“Pig Iron Bob” and the 1938 Port Kembla strike
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.
1963: The ACTU backs the campaign for wage equality for First Nations workers
About the different union campaigns for wage equality for First Nations workers in Australia in the 1960s.
21 April 1856 – Melbourne Stonemason’s take action for the 8-Hour Day
On 21 April in 1856, building workers in Melbourne took strike action and won the eight-hour day as a general industry standard.
A Short History of Unions taking Action for Equal Pay!
31 August is Equal Pay Day-Australian unions have a long history of campaigning for gender equality & for the economic independence of women workers.
An approach to member journey mapping for the union movement
Not all members are the same – so how can thoughtful research and building personas help? This workshop will look at researching member experience, wants, needs and “pain points” to inform and craft their member journey.
Australia’s First Nation-wide Union Meeting and the Foundation of the Australian Council of Trade Unions ACTU
The first nation-wide meeting of unions in Australia took place in October 1879. It was called the Intercolonial Trade Union Congress.
Big Facts With Van Badham
In these videos author and Guardian columnist Van Badham unpacks questions about unemployment, privatisation, and disaster capitalism.
Conviction Politics: multimedia resource
Conviction Politics is an international digital history project exploring the impact of radicals and rebels transported as political convicts to Australia on their place of exile, and the patterns of collective resistance by the mass of unfree convict women and women to the exploitation of their forced labour.
Emma Miller: Remembering a Union Hero
Learn more about legendary union activist, leader and organiser Emma Miller, who was born on the 26th of June 1839.
Henry Lawson: The Workers’ Poet
Commemorating Australian poet, Henry Lawson, who in the late nineteenth century was a superstar of working-class poetry.
How Unions helped build Medicare
The history of how unions helped create Medicare, the national public health system in Australia, introduced in 1984.
How Unions helped build Superannuation
Unions have a long history of campaigning for superannuation.There were union campaigns for retirement schemes as far back as the 1920s.
How Unions Won the Right to Annual Leave
A short history of how unions in Australia campaigned over the decades for the right to annual leave.
Idea Framing, Metaphors, and Your Brain – George Lakoff
UC-Berkeley Linguistics Professor George Lakoff discusses how idea framing and metaphors contribute to shaping the way we think.
Informal Workers: From Atomised Objects to Collective Subjects
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.
Jennie George becomes the first woman elected ACTU President
About Jennie George - the first woman to be elected as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Noonkanbah Protest
An inspiring example of collective action by Aboriginal workers and their allies against powerful corporate interests who wanted to trample their rights for profit.
Remembering Bob Hawke
Remembering former Prime Minister of Australia and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions ACTU - legendary Bob Hawke.
The 1891 Shearers’ Strike
A Sheep Shearer’s strike began in Queensland in 1891 when employers sought to introduce union-busting contracts and a reduction in pay rates.
The 1916 Campaign against Conscription
Learn about the union-led campaign against conscription in World World War One as told by the Australian Trade Union Institute.
The 1957 Palm Island Strike
Learn about the leaders of a strike in 1957 by Aboriginal people on Palm Island demanding to be treated with dignity, respect & equality.
The ACTU’s 1941 Equal Pay Conference
The Australian Council of Trade Unions ACTU campaign for equal pay for women workers started with a conference in 1941.
The Gurindji Strike, 1966
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.
The Harvester Judgement and the Basic Wage
In 1907 the Commonwealth Conciliation & Arbitration Court delivered the famous Harvester Judgement enforcing a basic rate of pay.
The Origins of May Day
The first of May has long been a day of celebration for the international workers’ movement. Why do we celebrate May Day?
Unfinancial Members Calls
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.
Union solidarity with East Timor
In 1999 the Australian union movement sprung into action to show solidarity with the people of East Timor by protesting.
War on the Water Front: Australian Waterfront Dispute 1998 [Videos – Short History & Documentary]
Documentary about the Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 - a watershed event in Australian industrial relations history.
West Gate Bridge Collapse in 1970
Learn about one of the worst industrial disasters in Australia’s history: the collapse of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne in 1970.
Zelda D’Aprano’s Equal Pay Protest
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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