Review of Margo Beasley's "The Missos"
My copy of Margo Beasley's History of the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union, now part of the United Workers Union.
The union started as an initiative of the Sydney Trades Hall to organise cleaners and security guards (at the time known as watchmen), and grew to cover numerous previously unorganised professions (such as gardeners). By the 1950s it also covered paint manufacturing workers, asbestos manufacturing workers, and ships watchmen. It's original right wing leadership fell out of touch with the majority of its members, allowing the Left to organise rank and file campaigns, particularly among the ships watched and the paint manufacturers. These campaigns, coordinated by the "Protest Committee", centred around workplace bargaining, and calls for more recognition for marginalised sections from the leadership. These campaigns were generalised and explained to members by a series of newsletters printed by activists and distributed among the membership. The Victory of the protest committee in taking over the union was a break from the general trend of "Industrial Groups" (led by Bob Santamaria) using undemocratic means to take over unions from the left.
After the 50s, the Left leadership embarked to reorganise the unions funds, making it financially viable, and set out to organise new sections of the working class. Numerous amalgamations gave them coverage of leather smiths, government workers in South Australia, and general coverage of the Northern Territory. In order to maintain their coverage of the NT, the leadership decided to organise uranium mines in the Territory after the AWU negotiated an Award for the sector. This was a sellout of their left wing values, as the anti-nuclear movement saw this as complicity in Uranium mining.
The union started as an initiative of the Sydney Trades Hall to organise cleaners and security guards (at the time known as watchmen), and grew to cover numerous previously unorganised professions (such as gardeners). By the 1950s it also covered paint manufacturing workers, asbestos manufacturing workers, and ships watchmen. It's original right wing leadership fell out of touch with the majority of its members, allowing the Left to organise rank and file campaigns, particularly among the ships watched and the paint manufacturers. These campaigns, coordinated by the "Protest Committee", centred around workplace bargaining, and calls for more recognition for marginalised sections from the leadership. These campaigns were generalised and explained to members by a series of newsletters printed by activists and distributed among the membership. The Victory of the protest committee in taking over the union was a break from the general trend of "Industrial Groups" (led by Bob Santamaria) using undemocratic means to take over unions from the left.
After the 50s, the Left leadership embarked to reorganise the unions funds, making it financially viable, and set out to organise new sections of the working class. Numerous amalgamations gave them coverage of leather smiths, government workers in South Australia, and general coverage of the Northern Territory. In order to maintain their coverage of the NT, the leadership decided to organise uranium mines in the Territory after the AWU negotiated an Award for the sector. This was a sellout of their left wing values, as the anti-nuclear movement saw this as complicity in Uranium mining.
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