CFMEU - a progressive 'left' union

• Solidarity at home and abroad

While many of the unions that now form the CFMEU have historically played a role in ALP politics, elected leaders and activists of some of those unions have been strongly committed to more radical socialist views. This helped to build the base for the current political 'left' of Australian politics. As a result, the amalgamated CFMEU is a progressive 'left' union and many of the policies pursued by the union are influenced by these ideologies.

The carpenters and bricklayers who set up the BWIU were members of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA). Many building union officials were members of the CPA or other left-wing parties, and were deeply committed to socialist principles. Much of the political knowledge gained by those officials was passed on to the rank and file members of the union developing a class consciousness which helped to keep the union active throughout many of the difficult periods it faced.

Today communism is often denigrated, mainly due to the power of the capitalist ideological machinery, but also due to serious mistakes in the practise of socialism during the 20th century. However, in the 1930s and early 1940s, the CPA was a formidable political party in Australia. A CPA member was elected to the Queensland Parliament in the 1930s. And the party was considered a stronger supporter of the downtrodden, than the ALP.

However, after World War II, all that changed. By 1946 the Soviet Union was targetted as the enemy of Western democracy and communism declared to be the work of the devil.

Anti-communism fervour swept the United States and Australia thanks to the efforts of the conservatives and the media. The CPA fell into disunity and disrepute. However, despite the demise of the CPA, many of the principles that those early unionists fought for are still pursued by the CFMEU today and those communist ideologies have been transformed into progressive policies that are the battleground for contemporary union struggles.

Solidarity at home and abroad

For well over 100 years the building unions - now combined together in the CFMEU - have felt that it was the union's duty to both show a political lead and to help in the broader struggle for a better world. The union always believed in Australia's capacity to be a caring, equitable and socially just society. And it saw its role as ensuring that the country's decision-makers heard the views and concerns of the working class.

From the 1950s to the 1990s, building unions opposed Australian involvement in the Vietnam War, were bitter opponents of nuclear weapons and their testing, supported civil rights and land rights for Indigenous Australians, promoted environmental issues and heritage protection, and supported student and community groups across the whole spectrum of social issues including education, health, welfare and housing

Former Queensland Secretary of the BWIU, Hugh Hamilton sums up the need for progressive policies:

The Union's activities in the vital matters of racism, peace, pollution, protection of the environment and other matters have in no way detracted from the union's attention to improving the wages, work conditions, and quality of life of the members. One is not subordinate to the other; they are complementary. In fact, our involvement in these activities has enriched our understanding of the needs of those who work in the building industry and the needs of our society.(Thomas 1973).

The key ingredient has been the long-running radical political tradition of building union activists - Kilburn, Bulmer, Clancy and Mundey are but a few examples. Other larger than life figures in the history of the building unions that make up the CFMEU include: Frank Purse, Tom McDonald, Stan Sharkey - all BWIU; Paddy Malone, Norm Gallagher - BLF; Jack Ellis (OPDU) and Jack Cambourne (FEDFA). The strength of this tradition has given the militant building unions not only a gritty character, but a breadth of vision starkly lacking in the more conservative unions.

The CFMEU is not just a workers' organisation but an integral part of the campaign for a just and more equal society. It is a proud tradition that dates from the early days of the building unions and one we are determined to continue.

United we bargain - Divided we beg.

Contact the National Office, Construction Division at:
Level 12, 276 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Ph: 02 8524 5800
Fax: 02 8524 5801
Email: queries@fed.cfmeu.asn.au

Postal address: PO Box Q235, Queen Victoria Building Post Office, Sydney NSW 1230.