS, university student (Wellington).
n SUSAN PRICE, national councillor of National Tertiary Education Union (Sydney).
n IRIS QUAYLE, kaumatua of Whare Kawe Marae (Auckland).
n SAM QUAYLE, factory worker (Auckland).
n WAYNE REID, turf attendent (Whangarei).
n SAM REREKURA, independent candidate for Tamaki Makarau electorate (Auckland).
n FRAN RICHARDSON, ASTE member (Wellington).
n MAPORO ROTA, beneficiary (Rotorua).
n ANNA SAMSON, education union activist (Sydney).
n DAN SATHERLEY, musician (Auckland).
n ROSIE SCOTT, writer (Sydney).
n SHARON SEAMAN, sales assistant (Sydney).
n DEAN SINOTT, Te Arawa Manu Korero Speech Competition winner (Rotorua).
n JOE SLADE, union organiser (Auckland).
n TONY SNELLING-BERG, social justice campaigner (Tauranga).
n PETER STAITE, fitter & turner (Rotorua).
n JONATHAN STRAUSS, committee member of UTS branch of National Tertiary Education Union (Sydney).
n RIMA TARAIA, union organiser (Auckland).
n TAHAE TAIT, community worker for the blind (Rotorua).
n TERESSA TE MONI, secretary of Rotorua branch of the Maori Party.
n JIM TOLLEY, retired boilermaker (Auckland).
n KATHY TONIHI, advocate (Rotorua).
n MIKE TREEN, union organiser & social justice campaigner (Auckland).
n KATHRYN TUCKER, union organiser (Auckland).
n RONNIE WADDELL, retired school teacher (Stewart Island).
n HANNAH WATSON, university student (Wellington).
n KYLE WEBSTER, nursing union activist (Thursday Island).
n MIKE WILLIAMS, secretary of Wellington seafarers branch of Maritime Union.
n STEVEN WINIATA, mill worker (Rotorua).
n JOHN WOOD, retired (Iluka).
n OLIVER WOODS, Auckland University student & Labour Party member.

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