Class Actions

Saturday 7- 7.30 am

Profiles and interviews with working class warriors.

Presented by Terry Costello.

Contact Terry on 03 9381 445 or email.

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CRAM Article November 2007: Class Actions

Class Actions is inspired by the On The Picket Line program, which was broadcast on 3CR for two decades from 1986 to 2006, in the same early morning Saturday time slot.

The presenters of On The Picket Line, who included Jill Polson, Joan Doyle, Glenn Davis, Grant, Julie, Anthony Main, Simon Millar, Gerrum Small, Chris Ryan and others including myself, Terry Costello, were all rank-and-file union activists who put to air the stories and epic struggles of workers who were on the front line of the class war. Many of the struggles covered by the On The Picket Line program involved workers either being indefinitely locked out or being on indefinite strike in some instances for weeks if not months.

The inspiring aspect of On The Picket Line’s coverage was that more often than not the interviewees weren’t union officials but were the workers themselves who were struggling and who would update listeners with graphic and no nonsense details of their dispute. In some instances their views differed from the prevailing orthodoxy of the union bureaucracy. This often landed the show and its presenters in hot water. When On The Picket Line finished in 2006 the spirit of that program, and what it stood for, needed to continue. The aim of Class Actions is to perpetuate the legacy of the On The Picket Line program.

Class Actionsand On The Picket Line, whilst having similar objectives, are different in many ways. Whilst On The Picket Line was a live show produced by a team of presenters covering specific industrial disputes, Class Actions is a pre-recorded, fully scripted radio documentary program presented by myself and covering industrial, economic social and political issues of a more general nature. Two aspects that I hope are not different are 1) the reporting of issues from a rank-and-file working class perspective and, 2) unapologetically offering a critical analysis of the ALP and those elements of the Trade Union movement that refuse to fight the attacks on working people.

I have been a union activist throughout my working life as a teacher and a worker in the telecommunications industry. Unfortunately these industries were not noted for their union militancy. My involvement with the 3CR On The Picket Line program was from 1989 to 2005. Being involved in this program was an important part of my union activism, enabling me to cover the activities of progressive unions and progressive unionists who were, and are, prepared to fight.

Class Actions, like all other 3CR current affairs programs, is not only about putting forward working class perspectives but also changing attitudes in the community and advancing the interests of working people in the workplace, in the wider community and across the globe.

By Terry Costello
Class Actions Presenter