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Trade Union entry Melbourne Typographical Society (1867 - 1916)

From
1867
Victoria
To
1916
Functions
Trade Union (State or Territory only)

Summary

Established in 1867 by compositors and pressmen in Melbourne's daily newspaper offices and large printing firms, the Melbourne Typographical Society [MTS] also included into its fold less well-paid tradesmen in smaller printeries who were susceptible to seasonal unemployment and 'sweating'. With a stated aim of overcoming such exploitations the MTS grew in size and stature to become a powerful and wealthy organisation, playing a prominent role in the affairs of the Melbourne Trades Hall Council and the Victorian Labor Party.

Reconstituted in 1916 as the Victorian Typographical Society [VTS], it continued to oppose moves to merge into a federal body until 1921 when it became evident that the Victorian system of wages boards had less to offer than the national body. Only then did the VTS become part of the federal union, the previously established Printing Industry Employees' Union of Australia.

Operating until 1966, the Printing Industry Employees' Union of Australia eventually changed its name to the Printing & Kindred Industries Union. In 1986 the Printing & Kindred Industries Union amalgamated with the Federated Photo Engravers, and in 1992 with the Victorian Printers Operatives' Union and although it was impelled to reregister each time, it remained in name the Printing & Kindred Industries Union [PKIU]. In 1995 the PKIU amalgamated with the Automotive Food Metals and Engineering Union to form the Automotive Food Metals Engineering Printing & Kindred Industries Union, otherwise known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union.

Timeline

 1867 - 1916 Melbourne Typographical Society
       1916 - 1921 Victorian Typographical Society

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

  • Printing and Kindred Industries Union, Victorian Branch - Records, 1901 - 1993, 1995.0104; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
  • Printing and Kindred Industries Union, Victorian Branch - Records, 1867 - 1974, 1994.0162; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Fitzgerald, R.T., The Printers of Melbourne: The History of a Union, Pitman in association with Printing and Kindred Industries Union, Melbourne, 1967, 173 pp. Details
  • Hagan, James, Printers and Politics: A History of the Australian Printing Unions 1850-1950, Australian National University Press in association with the Printing and Kindred Industries Union, Canberra, 1966, 386 pp. Details

See also

  • Hagan, James, 'Employers, Trade Unions and the First Victorian Factory Acts', Labour History, vol. 7, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1964, pp. 3-10. Details

Ross G. Elford