Labour Slogans: Held in Common

Archive, #22 Organise & Mobilise, #22 Art & Comics / By
Sam Wallman
Sam Wallman is a comics-journalist, cartoonist and member of Workers Art Collective, based primarily on unceded Wurundjeri country, Melbourne. His graphic essays and agit-prop drawings have been published in the Guardian, the New York Times, the ABC and SBS. Sam is a committed unionist, having worked as an organiser for the National Union of Workers, and a delegate on the shop floor prior to that. He has drawn cartoons for over 100 unions and worker organisations around the world, and currently works out of a shared art studio in Melbourne’s Trades Hall, the world’s oldest union building. 
This comic has four pages of inked drawings and text on a white background. It is rendered in a graphic and dynamic style. Page one On the comic’s first page is three rows. There are two drawings on each row. The first drawing depicts a person with a dour face stomping on a surface propped up by lots of cartoon characters’ hands. The cartoon characters feature a child’s dummy that’s labelled ‘END OF CHILD LABOUR’, a baby’s bottle that’s labelled ‘PARENTAL LEAVE’, a calendar that’s labelled ‘WEEKENDS’, a band aid labelled ‘PAID SICK LEAVE’, a clock that’s labelled ‘BREAKS’, a cone that’s labelled ‘SAFETY AT WORK’ and ‘LESS DEATHS’, a coin that’s labelled ‘MINIMUM WAGE’, a clenched fist that’s labelled ‘DIGNITY AND RESPECT’, a briefcase that’s labelled ‘HOLIDAYS’, a helmet that’s labelled ‘HEALTHCARE’, a cash note that’s labelled ‘ANNUAL LEAVE, a watch that’s labelled with ‘EIGHT-HOUR DAY’ and ‘OVERTIME’, a coin stack that’s labelled with ‘PENSIONS’, a paper sheet that’s labelled with ‘UNFAIR DISMISSAL PROTECTION’ and a chain that’s marked with ‘COLLECTIVE BARGAINING’. In the left-hand corner is a sun glaring down upon the stomping figure. Text radiating around the stomping figure reads: ‘WHAT HAS THE UNION EVER DUN FOR ME?’ To the right of that is a drawing depicting two arms holding up a framed portrait. A variety of people are on either side and looking at the frame. Text emblazons the frame and banners that ripple across. It reads: ‘BUT YOU ARE THE UNION’. On the second row is a drawing of a courthouse building with featureless figures on either side. Some of the figures have fists in the air. Others have crossed arms and others are seated. Above the building are black and white clouds sparking with lightning. ‘WE WON’T WIN IN THE COURTS WHAT WE CAN’T HOLD AT THE GATES’ is inked across the drawing. Next to this is a drawing of a fight with lots of limbs poking out of a cloud. There’s a hand clutching a ‘STRIKE’ sign while another waves a flag saying: ‘CLASS STRUGGLE’. Another hand is holding a paper sheet that says: ‘PICKET ROSTER’ while another sheet says: ‘RIGHT OF ENTRY.’ A briefcase, bomb and money are also other motifs in the fight. Below this are the words: ‘JOHN CUMMINS B.L.F’. Circling the drawing is the text ‘YOU”RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST BLUE’. On the final row on the right is an image of a tied knot and a frayed rope. Around the tied knot are the words ‘UNITED WE BARGAIN’ in bold. Right next to the frayed rope is the phrase ‘DIVIDED WE BEG’. This font is scratchy and thinner in comparison. The last image on this row depicts a thick circle of cloth being guided into the earth by a group of hands. In the centre of this is the universe. Along the circle are the words: ‘CONDITIONS WAGES INDUSTRIAL MILITANCY SOLIDARITY CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS RIGHT TO STRIKE’. In the centre of the universe are the words ‘OURS TO MAINTAIN’. Shooting stars and planets glimmer alongside it.
Page two On the comic’s second page are three rows. There are two drawings on each row. The first drawing says: ‘TOUCH ONE TOUCH ALL’. Above the text is a balding person with sweat drops poking a person with a ‘UNION’ cap on. The finger is going through a portal-like hole in the person’s chest. Below the text is a range of different people with different hair and outfits. Each of these people has a finger touching them from above and bothering them. The drawing next to this on the right depicts a tangle of ribbons with flags and signs and a column rising out of it with the word ‘UNITY’ perched on top of it. The word ‘BEFORE’ runs down the column and ‘AGREEMENT’ is marked on this tangle of ribbon. All together it reads ‘UNITY BEFORE AGREEMENT’. A moon and a sun hang in the corners of this drawing. Underneath this is the words ‘DAVE KERIN’. The first image on the second row is a circle divided into four parts by a big cross with the words ‘MINIMUM EFFORT MINIMUM WAGE?’. In the first left-hand quarter is a person on break eating a cheeseboard. In the top quarter is a clerk in their underwear checking groceries out with a sickle and hammer on the checkout screen. The quarter on the left side shows a person placing dominos down across a surface with people watching in the background. In the bottom quarter is a person scrolling their phone with a mug of tea on the toilet. To the right is handwritten text that says: ‘MEASURE TWICE TWICE CUT ONCE’. It’s 3D text that curves down the panel with ‘ONCE’ split in two by ‘CUT’. The text casts a long shadow in the shape of a guillotine. The first image on the third row is energetic text that reads: ‘DOUBLE THE DOLE’. The font is made up lots of doubled up lettering with graphic lines and wriggles around it. The last image on this page shows a suited hand with a watch beckoning in the centre of a circle. A chain surrounds the circle with doorknobs poking through chain segments dividing it into four. At the top and bottom of the circle on two plaques says: ‘NO REPRESENTATION’ and ‘NO MEETING’. Small comic panels line the circle showing people in suits pointing at workers in several different situations. The workers all have worried and anxious expressions on their faces. In the centre in handwritten script is the text: ‘Don’t go into a meeting without a support person. It’s your legal right.’ Underneath this is text curved along the drawing that says: ‘TAKE A DELEGATE, SHOP STEWARD, ORGANISER OR FRIEND, AND A PEN AND PAPERT.’
Page three On the comic’s third page is three rows. There are two drawings on each row. The first row’s drawing shows a person in a frame with ropes tied around it. Parts of this show the universe with constellations shaped like tools. Two hands are shaping an infinity-sign-shaped stream of liquid. The person has two streams of galaxy streaming from their eyes while looking at two open hands. There’s text written across all components of the drawing saying: ‘EVERY WORKER SHOULD BE AN ORGANISER’. The next drawing on this row features a crowd of people. On the lefthand side are disgruntled people with scowls on their faces. On the righthand side is a group of people with helmets and beanies shouting and smiling. Two speech bubbles join to form a circle. The one on the top lefthand side says: ‘THEY DON’T LIKE US’ and has a white background. The bottom righthand bubble has a black background and says: ‘WE DON’T CARE’. In small text it says: ‘CHRISTY CAIN, MUA (VIA MILLIWALL F.C.) On the second row the first image is a tile that is made up of a diamond in the centre that says ‘IF YOU DON’T FIGHT YOU LOSE’. ‘FIGHT’ is at the centre of the diamond. Above the word is a wobbling set of scales and below it is a set of scales with cobwebs that’s lost one of its scales. In each corner is a punching fist with cracked stone triangles in each corner. There are pointed arrows in each corner giving the tile a three-dimensional appearance. The next drawing on this row shows a person with an arm in a sling. Another person has their arm around them and is saying in big speech bubbles: ‘YOU FUCKED HIM YOU FIX HIM’. Their arm is both in a cupped gesture and is pointing towards a sweaty balding person in a suit with bulging eyes. In a curved box in handwritten script is: ‘BLF leader John Cummins reflects on the employer’s obligations regarding work safety.’ On the last row is a person looking nauseous with a hand over their mouth and the other in a fist. In the background is the union flag with angry eyes on it and a figure in a Hazmat suit. The words ‘UNION BUSTING IS DISGUSTING’ encircles this scene. To the right of this is a black amorphous shape. On top of it in white text is ‘DOES THE UNION MOVEMENT HAVE AN UNCONSCIOUS DEATH WISH?’
Page four On the comic’s fourth and last page is three rows. There are two drawings on each row. This final page is dominated by the colour black. On the first row is an image of a cornucopia of fresh produce on a platter. At closer glance one can see some tickets, a champagne cork, a diamond-encrusted dildo and some lines of unidentified powder next to a baggie. Across this panel is written: ‘NOTHING IS TOO GOOD FOR THE WORKING CLASS’. Next to this is a square with a huge X across it. On the X is emblazoned: ‘USING’ and ‘BUILDS’ with ‘POWER’ overlapping it. It reads: ‘USING POWER BUILDS POWER’. In the bottom lefthand corner it says in handwriting: ‘PEOPLE THINK THAT POWER IS A LIMITED RESOURCE BUT USING POWER BUILDS POWER. SARA NELSON, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS.’ It depicts strike-related scenarios in white line drawings throughout with words like ‘OCCUPATION’, ‘PICKET’, ‘SUPPLY CHAIN INTERVENTION’, ‘WORK BANS’, ‘GO-SLOW’, ‘OVERTIME BAN’, ‘SIT-IN’, ‘STOPPAGE’, ‘WORKPLACE VOTE’, ‘MASS MEETING’ and ‘WORK TO-RULE’. On the next row is the phrase ‘RE-ENERGISE OUR UNION’ on a night sky background. ‘RENERGISE OUR’ is illustrated in lightning striking a sign that says ‘UNION’. There are signs depicting each direction on this sign. At the bottom on the left are some faint dunes with a moon-lit ocean on the righthand side. The drawing to the right of this depicts the repeated phrase: ‘STRIKES BEGET STRIKES’ in white. It’s written in recurring circles creating a spiralling effect. On the last row in the first panel is a scene of a cyclist moving past a cityscape. In the background you can see a looming moon and clouds. On the righthand side a factory is leaking smoke across the sky. On the lefthand side is the silhouette of houses and apartments. A road winds into the horizon. The word: ‘DIGNITY’ moves across the panel. Next to this is a panel showing two figures talking. They are slightly distorted. The figure on the left has a hand to their chin and appears deep in thought. The person to the right has a big grin and a vacant stare. Scrawled in the centre is: ‘NO TICKET NO START.’ Underneath that is a star that says: ‘THIS IS A CLOSED SHOP’. In white text underneath that is the text: ‘UNION MEMBERSHIP IS NOT AN OPTIONAL ADD-ON: IT IS THE REASON THIS IS AN ALMOST-OKAY PLACE TO WORK.’

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