Electrical Trades Union of Australia

Last updated

ETU
Electrical Trades Union of Australia
Founded24 December 1919
Headquarters Rosebery, New South Wales
Location
Members
61,260 (For the year ending 31 December 2020) [1]
Key people
 Allen Hicks, National Secretary
Affiliations ACTU, ALP
Website www.etunational.asn.au

The Electrical Trades Union of Australia (ETU) is an Australian trade union.

Contents

The ETU is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), and is the largest of the three divisions. Under State Government laws, the union often exists as a separately registered union.

History

On 24 December 1919 Electrical Trades Union of Australia federally re-registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 as an association of employees. This date is now taken as the official registration date of the Federal Union.

In 1985, ETU members were sacked after the Joh Bjelke-Petersen Government sacked them for refusing to sign individual contracts (see: SEQEB strike of Queensland, 1985). [2]

In 2005, plans were made to picket the former premier's State funeral, however those plans were subsequently abandoned following requests by the union leadership. [3]

In 2007, the ETU leader Dean Mighell was expelled from the Australian Labor Party for supporting the Greens during the federal election. [4] In the lead-up to the 2010 federal election, the Victorian ETU withdrew its support for the Labor Party, citing Labor's refusal to scrap laws restricting union action on building sites. [5] However, since then it has rejoined in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. [6] [7]

Traditionally the ETU has sided with the Labor Left or equivalent faction in the state branches of the ALP with the notable exception of the ACT and NSW, where it aligns with the respective Centre Coalition and Centre Unity (Labor Right) factions.[ citation needed ] It enjoys a close relationship there with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) and the Australian Workers Union (AWU). Despite reaffiliating with Victorian Labor, in the leadup to the 2018 Victorian Election the ETU donated $50,000 towards a competing party, the Victorian Socialists. [8]

In November 2019, the ETU ceased donations to the federal Labor party over Anthony Albanese's government supporting free trade agreements. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Labor Party</span> Federal political party in Australia

The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia and one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party has been in government since being elected at the 2022 federal election, and with political branches in each state and territory, they currently form government in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory. As of 2023, Tasmania is the only state or territory where Labor forms the opposition. It is the oldest continuous political party in Australian history, being established on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne, the meeting place of the first federal Parliament.

The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Carr</span> Australian politician

Kim John Carr is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for Victoria between 1993 and 2022. Representing the Labor Party, he was a minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bowen</span> Australian politician

Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese government since June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was first elected to parliament at the 2004 federal election. He held ministerial office in the Rudd and Gillard governments from 2007 to 2013.

Branch stacking is a term used in Australian politics to describe the act of recruiting or signing up members for a local branch of a political party for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome of internal preselection of candidates for public office, or of inordinately influencing the party's policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cain (34th Premier of Victoria)</span> Australian politician (1882–1957)

John Cain was an Australian politician, who became the 34th premier of Victoria, and was the first Labor Party leader to win a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. He is the only premier of Victoria to date whose son has also served as premier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Shorten</span> Australian politician (born 1967)

William Richard Shorten is an Australian politician and former trade unionist. He is the incumbent Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. Previously, Shorten was leader of the opposition and leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2013 to 2019. A member of parliament (MP) for the division of Maribyrnong since 2007, Shorten also held several ministerial portfolios in the Gillard and Rudd governments from 2010 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Labor Party National Executive</span> Top institution of the Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party National Executive, often referred to as the National Executive, is the executive governing body of the Australian Labor Party, charged with directly overseeing the general organisation and strategy of the party. Twenty members of the National Executive are elected by the party's National Conference, which is the highest representative body of the party's state and territory branches. The other eight members are party ex-officio members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Sterle</span> Australian politician

Glenn Sterle is an Australian politician. A former trade union organiser, he has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since 2005, representing the state of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Marles</span> Australian politician

Richard Donald Marles is an Australian politician and lawyer serving as the 19th and current deputy prime minister of Australia and minister for Defence since May 2022. He has been the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019, having served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Corio since 2007.

Political funding in Australia deals with political donations, public funding and other forms of funding received by politician or political party in Australia to pay for an election campaign. Political parties in Australia are publicly funded, to reduce the influence of private money upon elections, and subsequently, the influence of private money upon the shaping of public policy. After each election, the Australian Electoral Commission distributes a set amount of money to each political party, per vote received. For example, after the 2013 election, political parties and candidates received $58.1 million in election funding. The Liberal Party received $23.9 million in public funds, as part of the Coalition total of $27.2 million, while the Labor Party received $20.8 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Butler</span> Australian politician

Mark Christopher Butler is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2007. He was a minister in the Gillard and Rudd governments and also served as national president of the ALP from 2015 to 2018.

The New South Wales Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) and commonly referred to simply as NSW Labor, is the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The branch is the current ruling party in the state of New South Wales and is led by Chris Minns, who has served concurrently as premier of New South Wales since 2023.

The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a split within the Australian Labor Party along ethnocultural lines and about the position towards communism. Key players in the split were the federal opposition leader H. V. "Doc" Evatt and B. A. Santamaria, the dominant force behind the "Catholic Social Studies Movement" or "the Movement".

Socialism in Australia dates back at least as far as the late-19th century. Notions of socialism in Australia have taken many different forms including utopian nationalism in the style of Edward Bellamy, the democratic socialist reformist electoral project of the early Australian Labor Party (ALP), and the revolutionary Marxism of parties such as the Communist Party of Australia.

The Victorian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party and commonly referred to simply as Victorian Labor, is the Victorian state branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The branch is currently the ruling parting in the state of Victoria and is led by Jacinta Allan, who has served concurrently as premier of Victoria since 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberley Kitching</span> Australian politician, lawyer, and trade unionist (1970–2022)

Kimberley Jane Elizabeth Kitching was an Australian politician, lawyer, and trade unionist. A member of the Labor Party, she was a Senator for Victoria from October 2016 until her death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Buttigieg</span> Australian politician and trade unionist (born 1966)

Mark Robert Buttigieg is an Australian politician and trade unionist, currently serving Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations, Work Health and Safety, and Multiculturalism in the Labor Government of New South Wales. He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council at the 2019 New South Wales state election.

John Setka is an Australian trade unionist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Chandler-Mather</span> Australian politician

Max Chandler-Mather is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He is the Greens member for the Division of Griffith following the 2022 Australian federal election, having defeated the incumbent Labor Party member Terri Butler.

References

  1. ↑ "FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020" (PDF). Electrical Trades Union. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Union rejects Sir Joh funeral protest - ABC News". ABC News. 25 April 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Protesters drop Joh funeral picket plan". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Lavelle, Ashley (2008). The death of social democracy : political consequences in the 21st century. Ashgate Pub. Co. p. 71. ISBN   9780754691662. Victorian based Electrical Trades Union (ETU) leader Dean Mighell, expelled from the ALP for being caught on videotape advocating militant industrial action, argued that 'at election time the only party with truly worker-friendly policies is going to be the Greens' (cited in Syvret 2007). ... He described the Greens' industrial relations policy as 'traditional Labor', and argued that increasing numbers of trade union officials were thinking of either privately or publicly supporting the Greens in the federal Senate (cited in Marris 2007, 4; Bachelard 2007).
  5. ↑ ABC news "Victorian ETU cuts ties with Labor" Retrieved on 17 August 2010.
  6. ↑ The Australian "Victoria ETU moves to reaffiliate with Labor" Retrieved on 21 August 2018.
  7. ↑ The Canberra Times "ETU to stick with right faction as fallout from Pettersson defection continues " Retrieved on 21 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Unions back Victorian Socialists' campaign". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. ↑ Chambers, Geoff (22 November 2019). "Union bans donations to Labor MPs, slams Albanese over trade deals". The Australian.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.