RED JOS

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY NEPEAN
FACULTY OF NURSING AND HEALTH STUDIES

MASTER OF HEALTH SCIENCE (HIV STUDIES)

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

AIDS AND THE TRADE UNIONS:
A CASE STUDY OF THE AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR, HOSPITALITY AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKERS UNION 1981-1995

E.J. (MANNIE) DE SAXE

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CHAPTER THREE

THE AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR, HOSPITALITY AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKERS UNION (LHMU)

3.1 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR, HOSPITALITY AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKERS UNION (LHMU)

As an introduction to the trade union which is the subject of this case study, the following short history provides an overview of some of the key events which have contributed to the present characteristics of the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMU).

1915 - The Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union (FMWU) was formed from three small state-based unions: two from New South Wales and one from Victoria. The membership of 2, 000 comprised almost equal numbers of men and women who worked as watchmen, cleaners, caretakers and lift attendants.

1916 - The Queensland Branch was formed following amalgamation with the Watchmen, Caretakers, Lift Attendants and Gatekeepers Association of Queensland.

1921 - In Victoria, the Branch amalgamated with the Female Office Cleaners of Victoria. This was followed by an amalgamation with the State School Cleaners Association of Victoria in 1922.

1927 - The South Australian Branch was formed.

1930 - Florence Anderson was elected Secretary of the Victorian Branch, a position which she held until 1945. She was the first woman trade union secretary in Victoria.

1937 - The FMWU affiliated to the ACTU.

1944 - The Photographic Employees Association of Queensland amalgamated with the FMWU.

1948 - The Tasmanian Branch was formed.

1954 - The Reform Team led by Ray Gietzelt from New South Wales won control of the FMWU. Ray was elected General Secretary, a position he held for almost thirty years. Membership at this time was less than 20,000.

1955 - The West Australian Branch was formed. Its first Secretary, Paddy Troy, had supported the Reform Team.

1960 - The ACT Branch was formed.

1963 - Membership of the FMWU reached 50,000.

1967 - An amalgamation with the Australian Leather and Allied Trades Employees Federation took place.

1968 - The Victorian Branch purchased its own office building. In Queensland, the Branch amalgamated with the Amalgamated Foodstuffs and Allied Industries Union of Queensland.

1971 - The Northern Territory Branch was formed following amalgamation with the North Australian Workers Union. Membership of the FMWU reached 83,000.

1980 - The New South Wales Branch and the Federal Office moved into a jointly purchased office building in Sussex Street, Sydney.

1983 - In Western Australia, the Branch amalgamated with hospital employees, child care, cleaning and security unions.

1984 - Ray Gietzelt retired as General Secretary of the FMWU, leaving the union with a membership of 120,000. He was succeeded by Martin Ferguson who, in 1990, went on to become President of the ACTU.

1990 - On the 75th anniversary of the FMWU, membership had grown to 136,000. A new office complex was built for the Federal Council and the New South Wales Branch of the FMWU. Jeff Lawrence was elected General Secretary. (From Federation News (December 1990) 17 (4), pp. 1-21)

1992 - On 18 March 1992 the FMWU issued the following media release:

VOTING STARTS FOR SUPER UNION MERGER

A ballot to create the largest union in the country opens today for around 250,000 members of the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union and the Liquor Trades Union.

Each union's membership is drawn from the hospitality and service industries, but their diversity of workers also includes groups such as the Aboriginal community workers in the Northern Territory, pre school workers in Western Australia, and city bar attendants.

The amalgamation is an important part of the ACTU's push to reshape the union movement into 20 to 25 super unions.

It is a continuation of the commitment by both unions to achieving better conditions for workers in smaller industries by uniting them into a common voice.

'We hope to build a new era of service and strength for rank and file membership,' said FMWU General Secretary Jeff Lawrence.

'Both our members work closely together in many industries and have large numbers of female, part time and casual workers.'

The FMWU covers industries such as cleaning, security, laundries, manufacturing and home-care. It also covers health, food manufacturing and hospitality workers in some states.

The LTU covers workers in hotels, licensed clubs, security officers and workers in manufacturing industries.

Both unions cover cleaners, domestic staff, security officers and workers in manufacturing industries.

Workplace meetings with members across Australia have shown strong support for the amalgamation.

The ballot runs from March 17 to April 7.

On 8 April 1992, the FMWU put out the following media release:

SUPER UNION MERGER

Two of Australia's largest unions are to merge following a successful ballot result today in Australia's most important union amalgamation to date.

The Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union (FMWU) and the Federated Liquor and Allied Industries Employees Union (LTU) will join to create a new union covering the service and manu- facturing industries.

In a strong ballot turnout for both unions, about 90% of FMWU and LTU members voted for amalgamation.

The new union will be the major voice in the growing service sector economy.

'Members across Australia have overwhelmingly supported the amalgamation and the challenge is for us to take that endorsement and develop a new union more dynamic, relevant and valuable to its members,' said FMWU General Secretary Jeff Lawrence.

'The new union will be one of the most significant and influential in Australia. It will build on the sound structures of the MWU and LTU to provide a new era of service and strength for the rank and file membership.'

'Both our members work closely together in many industries and have large numbers of female, part time and casual workers,' said LTU General Secretary Michael Boland.

The FMWU's 130,000 membership will join with the LTU's 120,000 members to become the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union.

The FMWU covers workers in the cleaning, security, child care, laundries, manufacturing and home care industries. They also cover health workers, food manufacturing and hospitality workers in some States.

The LTU covers workers in hotels, licensed clubs, breweries as well as soft drink manufacturing, catering and the tourism industry. Both unions cover cleaners, domestic staff, security officers and workers engaged in manufacturing industries.

The FMWU issued the following press release, dated 27 May 1992, relating to the Decision of the Full Bench of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission issued on 26 May 1992:

FEDERAL COMMISSION RATIONALISES UNION COVERAGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

SPSF AND FMWU CLEARLY THE PREDOMINANT UNIONS TO COVER UNIVERSITY STAFF

The Federal Industrial Relations Commission has confirmed that the State Public Services Federation and the Federated Miscellan- eous Workers Union will be the two national unions covering general staff in Australian Universities.

In one of the longest and most complicated S.118 demarcation cases the Commission has yet had to deal with, the AIRC has slashed the number of unions in the Industry from 40 to 6. Only the SPSF and the FMWU have been given the rights to represent general staff in every State.

This will allow SPSF and FMWU to proceed with their plans to join forces to increase the level of unionisation in the area. In 1990 the FMWU and SPSF reached an important de- marcation agreement which recognised the widespread coverage of "blue-collar" staff by FMWU and "white-collar" staff by SPSF. The AIRC decision will allow this to be put into place across Australia.

SPSF Federal Executive Officer Mr Lachlan Riches today said, 'This is an excellent result for general staff in higher education and for SPSF. With SPSF and FMWU confirmed as the major unions in this area we will be able to work together to fight for better pay and conditions for our membership. It is hoped that this decision will stop the petty demarcation disputes which have distracted us over the last few years.'

FMWU General Secretary Jeff Lawrence said, 'The decision recognises the constructive role of the FMWU and the SPSF in continuing to represent general staff in universities and will greatly assist general staff unity to be a more powerful voice on campuses throughout Australia.'

The Commission's decision will be a major blow to the Academics' Union plan to take over coverage of general staff. The Victorian based Australian Colleges and Universities Staff Association which had planned to amalgamate with the Academics Union has been largely restricted to its existing State coverage in Victoria.

Early in September 1992, in a media release announcing a new film about the history of the New South Wales Branch of the Miscellaneous Workers Union, The Missos, to be shown on 14 September 1992, a list headed "Who are the Miscellaneous Workers?" was included. The contents of that list are reproduced below:

The NSW Branch of the Miscellaneous Workers looks after workers employed in a wide variety of occupations and industries including:

? security officers ? cleaners ? paint workers ? caretakers ? fibre cement product ? lino makers manufacture ? tea attendants ? insulation materials manufacture ? private schools general ? timber products staff manufacture ? childcare workers ? plastics manufacture ? leather workers ? cork products manufacture ? artists' models ? photographic workers ? monorail operators ? sail makers ? car park attendants ? private domestic ` workers ? bill posters ? home care workers ? bag and sack makers ? disabled workers ? gardeners ? laboratory attendants ? office equipment service ? pyrotechnics workers cleaners ? pathology industry ? animal welfare workers workers ? health and weight loss ? librarians attendants ? library technicians ? air brush artists ? chemical workers ? plaster board and cornice workers ? tannery workers ? synthetic resin makers

1995 - In its December 1994 issue of the LHMU's journal, Federation News, the National Secretary wrote: LHMU 'family' gets bigger: During 1994 the LHMU grew after the overwhelming decision to amalgamate by members of the Pastrycooks, Bakers, Biscuit- makers and Allied Trades Union, the Bakery Employees and Salesmen's Federation of Australia and the Ambulance Employees Association of Victoria.

We welcome you on board. We also worked more closely with the Liquor and Hospitality Division following our amalgamation in 1992. We aim to deliver on the promise of these amalgamations to provide members with greater Protection, Service and Strength (p. 2).

And so a union which began, in 1915, as a two Branch, 2000 member organisation established to represent the interests of watchmen, cleaners, caretakers and lift attendants in New South Wales and Victoria, became one of Australia's largest and most diverse national unions. As such, the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union was a logical choice as the exemplar union for this investigative study.