Browse Entries

Trade Union entry Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia (i) (1945 - 1948)

  • Click to view details about this Image

    Chart 7: Trade Unions - Building, Construction, Mining and Timber Industries
    Details

From
1945
To
1948
Functions
Trade Union (Federal)
Reference No
Deregistered [was 015N]

Summary

The Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia traces its parentage to the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, which in the 19th Century was a branch of the English union of the same name. By 1911, the union had registered federally and was known as the Australian District of Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners. In 1922, following an influx of members from the soon-to-be deregistered Australian Society of Progressive Carpenters & Joiners, the union became known as the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners of Australia. Near the end of World War Two, the AS of C & J became the Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia. The BWIU was deregistered in 1948. An anti-communist faction of this union established a new Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners in 1950 which eventually became part of the Australian Workers' Union. However, the Building Workers' Industrial Union was not formed again until 1962. In 1991 the BWIU amalgamated with the timber unions to eventually form the Construction, Forestry, Mining Employees' Union in 1992 as its Building Workers Industrial Union Division.

Timeline

 1911 - 1922 Australian District of Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners
       1922 - 1945 Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners of Australia (i)
             1945 - 1948 Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia (i)

Archival resources

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

  • Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia, Newcastle - Correspondence, 1948 - 1961, A5157-A5171; Archives Rare Books and Special Collections Unit, Auchmuty Library, University of Newcastle. Details

Fryer Library and Department of Special Collections, University of Queensland

  • Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia - Records, 1909 - 1977, UQFL 199; Fryer Library and Department of Special Collections, University of Queensland. Details

James Cook University of North Queensland, Library Archives

  • Building Workers' Industrial Union, Townsville - Records, 1934 - 1948, 409-414L; James Cook University of North Queensland, Library Archives. Details

John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland

  • Building Workers Industrial Union Records, 1953 - 1984, R 374; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details

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

  • Western Australian Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners' Industrial Union of Workers, Perth Branch - Records, 1897-1973, 1900 - 1948, ACC 3266A; JS Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia. Details

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

  • Don McDonald interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1994, ORAL TRC 3128/7; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Jack Ferguson interviewed by Frank Farrell in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1986, ORAL TRC 1948/18; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Pat Clancy interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1985 - 1986, ORAL TRC 1948/6; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program

  • Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia - Records, 1870 - 1988, Z316; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia - Records, 1927 - 1995, Z392; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia - Records, 1870 - 1981, Z291; Z534; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia - Records, 1924 - 1984, Z253; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia - Records, 1913 - 1991, Z285; Z534 (pt); The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details

The University of Melbourne Archives

  • Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia, Victorian Branch - Records, 1925 - 1966, 1977.0049; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

University of Wollongong Archives

  • Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia - 'Don't let the Crimes Bill take away democratic rights', 1960, A937; University of Wollongong Archives. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Davis, Edward M., Democracy in Australian Unions: A Comparative Study of Six Unions, Allen and Unwin, North Sydney, New South Wales, 1987, 243 pp. Details
  • Mitchell, G., On Strong Foundations; The BWIU and Industrial Relations in the Australian Construction Industry 1942-1992, Harcourt Brace, Sydney, 1996, 368 pp. Details
  • True, Paul, It must be true - it's in the papers! Building Workers and the Press: 160 years of Anti-Union Propaganda, CFMEU (Construction and General Division). NSW Branch, Sydney, 1999, 47 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Henderson, D., 'A Proud History: History of the Building Workers' Industrial Union', Building Worker, vol. 13, no. 1, 1987, pp. 11-12. Details

Online Resources

Digital resources

Title
Chart 7: Trade Unions - Building, Construction, Mining and Timber Industries
Type
Image

Details

Bruce A. Smith