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| Federated Storemen and Packers Union | |
|---|---|
| Name | Federated Storemen and Packers Union |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Dissolved | 1990s |
| Merged into | Australian Liquor, Food and Allied Workers Union |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Key people | Percy Clarey; Charlie Fitzgibbon; Tom Howarth |
| Members | peak c. 40,000 |
| Country | Australia |
Federated Storemen and Packers Union was an Australian trade union representing labourers in warehousing, logistics, distribution and packing across states such as Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory. Formed in the early 20th century, it played a central role in industrial relations involving the Australian Labor Party, the Commonwealth Arbitration Court, and state-based industrial tribunals like the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales. Its activities intersected with major events such as the Great Depression, World War II, and the postwar reconstruction era.
The union emerged amid the rise of craft and industrial unionism that included groups like the Australian Workers' Union, Transport Workers Union of Australia, and the Amalgamated Engineering Union. Early decades saw disputes adjudicated by institutions including the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and the High Court of Australia. Leaders engaged with figures from the Australian Labor Party and unions such as the Builders Labourers Federation, Waterside Workers Federation of Australia, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. During the Great Depression the union negotiated wage cases alongside unions like the Federated Ironworkers Association of Australia and coordinated with the Trades and Labour Council in states like South Australia and Queensland. World War II expanded its membership as logistics demands surged, involving interactions with military supply chains and government entities such as the Department of Defence and the Department of Supply and Development. Postwar decades brought technological change and prompted mergers similar to those of the Australian Workers' Union and the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union.
Administratively the union was organized with state branches in jurisdictions including Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory; governance used delegate conferences comparable to the Australian Council of Trade Unions model. Internal offices mirrored practices found in the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen's Association of Australasia and featured roles akin to secretaries and presidents observed in the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union. The union engaged with arbitration institutions such as the Industrial Relations Court of Australia and registered with bodies like the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. It maintained links with employer organizations including the Master Builders Association and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in negotiations over awards and classifications.
Membership drew heavily from workers in inner-city hubs such as Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, and industrial suburbs like Footscray, Port Melbourne, Kogarah, and Port Adelaide. Demographic shifts tracked migration patterns including arrivals from United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, and later Vietnam and Malaysia, reflecting broader postwar immigration policies like those overseen by the Department of Immigration. Members often had career pathways intersecting with occupations represented by the Transport Workers Union of Australia, Maritime Union of Australia, and the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union. Peak membership figures approached those of contemporary unions such as the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union prior to amalgamations in the 1980s and 1990s.
The union was prominent in strike actions and bargaining rounds that involved bodies like the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and rival employers such as the National Foods and logistics firms linked to ports at Port Kembla and Dampier. Campaigns included award claims, safety campaigns tied to industrial deaths investigated by agencies such as the Coronial Inquest system, and coordination with unions like the Australian Workers' Union and Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union. The union participated in notable stoppages affecting supply chains to institutions like the Victorian Railways and industries including meatworks in Rockhampton and canneries in Launceston. Its tactics sometimes involved waterfront solidarity with the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia and arbitration-listed disputes before the High Court of Australia.
Politically the union maintained strong links to the Australian Labor Party and engaged in factional politics alongside organisations such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions and state Labor branches in Victoria and New South Wales. It supported candidates for the Parliament of Australia and liaised with federal ministers from portfolios including Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Employment. The union's political posture intersected with movements like the Australian anti-conscription campaign, interactions with splinter groups such as the Industrial Groups in the 1940s–1950s, and responses to policy reforms under governments like those of Robert Menzies, Gough Whitlam, and Bob Hawke.
Prominent officials included trade unionists and public figures who engaged with institutions such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Leaders who rose to public prominence shared stages and negotiations with figures like Percy Clarey and unions like the Federated Furnishing Trades Society of Australasia. Some officials moved into parliamentary politics represented in the Parliament of Victoria or the Parliament of New South Wales and interacted with ministers from administrations of John Curtin and Ben Chifley. The union's leadership had contemporaneous contact with labour movement icons such as Eddie Ward, Clyde Cameron, and Tom Uren in policy debates and industrial strategy.
By the late 20th century the union participated in amalgamation trends that produced successors akin to the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union and eventually contributed to unions such as the Australian Liquor, Food and Allied Workers Union and later entities including the United Workers Union. Its historical footprint is studied alongside archival holdings in institutions like the National Library of Australia and state-based collections such as the State Library of Victoria. The union's influence persists in award classifications in the Fair Work Commission lineage and in oral histories that reference industrial disputes at sites like Port Melbourne and Fremantle. Its legacy is discussed in the context of Australian labour historiography that includes works on the Industrial Relations Act 1988 debates and union amalgamation patterns during the administrations of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.
Category:Trade unions in Australia Category:Defunct trade unions Category:Australian labor history