Two unions are threatening to walk away from Daniel Andrews’ faction of the Labor Party if the firefighters’ union and its secretary, Peter Marshall, are kicked out for campaigning against the Victorian government in key marginal seats.

The Socialist Left faction has taken the unprecedented step of moving to expel the leader of the United Firefighters Union (UFU) over fears his campaign urging voters to put Labor last could jeopardise the party’s re-election in November.

Firefighters union chief Peter Marshall is highly likely to be expelled from the Labor Party’s Socialist Left faction. Credit:Chris Hopkins

The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) both said they would strongly consider leaving the faction in solidarity with Marshall if he is expelled, which is highly likely.

The UFU would continue to be affiliated with the Labor Party but would no longer have a vote in Socialist Left preselections or the ability to influence party policy. Marshall could join another faction.

Union officials say the UFU’s feud with the Andrews government was “abhorrent” while Marshall has accused the premier of trying to silence him.

“It seems to me that Daniel Andrews has called upon some of his little friends in the ALP Socialist Left faction to engage in what could only be described as schoolyard bullying,” Marshall told The Age.

“This behaviour does not intimidate, frighten, or in any way deter me from vigorously defending and representing UFU members.

“To me, being expelled from the Socialist Left faction in Victoria would have the same effect as being expelled from the local crochet club.

“In other words, it has no effect. In fact, the local crochet club probably serves a greater purpose.”

One Labor source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the premier was not involved in the push to expel the UFU from the Socialist Left.

The UFU’s posters in Richmond. Credit:

The latest flashpoint in Victorian Labor’s bitter infighting could cause damage to a party still reeling from a branch stacking scandal that ended the careers of former ministers and led to a factional purge of sitting MPs.

Paul Conway from the AMIEU and Ray Gorman from the CWU both said they would strongly consider leaving the Socialist Left if Marshall and the UFU were removed.

Conway said: “If the motion passes to expel Peter Marshall from the SL [Socialist Left] unions, then the Vic branch of the AMIEU will seriously consider if we remain part of the SL moving forward.”

Gorman said: “If Peter goes, I will be advocating to my branch committee management that we follow suit. As far as I’m concerned, I think it’s just a couple of empire builders in the Socialist Left trying to get themselves going at this stage.”

Firefighters’ backed Daniel Andrews in 2014.Credit:Jason South

Socialist Left Unions, made up of nine unions, circulated a motion on Thursday to expel the UFU from the Victorian faction because Marshall has been campaigning heavily against the government’s decision to expand a firefighters’ cancer compensation scheme to 90 vehicle and equipment maintenance officers.

The UFU has argued firefighters are more prone to developing certain kinds of cancers and expanding the compensation scheme could undermine firefighters’ ability to get compensation.

The Age revealed earlier this year that UFU members and their supporters would saturate Richmond – and 15 other marginal seats – with a letterbox campaign targeting homes and businesses until the election. Marshall has warned dozens of Labor MPs and candidates that firefighters would tell voters that “only the Greens and independents supported firefighters”.

Many in the Labor Party are livid with Marshall’s pushback against the expanded compensation scheme. The group of unions moving the motion say his campaign is not only “to the absolute detriment” of the maintenance staff but that it could put in jeopardy “everything the group has fought for and won over the last eight years of the Victorian state government”.

“What SL [Socialist Left] unions have never stood for … is one of our unions campaigning to the detriment of another group of workers,” the motion said.

“The actions of the United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall to not just publicly campaign against this outcome but to do so without any consultation … were abhorrent.

“The secretary of a trade union actively campaigning against the right for a group of blue-collar workers to be protected if they contract cancer is not something that I thought that I would witness in my time as a union official.”

The faction’s motion was moved by Tony Mavromatis from the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and seconded by Troy Gray from the Electrical Trades Union.

Daniel Andrews with ETU leader Troy Grey (left) and other union movement leaders at a rally in Melbourne in 2018.Credit:Justin McManus

Unions need to be “disciplined and work collectively to progress to improve working conditions for all workers”, Mavromatis said.

Under the party’s internal rules, unions are not bound to campaign for the Labor Party if they believe the objectives go against their members.

Marshall has been secretary of the UFU for almost 30 years and is a formidable campaigner. He mobilised firefighters for Andrews during the 2014 election and has claimed that booths where his members were campaigning resulted in a 3 to 5 per cent swing towards the ALP.

He fell out with Andrews and the government over the 2016 enterprise bargaining negotiations.

A Victorian government spokeswoman said the compensation scheme was expanded to a small number of additional workers and did not diminish any existing protections.

”Our volunteer and career firefighters and staff dedicate themselves to keeping Victorians safe in dangerous conditions,” she said. “We take our responsibility to provide the support they need to do this job seriously – these reforms reflect that responsibility.“

Gray and Andrews did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.

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