Union organiser describes 'sinister' comments from rival union members

A union organiser has described a harrowing confrontation with members of a rival union near a Brisbane work site, where he claims they made sinister comments about his young family.

James Downie, an organiser with the Australian Workers Union, told a Queensland inquiry that the incident occurred during a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation by the CFMEU against members of his union.

Confrontation near Brisbane work site

In mid-2023, Mr Downie and a colleague visited the Cross River Rail development in Woolloongabba, where they were allegedly set upon by a large group of CFMEU members.

The CFMEU men reportedly screamed insults at them as they tried to exit the site, ripped at Mr Downie's backpack, and started shoving him as he tried to cross Stanley Street and into the safety of a nearby shopping centre.

As he crossed, Mr Downie said he was nearly pushed into traffic.

“They charged at me with such force that I was bumped off the pedestrian walkway and there was a large truck … coming at me,” he said.

“I had to throw my body back at the pedestrian crossing to get back onto the street, because if I hadn’t, I would’ve been hit by the truck.”

He said the truck was so close he felt the wind on his backpack.

“After that I just started running,” he said.

Sinister comments about family

Mr Downie told the inquiry that the CFMEU mob cornered the two AWU representatives at the stairs leading into the shopping centre, an incident captured on CCTV and played to the hearing.

During this interaction, Mr Downie said the CFMEU men were trying to goad him into fighting them.

When he refused, Mr Downie said they asked: “Is that what you teach your kids?”

He said he told the men he had no kids, to which he says one replied, “we know you have two sons”.

“Then they gave the name of my sons and where they went to school, and to daycare, and my patterns and what I did in my personal life,” he said.

Counsel assisting the inquiry asked Mr Downie what he was thinking at that moment.

“That my job had crossed over to my personal life, and I’d brought danger to my family,” he responded.

Delegates blocked from visiting members

The inquiry heard about several hostile interactions between the CFMEU and AWU around this time.

On several occasions CFMEU members physically blocked AWU delegates from entering sites to visit their members.

Some of these interactions were captured on phone footage and played to the hearing.

During these incidents, large groups of CFMEU members can be heard yelling insults at the AWU delegates and daring them to try and push past their blockades.

Mr Downie said on one occasion, out the front of the Cultural Centre bus stop upgrade, he was told “take a step forward, you’re not getting through, I’m a boxing champion, I’ll put you out straight away”.

Fearing for their safety, Mr Downie said they decided to leave without visiting members.