Little Proof? Just Semantics.

Since Andrew Little was caught out advocating voluntary unionism in his final speech to the EPMU, he has tried to back pedal and claim that he doesn’t support voluntary student unions as they are ‘very different’ from trade unions. In the speech he said - “I believe voluntary unionism - true freedom of association - gives the union movement much greater strength and a much greater moral authority.”

As is typical of the Labour Party he provided no analysis for his distinction, he just stuck with simple assertions.
So let’s do Little’s analysis for him and see if there is any real difference between the two.

Political lobbying
The Labour Party itself is the political wing of the trade union movement so there is no doubt trade unions are political entities. Council of Trade Unions President Helen Kelly regularly speaks out against the ninety day probation period and more recently state asset sales. Isn’t it great that her members can leave if they disagree with her stance? Similarly student associations make political statements all the time, they have led the charge against VSM and often call for freezes on student fees. Isn’t it a pity that pro- VSM students aren’t allowed to leave an organisation totally goes against all their political beliefs? Both organisations make political statements and support or oppose certain laws on behalf of their members. In fact they are so similar they both act as a launching pad for the political careers of Labour politicians!

Service provision
Trade Unions and students unions both provide services their members, but there is a huge difference in quality. The EPMU website says its members get lots of great deals at KiwiBank, Resene, Vero, 2degress and ITM. Sounds like some pretty awesome stuff. Student unions also provide so-called services, but there is no real way to tell if people actually want them. The Otago University Students’ Association spends it compulsorily acquired money on an art day where students can ‘work on their own mural on campus’. Oh and students get 10 percent off at Trade Aid. I know which services I’d rather get for my money.

Advocacy
Both trade unions and student unions advocate for the rights of their members. Trade unions negotiate health and safety standards, employment contracts and represent workers when it comes to any grievance they may have with their employer. Student unions claim to provide exactly the same service, but whether students actually need or want it is impossible to tell.

Trade unions and student unions both claim to provide the same things to their members – the only difference is workers are free to leave a trade union, so they provide better services in order to attract members. Students deserve that too.

Andrew Little’s only attempt to draw any distinction between the two, other than simply asserting that they’re different, was to use the word ‘association’ in reference to student organisations instead of ‘union’. Not only will people see through his childish attempt at word play – but I’m sure the Public Service Association would be shocked to find out it isn’t a union either.