SALES SHEET

Workers in the Margins

Union Radicals in Post-War New Zealand

Cyble Locke
In the tumultuous years of the late twentieth century, many workers found themselves on the margins of the labour force moving in and out of employment, last hired in times of plenty, first fired in times of recession. Often women, Mori, or people from the Pacific, they were frequently invisible also within the union movement. Workers in the Margins tells the story of these workers and their radical leaders, as free market policies deregulated the labour market and splintered the union movement. The history of these massive changes in the workforce begins in mid-century, when urbanisation brought Mori into the cities and more women began to enter paid work. These were decades of vigorous challenge in the union world, with conflicts such as the 1951 waterfront lockout. By the end of the century, the union movement looked very different. And for a brief period, Te Roopu Rawakore o Aotearoa, the national unemployed and beneficiaries movement, gave new voice to workers in the margins. It is a voice that speaks clearly to the lives of many workers today. The people of this history come to life through oral histories from the poet (and boilermaker) Hone Tuwhare building a palisade at Orakei through to activists Sue Bradford and Jane Stevens working with the unemployed in the 1980s and 1990s. Labour historian Cyble Locke writes eloquently about these years of activism, in which she participated. Cyble Lockes imaginative use of oral history has allowed her to bring to life some significant grass roots figures and to recapture the mood and texture of a radical movement. a substantial contribution to New Zealand scholarship that will be of great interest to all those concerned with social justice.

CYBLE LOCKE

UNION RADICALS IN POST-WAR NEW ZEALAND

RRP$49.99 240 x 170 mm 260 pages 28 b/w illustrations ISBN 9781927131398 April 2012

Author Information
Cyble Locke is a graduate of Otago and Auckland universities, who has published widely on labour history. Currently a full-time parent, she was a participant in the activist movements of the late twentieth century.

Erik Olssen, Emeritus Professor, University of Otago

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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
INtRodUctIoN

Workers in the Margins

chAPteR oNe

Maori Union Men, their Socialist comrades, and the Freezing Workers Unions, 19431978
chAPteR tWo

Private-sector Union Women, their Feminist comrades, and the trade Union Movement, 19551981
chAPteR thRee

organising Unemployed Workers Unions, 19781985

chAPteR FoUR

Union Allies divide: Political Independence and Maori Sovereignty, 19841987

chAPteR FIve

Union Strategies in hard economic times, 19851990

chAPteR SIx

Busted Unions and Painful Renewals, 19901994

AFteRWoRd

Abbreviations List of Illustrations endnotes Bibliography Index