Unite is a trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 established in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The union is not registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. Its secretary is Anthony Main, a Socialist Party member. Its inspiration is the Unite Union

Unite Union

The Unite Union is a trade union in New Zealand. It is the sponsor of the campaign directed towards improving working conditions for fast food workers in the country, in addition to representing other hospitality and retail workers...

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

Unite has stated its goal is to organise young workers in fast food and retail in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. Its establishment has angered the union with registered coverage of these workers, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association is the largest trade union in Australia with more than 230,000 members and branches in every state and one in the Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Central Coast region. The SDA is the union for retail and fast-food workers, but does have other...

 (SDA). It argues that having a rival union will create disunity when the focus should be on John Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

 and WorkChoices

WorkChoices

The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...

. Michael Donovan, Victorian SDA Secretary, said that the "...SDA is the union to look after the interests of young people in the retail industry and fast-food industry..."

Unite has stated that it believes the SDA to be a "weak union that prefers to cosy up to the bosses instead of fighting for young peoples’ rights at work."

External links

• Official website
• Green Left Weekly article on the union
• Solidarity article
• Green Left Weekly article attacking the SDA - Young workers need fighting Unions