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Trade Union entry Australian Workers Union (i) (1905 - 1976)

AWU

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    Chart 22: Trade Unions - Rural Industries. Infrastructure and Manufacturing - Metals and General
    Details

From
1905
To
1976
Functions
Trade Union (Federal)
Reference No
002N

Summary

The Australian Workers' Union [AWU] has its origins in the establishment of the Australasian Shearers' Union in Creswick in 1886. Having registered federally in 1905 as the Australian Workers' Union, it initially sought to serve unskilled rural workers such as shearers and general labourers and eventually grew to be politically influential within the Australian Labor Party. Increasing in size as members from deregistered unions such as the South Australian United Laborers' Union, the Australian Carriers' Union and the Australian Gardeners & Nursery Employees' Union were absorbed into the fold, the AWU postured itself as the 'One Big Union' of Australian trade unionism. In 1976 the union was reregistered following an amalgamation with the Wool & Basil Workers' Federation of Australia. The Union was again reregistered in 1988 when it merged with the Undertakers' Assistants & Cemetery Employees' Union. A final amalgamation in 1993 with Federation of Industrial Manufacturing & Engineering Employees brought about the AWU-FIME Amalgamated Union.

Timeline

 1888 - 1889 Central Queensland Labourers Union
       1886 - 1887 Bourke Shearers Union
       1886 - 1887 Australian Shearers Union
       1886 - 1887 Wagga Shearers Union
       1886 - 1888 Moree Shearers Union
       1886 - 1888 South Australian Shearers Union
       1887 - 1892 Queensland Shearers Union
       1889 - 1892 Queensland Labourers Union
             1883? - 1941 United Laborers Protective Society of New South Wales
             1887 - 1894 Amalgamated Shearers Union of Australasia
             1891 - 1894 General Labourers Union of Australasia
             1892 - 1904 Amalgamated Workers Union of Queensland
             1908 - 1922 Factory Employees Union of Australasia
             1910 - 1913 Amalgamated Workers Association of Queensland
             1912 - 1950 Australian Carriers Union
                   1905 - 1976 Australian Workers Union (i)
                         1976 - 1988 Australian Workers Union (ii)
                               1988 - 1993 Australian Workers Union (iii)
                                     1993 - AWU-FIME Amalgamated Union

Archival resources

Archives Office of Tasmania

  • Australian Workers Union - Membership Tickets, 1912 - 1952, NS1115; Archives Office of Tasmania. Details
  • Personal, Ministerial and Political Papers of Neil L. C. Batt, 1879 - 1978, NS603; Archives Office of Tasmania. Details

Archives Rare Books and Special Collections Unit, Auchmuty Library, University of Newcastle

  • Australian Workers Union - Printed Material, 1959 - 1969, A5055; Archives Rare Books and Special Collections Unit, Auchmuty Library, University of Newcastle. Details

James Cook University of North Queensland, Library Archives

  • Queensland Premier's and Chief Secretary's Office Records, c. 1927 - ?, 66L; James Cook University of North Queensland, Library Archives. Details
  • Valentine Bambrick Collection, 1897 - 1899, VB/1-VB/7; James Cook University of North Queensland, Library Archives. Details

John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library

JS Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia

  • Council for Membership Control of A.W.U - Files, 1959-1970, 1959 - 1970, MN 1440; JS Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia. Details

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • George Waite papers, 1885-1926, 1885 - 1926, MLMSS 208; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • Records, 1945, A2159; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • Timothy James O'Sullivan papers, MLMSS 57 (A2886); Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Australian Workers Union - Records, 1922, 1922, MS 7089; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Certificate, 1894 Oct. 3, issued to Frank Henderson from the Australian Worker's Union, 1894, MS 648; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Papers of Bob Pringle, 1972-1990, 1972 - 1990, MS 7669; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Papers of Clyde Cameron, circa 1924-2007, c. 1924 - c. 2007, MS 4614; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Papers of E.G. Theodore, 1906-circa 1989, 1906 - 1972, MS 7222; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Tom Brislan - A maverick among Marxists, 1973, 1910 - 1973, MFM G 23067; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

  • Barry Egan interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1988, ORAL TRC 1948/37; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Charlie Oliver interviewed by Bob Carr, 1982, ORAL TRC 988; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Folkloric recording : John and Sue Kenna talk, recorded by Alan Scott and Kevin Baker, 1989, ORAL TRC 2581/13; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Jack McPhillips interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1985, ORAL TRC 1948/4; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Joseph Debrincat interviewed by Barry York in the Maltese Australian folklife and social history project, 1984, ORAL TRC 3582/5; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Mel Pratt Collection - Clyde Cameron interviewed by Mel Pratt, 1971 - 1988, ORAL TRC 121/24; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Parliaments' Oral History Project: Interview with Donald Newton Cameron - Interviewer, Bruce Edwards, 1988, ORAL TRC 4900/81; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Parliaments' Oral History Project: Interview with Robert Herbert (Bert) Lacey, former Senator - Interviewer, Peter MacFie, 1984, ORAL TRC 4900/106; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program

  • Australian Workers Union - Records, 1887 - 1970, E161; M46; E161A; P 52; M50; M51; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Australian Workers Union - Records, 1914 - 1968, M47; M49; P50; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Australian Workers Union - Records, 1881 - 1986, E154; E158; N117; P33; M44; M45; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Clyde Cameron Papers, 1944 - 1947, P81; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Edgar Willliams Papers, 1956 - 1969, P62; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union of Australia - Records, 1913 - 1983, Z481; Z370 (pt); The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • James Docherty Papers, 1971 - 1974, P106; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Malcolm Robertson Papers, c. 1911 - c. 1957, Z576; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Tom Brislan Papers, 1910 - 1972, M67; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details

State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection

  • James J Griffiths - Papers, 1943-1962, 1943 - 1962, http://catalogue.slv.vic.gov.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1635543; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details
  • Patrick Winfield - Papers, ca. 1910-1930, c. 1910 - 1930, MS 12023; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details
  • Rupert Perrett - Scrapbooks, 1915-1970, c. 1915 - c. 1970, MS 9908; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details
  • Vincent Nesfield - Papers, ca. 1922-1932, c. 1922 - 1932, MS 12979; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details
  • William Guthrie Spence - Papers, 1871 - 1927, MS 9917; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details

The University of Melbourne Archives

  • Australian Workers' Union, Casterton Strike Committee - Records, 1956 - 1962, 1983.0067; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
  • Australian Workers' Union, Victorian/Riverina Branch - Records, 1908 - 1970, 1980.0090; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
  • Australian Workers' Union, Victorian/Riverina Branch - Records, 1972 - , 1996.0043; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
  • Australian Workers' Union, Victorian/Riverina Branch - Records, 1965 - 1990, 1993.0042; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
  • Australian Workers' Union, Victorian/riverina Branch - Records, 1955 - 1975, 1986.0140; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

University of Wollongong Archives

  • Australian Workers Union - Annual Report and Balance Sheet, 1917, A32; University of Wollongong Archives. Details
  • Australian Workers' Union - Basic Wage Case, 1939, A368; University of Wollongong Archives. Details
  • Australian Workers' Union, 40 Hour Week Campaign 1938-46 - Records, 1938 - 1946, C25; University of Wollongong Archives. Details
  • Australian Workers' Union, Council for Membership Control 1959-72 - Records, 1959 - 1972, C10; University of Wollongong Archives. Details
  • Leonard Boardman - Unemployed Workers' Movement, 1929 - 1933, B9; University of Wollongong Archives. Details
  • Lewis George McKay Collection, 1944 - 1975, D120; University of Wollongong Archives. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Hearn, Mark and Knowles, Harry, One Big Union: A History of the Australian Workers' Union 1886-1994, Cambridge University Press, Oakleigh, Victoria, 1996, 377 pp. Details
  • Hughes, Helen, The Australian Iron and Steel Industry, 1848-1962, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1964, 213 pp. Details
  • MacPherson, J., The Early History of the Australian Workers' Union, Victorian and Riverina Branch of the AWU, Melbourne, 1943, 24 pp. Details
  • Merritt, John, The Making of the AWU, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1986, 432 pp. Details
  • Spence, W.G., History of the AWU, The Worker Trustees, Sydney, 1961, 125 pp. Details
  • Tsokhas, K., Employer Organizations and the Australia Workers' Union in Transition, Working Papers in Economic History, No. 113, Australian National University, Canberra, 1988, 385 pp. Details
  • Williams, Cecil Wallace Edgar, Yellow, green and red, Worker Newspaper, Brisbane, 1967, 408 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Hagan, James, 'Unions: Context and Perspective 1850-1980', in Ford, Bill and Plowman, David (eds), Australian Unions: an Industrial Perspective, 1983, pp. 30-58. Details

Edited Books

  • Murphy, D.J. (ed.), The Big Strikes, Queensland 1889-1965, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, Queensland, 1983, 303 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Cameron, Clyde, 'When Incompetence and Corruption Merge: the AWU and the World Newspaper', Labour History, vol. 70, 1996, pp. 169-181. Details
  • Coward, D., 'Crime and Punishment', Labour History, vol. 24, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1973, pp. 51-80. Details
  • Deery, P., 'Chifley, the Army and the 1949 Coal Strike', Labour History, vol. 68, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1995, pp. 80-97. Details
  • Guyatt, J., 'The Labor Government and the Queensland Shearers' Strike of 1956', Labour History, vol. 33, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1977, pp. 53-64. Details
  • Hearn, M., 'Mates and Strangers: The Ethos of the Australian Workers Union', Australian Labour History Reconsidered, Australian Humanities Press, Adelaide, 1999, pp. 18-37. Details
  • Higgins, E.M., 'Queensland Labor: Trade Unionists versus Premiers', Historical Studies: Australia and New Zealand, vol. 9, no. 34, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1960, pp. 140-155. Details
  • Hope, Deborah, 'AWU: 100 Turbulent Years at the Barricades', The Bulletin, vol. 11, 1986, pp. 60-66. Details
  • Hunt, D., 'Exclusivism and Unionism', Labour History, vol. 35, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1978, pp. 80-95. Details
  • Kennedy, K.H., 'The South Johnstone Strike and Railway Lockout, 1927', Labour History, vol. 31, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1976, pp. 1-13. Details
  • Palmer, D., 'Too many men on the scrapheap: Mining Union Struggles over Health and Safety at Broken Hill and Mount Isa Between the World Wars', Australian Labour History Reconsidered, Australian Humanities Press, Adelaide, 1999, pp. 51-74. Details
  • Rimmer, Malcolm, 'Long-run Structural Change in Australian Trade Unionism', Journal of Industrial Relations, 1981, pp. 323-343. Details
  • Sheldon, Peter, 'System and Strategy: The Changing Shape of Unionism among NSW Construction Labourers, 1910-19', Labour History, vol. 65, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1993, pp. 115-135. Details
  • Sheridan, Tom, 'A Case Study in Complexity: The Origins of the 1945 Steel Strike in New South Wales', Labour History, vol. 41, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1981, pp. 105-109. Details
  • Sheridan, Tom, 'The 1945 Steel Strike: Trade Unions, The New Order and Mr Chifley', Labour History, vol. 42, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1982, pp. 1-26. Details
  • Sykes, Edward I., 'Mount Isa Affair', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 7, no. 3, 1965, pp. 265-280. Details
  • Tsokhas, Kosmas, 'The Shearing Labour Process, 1900-1914', Labour History, vol. 59, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1990, pp. 87-103. Details
  • Way, Nicholas, 'Union Solidarity over Weipa Hides a Split', Business Review Weekly, no. 27, 1995, p. 20. Details
  • Young, I., 'Changes within the NSW Branch of the Australian Workers Union 1919-1924', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 6, no. 1, 1964, pp. 51-60. Details
  • Young, I., 'NSW One Big Union, 1918-1919', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 6, no. 3, 1964, pp. 226-238. Details

Online Resources

  • 'Chart 22: Trade Unions - Rural Industries. Infrastructure and Manufacturing - Metals and General', in Parties to the Award, 2002, http://www.atua.org.au/ptta/043.html. Details
  • Hearn, Mark, AWU History, Australian Workers Union, New South Wales Branch. Details

See also

  • Blackmur, Douglas, 'Arbitration, Legislation and Industrial Peace: Queensland in the Reconstruction Years', Labour History, vol. 63, 1992, pp. 115-134. Details
  • Eklund, Erik, 'The 'Place' of Politics: Class and Localist Politics at Port Kembla, 1900-30', Labour History, vol. 78, 2000, pp. 94-115. Details
  • Lansbury, Coral, 'William Guthrie Spence', Labour History, vol. 13, 1967, pp. 3-10. Details
  • Markey, Ray, 'Women and Labour, 1880-1900', in Windschuttle, Elizabeth (ed.), Women, Class and History : Feminist Perspectives on Australia, 1788-1978, Australian Humanities Press, Adelaide, 1980, pp. 83-111. Details
  • Martinez, Julia, 'Questioning "White Australia": Unionism and "Coloured" Labour, 1911-37', Labour History, vol. 76, 1999, p. 43466. Details
  • Pervan, R., 'Leadership Influence on the Nature of the Political Party: The Case of the W.A. Branch of the A.L.P. in the 'thirties', Labour History, vol. 19, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1970, pp. 37-54. Details
  • Proctor, S.K., 'The Rise and Decline of the Australian Building Industry Employees' Union in Brisbane 1912-1918', Labour History, vol. 13, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1967, pp. 26-32. Details
  • Rawson, J., 'Industrial Relations in the Australian Paper-makers Union 1900-1952', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 5, no. 1, 1963, pp. 38-52. Details
  • Woodward, A.E., 'Industrial Relations 1966-1967', Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 9, no. 2, 1967, pp. 97-106. Details
  • Young, I., The Impact of J.T. Lang on the N.S.W. Labor Party 1929-43 (MA Thesis), University of New South Wales, Sydney, 1963, 120-129 pp. Details

Digital resources

Title
Chart 22: Trade Unions - Rural Industries. Infrastructure and Manufacturing - Metals and General
Type
Image

Details

Bruce A. Smith