The 1938 Dalfram dispute involved dock workers at Port Kembla in Australia striking & refusing to load iron on a ship bound for Japan in 1938.
Learn about the maritime strike in the Torres Strait Islands in 1936 where workers in the pearl fishing industry took a stand against racism.
About the different union campaigns for wage equality for First Nations workers in Australia in the 1960s.
On 21 April in 1856, building workers in Melbourne took strike action and won the eight-hour day as a general industry standard.
31 August is Equal Pay Day-Australian unions have a long history of campaigning for gender equality & for the economic independence of women workers.
The first nation-wide meeting of unions in Australia took place in October 1879. It was called the Intercolonial Trade Union Congress.
Learn about the history of maternity leave in Australia in the 1970s and the role of the Australian unions.
On 3 November 2013, the legendary unionist Brian Manning passed away after a lifetime in the struggle. The union movement is proud to remember him and his extraordinary contribution to the cause of social justice.
Lyndy McIntyre, author of "Power to Win: the living wage movement in Aotearoa New Zealand" presented on the innovative approach of their model of campaigning and how they pressed case and built the power needed for low-paid workers to win.
This workshop, the third in a Futures Network series on AI, explored areas where unions could use ChatGPT and other AI, machine learning and large language models for growth, communications, campaigning and operations.
In this webinar, we hear from a panel of unionists on what they have learned about recruiting and attracting student members and converting them into ongoing membership of their unions
This webinar looks at how to combine data with digital tools to produce usable recruitment lists, and how automated tools can help to turn a ‘maybe’ into a new member, as well as marketing automation tools that can be used in combination with insights about members to craft efficient and effective onboarding and member journeys.
The ACTU Insights Team provided a summary of insights collected through their New Member Join Research program, conducted with new union members across the movement, focused on understanding their initial onboarding expectations and experiences, at the one month and three month mark of joining. The Insights team was joined on a panel by affiliates giving short outlines of the onboarding journeys they are implementing and their experiences so far.
Learn more about legendary union activist, leader and organiser Emma Miller, who was born on the 26th of June 1839.
Distinguished Professor Anthony Forsyth (RMIT College of Business and Law, author of The Future of Unions and Worker Representation - The Digital Picket Line) and Alison Rudman (Secretary, CFMEU Manufacturing NSW and PhD candidate, University of Sydney) talk about their work on case studies of union strategy, with a particular focus on how unions build and exercise power.
AI is taking the world by storm, and revolutionising the world of work in the process. Unions, like every sector of society, will need to find effective ways to respond. Across three workshops in September, October, and November, the Futures Network explored some of the most pressing questions relevant for unions in this emerging space. In this, the first of the series, a panel outlined key recent developments, how they impact workers and what needs to be considered in unions’ response.
Over the course of 2023, new and innovative tools and technology were developed by affiliates and TLCs to support union campaigns. This workshop looks at some of the tools built for Unions for Yes, which could have ongoing application in digital campaigning across the movement.
Rapid advances in AI and machine learning and its application in the workplace has led to some highly visible disputes in film and creative industries over recent months – but these developments in technology are a continuation of change in workplaces in all industries. In this, the second of a series of three Futures Network meetings in 2023 devoted to a discussion of AI and its potential and pitfalls for workers, Conor Aitken, data specialist, cybersecurity consultant and member of Professionals Australia gives a glimpse "under the hood" of what AI actually is, while Niki Baras, a translator and interpreter and also organiser for Translators and Interpreters Australia (part of Professionals Australia) describes its impact on her industry and the union response.
Commemorating Australian poet, Henry Lawson, who in the late nineteenth century was a superstar of working-class poetry.
The history of how unions helped create Medicare, the national public health system in Australia, introduced in 1984.
Unions have a long history of campaigning for superannuation.There were union campaigns for retirement schemes as far back as the 1920s.
A short history of how unions in Australia campaigned over the decades for the right to annual leave.
The story of how workers came together in their unions, took actions, and won the important right to a weekend and the 40 hour work week.
In this workshop, Professor Chris Tilly from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs drew on his research as well as that of others to explore key lessons from experiences of organising informal or irregular workers – those not reached by labour law, such as domestic workers, undocumented migrant workers, contract workers and on-demand workers. His presentation was followed by a panel of unions related their experience with organising informal workers.
About Jennie George - the first woman to be elected as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Read about the infamous 1998 Waterfront dispute with the dockworkers, Maritime Union of Australia and Patrick Stevedores.
How can unions use marketing automation tools to build their online campaigning and organising capacity to recruit members, leaders, and supporters? Stephen Gargano, Manager – Strategy, Projects and Development at the Union Innovation Hub gives an overview of marketing automation and how unions can use it, covering elements such as engagement, new member onboarding, mapping and journeys.
An inspiring example of collective action by Aboriginal workers and their allies against powerful corporate interests who wanted to trample their rights for profit.
In this webinar, the panel will discuss the drivers that make migrant workers vulnerable to workplace exploitation. Gabriela D’Souza discussed research and trends on temporary migration and how Covid-19 has affected migrants. Thomas Costa used the case of Visa Assist (that Unions NSW run together with the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre) to examine how unions can successfully engage with, organise and assist migrant workers.
Case studies on union growth and organising initiatives to challenge our thinking and build our toolkit for union growth in a connected age.
Remembering former Prime Minister of Australia and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions ACTU - legendary Bob Hawke.
Remembering Edna Ryan, a woman who left an extraordinary legacy of activism against sexism and for gender equity.
This is the story of Muriel Heagney, an extraordinary unionist who led a 60-year long campaign for equal pay for working women.
A Sheep Shearer’s strike began in Queensland in 1891 when employers sought to introduce union-busting contracts and a reduction in pay rates.
Learn about the union-led campaign against conscription in World World War One as told by the Australian Trade Union Institute.
Learn about the leaders of a strike in 1957 by Aboriginal people on Palm Island demanding to be treated with dignity, respect & equality.
Brief history of the union campaign in Australia for equal pay for women which led to the “equal pay for work of equal value” decision in 1972.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions ACTU campaign for equal pay for women workers started with a conference in 1941.
Read about and be inspired by the campaign by workers including Bernie Banton and their unions for justice for asbestos victims.
Have you heard the story of the trade union contribution to the struggle for equality? Read about the hidden history of LGBTIQA+ and unionists.
Learn about the Wave Hill walk off and strike in 1966 by the Gurindji people who fought for award wages, land rights and self-determination.
In 1907 the Commonwealth Conciliation & Arbitration Court delivered the famous Harvester Judgement enforcing a basic rate of pay.
On 8 December 1981, unionists in the metal industry voted to end a long industrial campaign, and won the 38-hour week.
The first of May has long been a day of celebration for the international workers’ movement. Why do we celebrate May Day?
Tribute to Tom McDonald, a union activist, organiser & leader, dedicated to empowering workers to take action to win improvements in their lives at work.
Retention is the other – equally important - side of the growth coin. Participants in this webinar heard from presenters who shared some of our movements most well-developed contact centre retention strategies.
In 1999 the Australian union movement sprung into action to show solidarity with the people of East Timor by protesting.
Documentary about the Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 - a watershed event in Australian industrial relations history.
Learn about one of the worst industrial disasters in Australia’s history: the collapse of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne in 1970.
In 1990 Nelson Mandela delivered a thank you speech to the Australian trade union movement at the Melbourne Town Hall.
On 21 October 1969, legendary union activist Zelda D’Aprano chained herself to the doors of the Commonwealth Building to protest for Equal Pay! This is her remarkable story.
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