Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

Thousands Farewell John Cummins, a union hero who dared to win

Vale John Cummins 26-8-1948 to 29-8-2006
Tuesday 5 September 2006

 
Thousands of people turned out to farewell John Cummins as the union leader was laid to rest on Monday 4th September 2006.

Farewell John Cummins
Unionists farewell John Cummins on a final march through the streets of Melbourne
They came in their thousands to honour a man who had dedicated his life to the struggle for working class people, a man who had been persecuted for his commitment to justice. A man who’d been an inspirational leader and teacher to many.

 

John Cummins led them on a final, silent march through the heart of Melbourne, a city as shaped by his influence over the past thirty years as it has by anyone’s. Earlier, they gathered at the Regent Theatre, an appropriate setting as it was Cummins who led the fight to save the majestic building in the 70s. 

 

They came to pay tribute to a man who had always been at the forefront of the fight for working people’s rights and who had been jailed for doing so.

 

It was a fitting send-off for Comrade Cummins and a powerful reminder of what it means to be a unionist. The Regent Theatre was full, many who couldn’t get a seat stood in the aisles as Father Peter Norden conducted the service which reflected upon his life and achievements.

 

John’s sons, Mick and Shane, spoke movingly of their father and his love and commitment to his family, and the lessons he’d taught them through the years.

His brother-in-law, John, told of the times they’d shared as young activists in the rough-and-tumble world of Melbourne left-wing politics.

His sister, Jan, and brother, Geoff, joked that he was always trying to get them to speak at large gatherings and that this would be the biggest ever.

All paid tribute to a larger-than-life figure with a sharp sense of humour and a strong sense of justice.

 

John Cummins was President of the Victorian Branch of the CFMEU and prior to that had been the final Secretary of the BLF before the two unions amalgamated. He was a fierce union warrior, jailed twice for ignoring a judges warning not to attend building sites. As he wrote to his young son Mick while in prison at the time, “I reckon if I don’t tell the judge how to do his job, he shouldn’t tell me how to do mine”.

 

Following the service the assembly marched up Swanston St with fists raised as a final salute to their comrade. The march paused at the CFMEU office before heading to Trades Hall where they were led in a rousing chorus of union chants as a final farewell.

 

John Cummins is survived by wife Diane and sons Mick and Shane.


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