#Uniontown is both a description and a movement. In Wollongong and the Illawarra it has been over 100 years in the making.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
According to ACTU chief Sally MacManus, this region is the most unionised in the country. Some of the greatest industrial battles have been fought and won here.
From our mining and manufacturing roots through to health, education and social services there is struggle, mateship and solidarity in a town that has often been dealt a terrible hand.
For the South Coast Labour Council secretary, Arthur Rorris, it is not just down to luck, but much more human interventions that have shaped the region's character and forged its destiny.
"Our miners taught us how to fight, not just for ourselves but for our whole community," Arthur said. "It is that consciousness that builds communities, workers looking after workers because at the end of the day we know that no one else will."
This advertising feature was sponsored by the following business. Click the link to learn more:
For Rorris, #Uniontown is as relevant now as it was then, citing recent victories in mining and university sectors and the role played by the solidarity movement in our community.
"When you see nurses turn up at a picket line at the Port Kembla Coal Terminal straight after their night shift to extend their support to locked out workers you know that the bonds of solidarity and commitment run deep here," he said.
"Our miners actually voted to dock their own wages so that they could contribute to the payment of wages of the nurses at these new and upgraded hospitals to cater for growing communities and industrial accidents."
"A century later it was the nurses and midwives, health services workers and doctors who led the charge to save our hospitals from privatisation in Shellharbour and elsewhere.
"They didn't get a cent out of it themselves, it was to ensure that our community had access to a decent level of healthcare in a public hospital open to all.
"The community backed them and the NSW Government had to back down in the face of strong and united community demanding that people come before profits - that's #Uniontown.
"Today we can see this solidarity across many industries, uniting workers and building our communities," Arthur added.
"Our biggest challenges, however, lie ahead. The right to work, job security, fair funding for our schools and a fair share of this country's wealth are battles that must be won. This can't happen if our Government's rules continue to favour the big end of town and the multinational corporations.
"The system is broken and our communities suffer as a result. The answer is to change the rules.
"The stakes are high, the future we are fighting for is also for our kids and grandkids to have a decent standard of living and opportunities in life. It is what our forebears achieved and it's what #Uniontown is all about."