1913: still relevant after all these years? A talk by Jim McAloon, Melanie Nolan, MUNZ & RMTU

19 November 2013: 5.30pm at the Museum of Wellington City & Sea, Queen’s Wharf 

Dr Jim McAloon will introduce three speakers, discussing the relevance of the 1913 strike to workers a century later.

1913: still relevant after all these years?
The Great Strike was about local and particular labour issues which are canvassed well in the collection, Revolution, The 1913 Great Strike in New Zealand (Canterbury University Press in association with the Trade Union History Project, 2005), edited by Melanie Nolan. But the 1913 Great Strike was a battleground of democracy. Workers and others battled over the shape of New Zealand society and the role of unions in it. Professor Melanie Nolan will further explore how these issues are relevant today.

Melanie Nolan is Professor of History, Director of the National Centre of Biography and General Editor of the Australian Dictionary of Biography in the School of History at the Australian National University (ANU). As general editor she has published the Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 18 (2012) and a history of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, The ADB’s Story (2013).

The New Zealand Waterfront in 2013: Back to the future?
The 1913 general strike was fought on and around the waterfront in Wellington and other ports. In the century since, maritime workers have remained a central part of New Zealand’s social and industrial history and class struggle, through key events such as the 1951 lockout and more recent struggles against casualization and insecure jobs.

After a sustained attack on workers rights for the last generation, have we come full circle and are maritime workers fighting the same battles today? Joe Fleetwood, National Secretary, Maritime Union of New Zealand will explore how have things changed and how have they stayed the same.

Joe Fleetwood was elected National Secretary of the Maritime Union of New Zealand in 2009. Joe has been a seafarer and a member of the New Zealand Seafarers Union and now the Maritime Union for over thirty two years. He previously served a term as National Vice President of the Maritime Union, and served as Secretary of the Wellington Seafarers Branch MUNZ. Previous to this Joe served as job delegate for around 25 years. Joe is a fifth generation seafarer and dock worker.

Solidarity on the waterfront since 1913
The Rail and Maritime Transport Union will discuss the development of solidarity on the waterfront since 1913.