A CTU porkie

In the CTU submission on the Lobbying Disclosure Bill, they said:

This submission is made on behalf of the 37 unions affiliated to the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi (CTU). With some 350,000 members, the CTU is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand.

There is a minor and a major porkie here. The minor porkie is that they have 37 members, not 350,000. They are a council of unions, not an organisation that members join directly. No member has the option of deciding whether or not the CTU gets a portion of their fee. Only the union as a whole decide swhether to join and pay.

But even putting aside that minor porkie, let’s say they do have 350,000 members. Does that make them the largest democratic organisation in NZ?

Not by a long way. The NZ Automobile Association has 1,329,572 members. Around four times as many.

So I hope the CTU will cease and desist making false claims.