| Norm Gallagher, born and raised in Melbourne, became a leading trade unionist as a result of his membership from 1951 with the Builders' Labourers' Federation [BLF]. By 1970, he was elected as the BLF's Victorian State Secretary and radically improved pay and conditions on building sites. His militant leadership style initially united union factions but later alienated the union from employers as well as the Victorian Labor Government and other union leaders. Following a royal commission into the BLF business affairs, it was deregistered and Gallagher was convicted and jailed for corruption and later finally ousted from his position as State Secretary in 1991. Norm Gallagher died in Melbourne on 26 August 1999. |
