The first combined conference of the MUA and the CFMEU appears to have given fresh momentum to the planned merger between the two militant unions, while a new Left-Right union alliance has emerged within the WA branch of the ALP.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has upbraided new ACTU leader Sally McManus for expressing her support for key affiliate the CFMEU's flouting of "unjust" IR laws.
The AWU is considering the creation of a "social membership" category for supporters of the organisation and its campaigns on industrial, social and economic matters.
The CFMEU will stage a national protest over the re-establishment of the ABCC next week as part of its broader campaign against the Turnbull Government's workplace reform agenda.
It's the labour movement equivalent of the corporate skunkworks: a new union within the Australian Workers Union that doesn't look anything like its distinctly un-hip parent.
The AWU kicks off its biennial conference today, with new national secretary Daniel Walton seeking to revive falling membership and protect jobs in key industry segments rather than pursue mergers with other unions. Meanwhile, the FWC has been questioning the "integrity" of the union’s reported membership numbers for the five years to 2014.
CFMEU construction and general division Victorian branch secretary John Setka has threatened to withdraw support for the Andrews Labor State Government in protest at ministers "promoting and supporting" major construction company Grocon.