The Printing Industry Employees' Union of Australia (PIEUA) 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 ( ...

which existed between 1915 and 1966. It represented a range of production and trades workers in the printing industry.

History

The PIEUA was formed on 6 December 1916 through the merger of several state-based affiliates of the Australasian Typographical Union - the

New South Wales Typographical Association The New South Wales Typographical Association (NSWTA) was an Australian trade union which existed between 1880 and 1916. It represented compositors, skilled tradesmen responsible for typesetting in the printing trade. History A series of meetings ...

, the Queensland Typographical Association, the West Australian Typographical Industrial Union and the South Australian Typographical Association. The impetus for amalgamation was a desire to seek an

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

under the federal arbitration system, which was achieved in the following year. In its early years the PIEUA primarily represented compositors - skilled tradesmen responsible for

typesetting Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random Ho ...

, who formed an ' aristocracy of labour' within the printing industry. Soon after its formation, however, the PIEUA began expanding its industrial remit to cover a broader range of workers. In NSW the

Printing Trade Women and Girls' Union Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

was absorbed in May 1917 (on the proviso that they would not 'accept employment in the sections of the Industry now covered by male labor'), while members of the moribund Cardboard Boxmakers' Union voted to merge with the PIEUA in 1919. In 1888 the ''Western Australian Typographical Society'' formed. This union changed its name in 1900 to the ''Western Australian Typographical Industrial Union of Workers'' and became the

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n branch of the Printing Industries Employees Union of Australia in 1916. The formation of the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

n branch of the PIEUA only occurred in 1921 due to disputes between the small craft unions in the printing trade. The ''Victorian Typographical Society'' merged to become part of the PIEUA Victorian branch. The ''Australian Bookbinders & Paper Rulers' Association'' is believed to have formed around 1878, and merged to become part of the PIEUA Victorian branch. The ''Ballarat Typographical Society'' formed in 1857. It was a small and conservative group, which avoided amalgamations until it merged to become part of the PIEUA Victorian branch. The PIEUA merged with the Amalgamated Printing Trades Employees' Union of Australia in 1966 to form the

Printing and Kindred Industries Union The Printing and Kindred Industries Union (PKIU) was an Australian trade union which existed between 1966 and 1995. It represented production workers in the printing industry, including compositing, typesetting, letterpress printing, lithograph ...

(PKIU).

References

{{Reflist Defunct trade unions of Australia Trade unions established in 1915 Trade unions disestablished in 1966 Printing trade unions 1915 establishments in Australia Industrial unions