NSW Builders Labourers march on IWD 1975

The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

that existed from 1911 until 1972, and from 1976 until 1986, when it was permanently deregistered in various

Australian states The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing p ...

by the federal Hawke Labor government and some state governments of the time. This occurred in the wake of a Royal Commission into corruption by the union. About the same time, BLF federal secretary Norm Gallagher was jailed for corrupt dealings after receiving bribes from building companies that he used to build a beach house.

Social and economic justice

The BLF fought successful campaigns which became known as the

green ban A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They were mainly done in Australia in the 1970s, led by the Builders La ...

s against development projects which it viewed as harmful to the built and

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...

of Sydney and Melbourne. These campaigns included blocking plans to redevelop The Rocks area, Kelly's Bush in

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

, Centennial Park, the City Baths,

Flinders Street Station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1854, the historic station serves the entire metr ...

and the Hotel Windsor. The green bans are now commonly recognised as directly responsible for saving areas of Sydney and Melbourne with substantial heritage value. Victoria Hall in

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

was also saved from demolition by a green ban, in 1974. They also took up other causes, such as Aboriginal rights, anti-war campaigns and support for pensioners. The BLF had a long-standing programme on Radio 3CR, "The Concrete Gang", which is now presented by the

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...

. One of the original announcers for the BLF was John Cummins.

Work-ins

The BLF also helped organise a number of "work-ins" across Australia, where workers would take over a site for a few weeks and run it under workers' control. Some notable examples include: * 1972: Sydney Opera House * 1974:

Wyong Wyong () is a town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, located approximately 63 km SSW of Newcastle and 89 km NNE of Sydney. Established in 1888, it is one of the two administrative centres for the local government area. Hist ...

Plaza

NSW branch intervention

The federal union under Norm Gallagher faced many protests initially when it intervened in the affairs of the N.S.W. branch of the union in the mid-seventies. Many of the democratic measures installed by the N.S.W. branch leadership by

Jack Mundey John Bernard "Jack" Mundey (17 October 1929 – 10 May 2020) was an Australian communist, union and environmental activist. He came to prominence during the 1970s for leading the New South Wales Builders' Labourers Federation (BLF) in the fa ...

, Bob Pringle,

Joe Owens Joseph T. Owens (November 8, 1946 – June 9, 2013) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 9th round of the 1969 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alcorn Sta ...

and others were scrapped and many of the democratically imposed green bans were lifted. Officials of the N.S.W. branch eventually urged members to join the imposed branch, but were themselves blacklisted from the industry by federal union officials. The federal takeover of the N.S.W. branch was instrumental in calling off many of the imposed green bans and the cancellation of the union's commitment to fighting for permanence in the building industry.

BLF in Queensland

The BLF existed in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

as a state registered union (known as the Australian Building Construction Employees and Builders' Labourers' Federation (Queensland Branch) Union of Employees). The Queensland BLF was a part of the national BLF prior to the de-registration and was not as radical or militant as the branches in Victoria and New South Wales were perceived to be. Whilst the BLF is usually associated with the left of the political spectrum, the Queensland BLF was historically aligned with the right faction of the Australian Labor Party. The Queensland BLF was a member of the Labor Unity faction which is sometimes referred to as the Old Guard. The Labor Unity Faction often votes with the "right" faction (also known as the AWU or Forum faction) at state Labor conferences. On 16 October 2013, at the CFMEU Construction National Conference in Cairns, BLF secretary David Hanna and left-wing CFMEU Queensland (Construction Division) secretary Michael Ravbar announced the two unions would be merging. The merger was finalised in 2014.

Slogan

The federal BLF slogan, taken from a saying of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

, was "Dare to struggle, Dare to win".

References

* ''Inside the BLF: a union self-destructs'' by Brian Boyd, Melbourne, Vic. : Ocean, (1991). * ''Builders' Labourers' Song Book'' Published by Widescape International and the BLF, 1975.

External links

Book Review: Liz Ross, ''Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win'': Builders Labourers Fight Deregistration 1981–1994
* ttps://archive.today/20130416070339/http://www.workersliberty.org/node/3805 How to build a trade union – an article on the BLF in Queensland {{Authority control 1911 establishments in Australia 1986 disestablishments in Australia Defunct trade unions of Australia Trade unions established in 1911 Builders' labourers' trade unions Green bans