NewsBite

Opinion

Laura Tingle

Why powerless workers are now a potent political force

The rise of hillbilly JD Vance and an Australian mega-union that is famous for all the wrong reasons have more in common than you might think.

Laura TingleColumnist

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) – of which we have been hearing so much in the past week and not in a good way – is the fifth-biggest union in the country.

Its history gives us a particular window into Australia’s economic, political and industrial landscape over the past 40 years which somehow pulls together threads of several of the big stories dominating the news this week.

Loading...

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

Read More

Latest In Federal

Fetching latest articles

Most Viewed In Politics

    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/why-powerless-workers-are-now-a-potent-political-force-20240716-p5jtzd