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Book Note
| Sean Scalmer, The Little History of Australian Unions, Vulgar Press, Carlton North, 2006. pp. 89. $9.95 paper.
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| Sean Scalmer bookends this terrific short narrative with the questions: What is a union? and What might be the future of unionism? In between he manages to capture the essential character of the movement revealed in its cycle of triumphs, tribulations and incremental gains. Traversing major moments such as the Great Strikes of the 1890s, the growth of business unionism, the communist turn, the MUA dispute and our current battle with WorkChoices, he immerses us in the world of 'unquestionable achievements' and 'painful setbacks'. Unavoidably, much is also left out, but this intricate portrait in such a small volume is an impressive piece of compression without undue distortion. The book has been sponsored by a number of trade unions and is aimed at a general readership. It will no doubt prove invaluable to some of the movement's younger activists. Importantly, Scalmer doesn't shy away from acknowledging either the ratbags in our midst or the more depressing and contradictory practices like the sometimes-exclusionary nature of trade unions. For each disappointment, division, or outright failure, where the labour movement has responded by becoming more inclusive, it has found some measure of success. The 'simple decency' that is woven into the objectives of trade unions is a thread that runs throughout. Vulgar Press have produced a handsome little book, with the text broken up by several well-placed Bruce Petty cartoons. It's a very accessible read and one that will help to reignite the trade union movement's interest in its own history. |
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| Swinburne University of Technology |
JULIE KIMBER | |
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