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Feminism and Representations of Union Identity in Australian Union Banners of the 1980sand Early 1990sAuthor(s): Kathie MuirReviewed work(s):Source: Labour History, No. 79 (Nov., 2000), pp. 92-112Published by: Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27516731 .

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Feminism nd

Representations

f Union

Identity

n

AustralianUnion Bannersof the 1980s andearly 1990s

KathieMuir

The revived production of onewell known working-class cultural icon-

trade union banners- inAustralia in the 1980s came about for several historical reasons. This article examines

this resurgence, in theprocess identifyinga number of key features. First, thebannersproduced

differ substantially from traditional historical union banners in theirmedia, theirform and

the image of unions and thememberships they depict. Second,a

significant number ofthe

new banners were produced by artists whose designs were informed by feminist critiques of

the representation ofwomen and othermarginalised workers within unions and by feminist

desires for the reformulation of themeanings of unionism. In thisway this collection of new

banners illuminates the changing and contested cultural practices ofAustralian unionism

in the 1980s and 1990s.

Cultural artefacts and cultural projects produced by artists in collaboration with

trade unions and theirmembers have received relatively little critical attention from

writers of labour history. Historical exceptions include the work of well knownindividual cultural producers such as writers Katharine Susannah Pritchard, Jean

Devanney, Frank Hardy, and visual artists such asNoel Counihan and the work of

other groups such as theWaterside Workers Film Unit and New Theatre.1 Ignoredat the time by themainstream artworld, this cultural work of the 1980s and early1990s trade union movement has been of little subsequent interest to labour

historians.2 This thematic section of LabourHistory is therefore both overdue and

very welcome.

The critical lacunae around cultural work within the labour movement is

disappointingfor two reasons. The first is that such cultural

expressionscan reveal

much that is obscured within, or absent from, more formal records. These cultural

expressions belong'in the arena of "hearts and minds" activities' which are

frequently 'regarded as being less important that the technical aspects of unionism'.3

However, strugglesover

meaningare a

significant component ofpolitical struggle

and banners were oneway unions

attemptedto define themselves to the

public

and, as Burn has noted, 'contributed inimportant ways to the sense of

beinga trade

unionist7.4 The second reason is that consideration of culturalproducts

can offer

useful insightsinto processes by which subjectivities and discourses are constructed

and contested within the labour movement.5 Theseinsights

areparticularly valuable

in relation to the challenges to traditional white masculinist unionism mounted bythe demands of activist women and non-English speaking background workers

during the 1980s and 1990s.6

This article examines oneparticular group of cultural artefacts, Australian trade

union banners produced during the 1980s and early 1990s. It specifically focusses

on banners produced by feminist artists and asks whether and how these

representationsof unionism

challengeor subvert traditional heroic masculinist

images.7It asks what these

representations suggest about thecomplex

andchanging

92



Muir Feminism and Representationsof Union IdentityinAustralian Union Banners 193

identities of trade unions inAustralia in the 1980s and 1990s. It also considers how

women artists, inparticular,

and in some cases women trade union officers, brought

their 'feminist critique of themasculinity of the imagery and symbolism of trade

unionism' to the task of attempting to 'reformulate itsmeaning7 through developing

new iconography reflecting (the desire for) changing cultures of unionism.8 These

images will mean different things to different audiences. It seems likely that

knowledge of the context of each banner's production, and of the nature of the

particular union and branch whose banner it is,might influence how specific banners

are read. Nonetheless, it is argued that these banners offer insights into the diverse

and contested nature and culture of Australian trade unionism in the 1980s and

1990s.In addressing these questions the article also considers the application, in both a

pragmaticand

symbolic context, of the 'aesthetics of affirmation'by

these artists.9

Does such symbolism suggest the artists were uncritical of the records of these unions

inrepresenting

their women, migrantand

indigenousmembers and workers in

general? Or does it suggest that they acceptedan argument that the purpose of

banners, and other artsprojects,

was to serve aspromotional

or recruitment devices

tomarket unions to apublic inundated with hostile media images of unions?10

Other possible responses include the suggestion thatwithin their banners, unions

and banner artistsprovided

asymbolic space to

particular marginalised groups

within themembership. This recognition might act to answer criticism of union

structures, cultures andpractices

that excluded such groups frompositions

of power

and influence or itmight

work as asymbolic goal

for aprogressive

unionismcapable

of not only accommodating diversity but also using it as a strength.11 The final

suggestion, which arises in relation to textile banners in particular, is that some of

these feminist artists employed (traditionally feminine and domestic) techniques of

needlework to unsettle the hegemonic masculine symbolism of unionism and to

create a different pointof identification for women workers.12

AustralianUnion InvolvementnFundedArtsProjects:the Politicaland Institutionalontexts

The challenges facing theAustralian trade union movement in the 1980s have been

well documented and need not be considered in any detail here.13 However, they

included such factors as: the decline of themanufacturing industry, the heartland

of blue collar unionism and the consequent decline inmembership of these unions;

the vastly increased numbers of womenparticipating inpaid work, particularly in

part-timeand casual service sector

jobs,which were hard to

organiseand for which

most unions had traditionally devoted few resources; and the break down of

traditional work-based class identification which had begun in the 1970s and

continued throughout the 1980s as the workforce included increasing numbers of

educated middle-class white-collar workers who did notautomatically identify

with

the trade union movement. However, many of these white-collar workers did join

unions (or professional associations) and many of these affiliated to theAustralian

Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and state peak councils during this period which

changed the balance of interests within these peak councils and presented alternate

union identities. Other challenges included the increasingly complex media and

communications environment which raised problems for unions both in trying to



LabourHistory Number 79 November 2000

reach an increasingly diverse membership, many ofwhom spoke English as a second

language, and in combating sophisticated media and public relations campaignsrun

by corporations and right-wing think-tanks.14

Australian unions met these challenges with a number of strategies which

changedover the course of the decade. The Amalgamated Metal Workers' Union

(AMWU) providesa useful example. From themiddle years of the 1970s, itdeveloped

alarge

national in-house research, education andpublicity

team ofprofessional

'labour technocrats'.15 Their role was to educate members and facilitatemembership

action on economic and industrial policy and also to develop a strong union public

profile in contributing to debates around public policy and social change. At this

time some of their education officers, such asMax Ogden, also facilitated workplace

based cultural activities such as concerts, poetry readingsand

factoryarts festivals.16

Up until the early 1980s, theAMWU maintained independence from theAustralian

Labor Party (ALP).However, by 1982, theAMWU had become one of the key playersin the development and pursuit of the Accord between the ACTU and the ALP.17

The Accord established very close links between the Hawke government and the

trade union movement, despitethe reservations of some unions that real wages

would fall and that theAccord would lead topassivity and disenchantment amongst

union members.18 One consequence of this closerelationship

withgovernment

was

increasedfunding

for trade union centres andspecific programs.

Trade unions had first receivedgovernment funding

for arange

of initiatives to

benefit themembership during the term of theWhitlam government. In 1982, duringthe Fraser Coalition government's term in office, the Australia Council introduced

its Art and Working Life policy and incentive program which wasspecifically

established to assist the access and participation of working Australians to arts and

cultural activities through the trade union movement.19 That theAustralia Council

should recognise the trade union movement as the appropriate agency to facilitate

thedelivery

of arts and culture toworking Australians had been made more

convincing by theACTU's earlier adoption of itsArts and Creative Recreation Policyin 1980. The policy stated that

Congressdeclares that there is a

continuing need for the trade unions to

become more involved in the arts and cultural life of the Australianpeople.

The history of the trade union movement showssignificant impact

on

the cultural life of the nation and itsdevelopment

in the past.

Thisimpact

needs to be extended anddeveloped

in current

circumstances.20

Within this policy,access and participation in the arts were seen to be a right of all

Australians. This wascompatible

withkey objectives

of the Australia Council Act.

The ACTU policy also emphasised the importance of the availability of artworks

that reflected the experiences of working life and 'that depicts the trade unions'

contribution toAustralian life'. Italso had sections covering employment in the arts

and media industries, mediaownership,

the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

(ABC), and argued for the provision of workplace based cultural facilities and

programs.21The

productionof new trade union banners

signifying contemporary

union identities fitted within this policy agenda.The production of banners also fitted within the first of the four objectives of the

Australia Council's Art andWorking Life Policy which was To encourage art practice




and policy which is informed by the concerns and issues affecting workers' own

lives and which acknowledges working class cultural tradition and themulticultural

nature of that tradition'.22 This policy objective indicated that issues of diversity

within union culture and membershipwere important components within projects

funded under the program. The South Australian United Trades and Labor Council's

(UTLC) 'Arts Policy' made the emphasison diversity even more clearly. Point eight

reads: 'Stress the diversity of groups that comprise the workforce and the union

movement and initiate and encouragearts activities that focus in

particularon

women workers, workers from non-Anglophone backgrounds,workers in

regional

areas and unemployed workers'. The final point emphasises the need for images of

affirmation: 'Seek to

develop

new

ways

of

promoting positive images

of workers

and unionism throughout thewhole range of arts activities' [emphasis mine].23 One

of the strategies to assist the participation of trade unions in such projectswas the

partial funding of the salary of arts officers placed in several state peak councils and

theACTU itself. This strategy implicitly acknowledged the need for abridge between

the poorly organised and highly individualistic arts community,24 and overworked

and pragmatic union officials who had neither the time nor the language to write

grant applications which would meet the highly specific requirements of arts funding

agencies.

This necessarily brief overview of some of the institutional context for the

production of contemporary trade union banners raisessome

key points pertinent

to the subsequent discussion of banner production. Firstly, the 1980s to early 1990s

was a time of significant changes to the composition of the workforce and the

industrial landscape which posednew challenges to the recruitment and organising

of members.Secondly,

the trade union movement itself waschanging

as blue collar

unions lost hundreds of thousands of members and white collar unions grew in

size and influence. This period highlighted the heterogeneity of Australian unions,

the underlying political, industrial and cultural differences between them -despite

their pragmatic participation in theAccord, which many recognisedwas unlikely

to serve all members equally well. Thirdly, and importantly, these changes to the

union movement did not occur in a vacuum but were part of a much broader set of

changes to theAustralian and international landscape. The increasing prominence

of other social movements such as the women's movement, landrights

and

indigenous rights movements, migrant workers lobby, and gay and lesbian rights

activistsplaced

increased pressureon trade unions to address issues of difference

within their actual and potential membership. Itwas nolonger satisfactory, in the

eyes of many union members and activists, for unions topersist

withpriorities,

styles of industrial action, cultures and structures of representation that directlyor

indirectly marginalised keysections of the

membership.25

The 1980s saw the appointment of a number of specialist officer positions such

as ethnic liaison officers, women's officers, disabilityservices officers, youth officers,

indigenousworkers liaison officers to

peakcouncils and within some unions. These

positions were largely funded through federal and state government grants although

unions and councils usuallymade some contribution, often through

alevy

on their

affiliation fees. Grant funded positions held less power or authority than elected or

core officers.26 Their successes includedraising

theprofile

ofspecific

sections of the

membership; gaining grant funding for projects which provideda voice for such

members and their concerns; developingcommittees to work on

special projects




and to develop policy and make submissions to government on behalf of union

members; and developing and promoting union policies advocating the rights of

such groups and strategies (such as targeted positions ondecision-making bodies).27

It is also useful to recognise that by 1988, the Liberal-National coalition

government's'Waste Watch' committee had mounted an extended and vehement

press campaign criticising government grants tounions.28 They claimed such grants

constituted political funding and were awaste of taxpayers' money. Itbecame clear

that mostgovernment funding

to unions woulddisappear

under a future coalition

governmentand several unions and

peakcouncils allowed some of their programs

and grant funded positions towind down in anticipation of the inevitable. This was

oneof the

reasons for a reduction in suchprograms,

services andprojects during

the 1990s. Another keyreason was that the decline in union membership reduced

union budgets, despite the anticipated benefits of amalgamation which had promised

increased and more diversespecialist

services. These factors led many unions and

peak councils to cut back their services and staff in line with reduced budgets.29

The RevivalinTradeUnionBannerProduction

Australia has aproud historical tradition of trade union banner production that

reflects the important role of unionism in shaping national identity in the late

nineteenth

century.

It also demonstrates the influence of the British union movement

on thedevelopment

of the culture andorganisation

of Australian unions.30

Traditionalrepresentations

of unionism have been masculine.31Contemporary

feminist commentators note the continuance of customs, practices and culture that

marks unions as masculine and the normative unionist as male.32 The cultural

signifiers of trade unionism inAustralia have been heavily shaped by three traditions:

the nineteenth century British labour tradition, the 1890sAustralian bush unionism

and the social-realisticonography

of the 1930s.33

Banner Bright, John Gorman's comprehensive study of British banners publishedin 1973, clearly

demonstrates how the unions and bannermakers of the nineteenth

century madeuse

of female figuresas

symbolic representations of values suchas

justice andliberty,

or virtues andideologies

such asEmpire.34 Stephen

and Reeves

found parallel symbolism inAustralian banners and noted the absence of women

as workers from most historic Australian bannersdespite

their commonpresence

asallegorical figures. They found few examples of women and men equally

representedon a union banner. The Eastern Goldfields Branch of Amalgamated

Tailors and Tailoresses Society and the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union

weresignificant exceptions.35 The 1890s Australian bush unionism as

expressed in

the poems, stories and journalism ofHenry Lawson, Bernard O'Dowd and William

Lane might have differed from the British tradition in their choice of heroes - the

bushman and rural worker-

but itwas equally a strong masculine tradition. The

later influences of socialist and communist ideals of the 1920s to 1940s also presumedthe worker was male and

posed the blue-collar worker as themighty

liberator of all

workers and the whole world.36

In Victoria alone, more than 200 banners wereproduced

between 1856 and 1950.

Of theseonly

about 15 survive.37 In recent years,some of the most ornate of the

historical banners have been restored inseparate projects

such as thatorganised

in

conjunction with the Hyde Park Barracks Museum in Sydney for their inaugural



Muir Feminismand Representationsof Union IdentityinAustralianUnion Banners 97

exhibition 'the

badges

of your labour were the banners of yourpride'

in 1984. The

banner room at the old Trades Hall in Sydney still houses about 40 of these restored

historic banners.

The publication of British historian JohnGorman's book triggeredsome interest

in the fate and location of historic Australian union banners amongst unionists

themselves and others working in the areas of labour history inmuseums and

universities. Andrew Reeves (whilst working at the University of Melbourne

Archives, and later at the National Museum of Australia and at theMuseum of

Victoria) combed the country trying to locate old union banners and tells of rescuing

mouldy and tattered remains of formerly magnificent silk banners from old halls.38

His search unearthed some magnificent banners in good condition and Reeves has

playeda

significant contribution in preserving this valuable historical record of

labour history, with their images of vanished (masculine) trades, skills and worksites.

Four main factors influenced the revival of interest in trade union banner

production. They included the development of the exhibition of Australian historical

banners atHyde Park Barracks; the publication of Stephen and Reeves' book Badges

of Labour, Banners of Pride in 1984; the subsequent lecture tour by John Gorman in

1985; and the availability of funds through the Art andWorking Life program of the

Australia Council and some state artsdepartments.

A number of unions hadalready

commencedcommissioning

new bannersreflecting

thecontemporary

circumstances

and concerns of theirmembership. In 1982, Geoff Hogg commenced work on the

Victorian Trades Hall Council banner and established an arts workshop based in

the old Trades Hall building, which stayed in production and employed various

artists for over a decade.39 Otherearly examples

of the revival of interest in trade

union banners included Rick Amor's 1980 banner for the Victorian branch of

Australian Postal and Telecommunications Union and Redback Graffix' 1981 banner

for the South Coast Miner's Federation. In 1984, the Sydney branch of Actors Equitycommissioned a new banner. It was a double-sided textile banner

appliquedand

sewn by Nola Taylor to adesign by graphic artist, Michael Fitzjames. This was the

first of a series of new banners tobe produced using traditional feminine needlework

techniques.

IndustrialStrengthThroughDomesticNeedlework

There had been a revival of interest amongst feminist artists in traditional women's

needlework skills and their potential for application within contemporary feminist

political contexts since the growth of the women's movement in the 1970s.40 In

Australia, artists who were members of the women's art movement in at least three

states participated in exhibitions which reclaimed women's domestic craft skills

from the dustbin of 'amateurism' towhich the fine artworld had consigned them

and explored their subversivepotential.41 They

utilised thesoothing,

seductive and

comforting qualities of these media, together with their connotations of traditional

domesticated femininities, to assert demands forequality,

to form connections with

women of different social classes, occupations, ages and culturalbackgrounds,

and

to express alternative feminist identities.42

The convergence of this revival of interest in trade union bannerproduction

together with the increased activity of artists working in community contexts and

the newavailability of government funding for such projects supported a veritable




explosion of new trade union banner production. The United Trades and Labor

Council in South Australia gaineda series of grants to fund artists' fees for the

production of new trade union banners tomark theUTLC's centenary in 1984.43At

theUTLC's 1987 banner exhibition 'Modern Trade Union Banners' 21 new banners

were exhibited and four more partially-completedones were represented through

photographs. This burst of productive energy into the visual iconography of

unionism created avery competitive

climate where unions vied for morespectacular

and distinctive imagery. This competitiveness worked between unions within

particularstates and across interstate branches of the same union. Unions with a

history of support for, or participation in, cultural activities (such as the AMWU,

the Seamen's Union, and various building unions)were some

of the first tobecomeinvolved. However, others which had different historical perspectives on cultural

productsand on the role and value of contemporary imagery

of unionism also

participated. The diversity of forms and identities of unionism was reflected in the

diverse styles, images and text included in themany banners which wereproduced

across all states of Australia during the 1980s and early 1990s.

The greatest stylistic diversity of banners occurred inSouth Australia (26banners

during the 1980s and an additional six, at least, during the 1990s with more than 16

artists involved in their design and production). In other states such as New South

Wales (particularly inNewcastle), Victoria and Western Australia where one or two

artists produced the majority of the banners, there was coherence in style across

many of the new banners. This sometimes resulted in aniconographie similarity

being established between unions despite significant differences in their politics

andmembership coverage. In these three states, however, there were also at least a

fewexamples

of banners in a differentstyle produced by

artists who made onlyone

or two banners.

The most interesting variations in banner design and production techniquesover this period related to the different ways union and membership identity

were

expressed. Some of the other factors which influenced the style of banner developedincluded whether or not the union had sought and obtained grant funding for the

project or had raised their own funds; the size of their budget; the degree towhich

they wanted to involve themembership in the design and making of the banner;

the artist selected; the political affiliation of the union and its particular industrial

prioritiesand concerns; the constitution of the committee or

group overseeingthe

banner's design; the nature of themembership; and the purposes for which theywanted to use the banner. For

example,unions which had raised their own

budget

might have preferred their union insignia to be reproduced as the main design

component for the banner. Such a commission would therefore have been unlikelyto receive grant funding

as it did notrepresent

anopportunity

fororiginal

creative

contribution from an artist and could well be executedby

asignwriter.

Putting aGood Faceon it'?Idealistic ndRomanticRepresentationsf Unionism

Whilst many of the banner artists of the 1980s respected the tradition of trade union

banners and held sentimental attachments to these glorious fading artefacts, they

were also veryaware of the power relations and absences within this

symbolic

tradition. Therefore, whilst many included reference to the banner tradition, they

sought to reinterpret and transform it through the content, form and style of their




bannerdesigns.

As Burnnoted,

instead of thestereotyped

heroic male worker 'artists

tend to represent equality of the sexes, even where this may be premature in the

industry represented'.44 Not only did artists represent gender equality, they often

also chose, in consultation with the uniondesign

committee or executive, torepresent

cultural diversity and privilege indigenous workers. In general, this choice ignored

the reality thatmost unions still had a poor record of addressing the needs of these

sectors of theirmembership and little, ifany, representation from these groups within

their decision-making bodies and positions of power.45

This choice raises someinteresting

issues aboutrepresentational strategies,

intentions andreadership.

On the one hand, the choice toadopt

an affirmative, or

positive, repertoire of images could argue the idealism of the artist, blind to thefaults of the union concerned; on another it

suggestsa conscious decision to 'address

the silences within class cultures' andparticularly

the absence inmainstream culture

of positive representations of workers.46 Such strategies also fitted the affirmative

approach advocated inboth theACTU and UTLC arts policies. Certainly, asmany

inside and outside unionsargued,

the revitalisation of the union movement was

dependent upon the unionsrecognising

andharnessing

the skills and resources of

all sectors of the membership and better representing this diverse collection of

interests and identities.47 Within the representational politics of the union banners

the prominent inclusion of womenperforming

skilled trades work also acted as a

demand that blue collar unions and theirmembers recognise the rightful presence of

women in non-traditional trades asequals

and as comrades.48

There was also apromotional aspect

to thesedesign

decisions which for many

unions was thekey

reason forcommissioning

a banner. Some union officials saw

the banner as anopportunity

topromote

apositive image

of both their own union

and unionismgenerally

to thepublic

and the union movement itself. Unions used

their banners asbackdrops

to media conferences, inmarches andprotest rallies, at

celebratory events (such as dinners and fundraising events) at union and ALP

conferences, at trade fairs, and at skills expos. Thedesign

of a new bannerpresented

the opportunity to the union of

developing

acontemporary

image

of its

identity,

its

concerns, itsstrengths,

itsmembership

and its achievements. Notonly members,

but also potential members, the undecided general public and union opponentswould see this image. Itwas a critical opportunity for the union to reposition itself

symbolically and to develop a positive image for the television cameras.

A few unions and artists failed to grasp this opportunity and therewere several

banners produced during this period that failed to succeed asmedia objects as their

design was too detailed to be read from a distance orby television cameras. A few

other banners werecrudely designed or

painted which led to criticisms from fundingbodies and other arts commentators that these banners were

political propaganda

andpoor

art.49 In some instances:

vastly conflicting expectations aboutprojects [arose] from artists with little

experience of trade unions and their traditions, and from trade unionists

holding fairlytraditional ideas about art and with little experience

... in

artistic issues.50

These kinds of conflicts led todissatisfaction on the part of some participating artists.

However, for other artists the experience wasdeeply satisfying, extending their



100 LabourHistory Number 79 November 2000

understanding of the complex nature of meanings for specific audiences and

exposing the artists to experiences, people and environments which were new to

them.51

Many of the textile banners of the 1980s and early 1990s were, and still are,

loved by union officials, delegates, members and by the public. This can be seen by

theregular

attention such banners attract fromstrangers

who want to know about

the organisation, why and how itgot such a beautiful object, and if can they touch

it. This has provideda

promotional opportunity highly valued by some union

officials. Such conversations canpresent opportunities

todirectly explain

union

positionson a diverse range of issues and even the basic nature and role of unions

in contemporary society. The banners therefore can present opportunities for

education as well aspromotion.

Theprominent position

of women, non-Anglophoneand

indigenousworkers

within the imagery of these banners presents the unions as inclusive and respectful

of cultural diversity. As noted above, this reflects the reality of themembership of

many unions butrarely

itsdecision-making structures, industrial or

political

priorities. This raises the question of the politics of (seemingly) cynically exploitingsuch

imagesfor recruitment and

promotional purposes. However, for many unions

and artists the question was rather a matter of trying to foster change through

changing both the symbols aswell as the realities of power.52 This strategy goes hand

inhand with the slow and painful process of changing the institutional culture and

itstechniques

of power such as the rules, thedecision-making structures, resource

allocation, and thepractices

of industrialnegotiation.53

In other instances the unions

concerned had'progressive' policies

on issues ofgender, race, indigenous

affairs

and international solidarity and had established affirmative measures within their

organisationsto

represent these groupsmore

appropriately.These unions were

proud

of their achievements and wanted themrepresented

within their banner as evidence

of their commitment to equality and social justice issues.

For those artists who had come from abackground of 1960s and 1970s political

activism in the anti-war, women's, environment and land

rightsmovements, itwas

these achievements andpolicy

commitments-

and the fact that unions had some

institutional and financial power- that attracted them toworking with the labour

movement in the firstplace.

The Australiancontemporary

art and craft scene of the

1970s and 1980s was not a conducive environment in which to pursuea

political

artspractice.54 Working

incommunity

contexts offered artists awage (a rare

industrial benefit for visual and craft artists),55 the stimulation of learning about

otherpeople's

lives and concerns and, as Burn notes, 'pointsof access to a

political

understandingand an historical framework not found elsewhere'.56 It also offered

theopportunity

to be seen as a skilled worker, something which wasvery important

to many artists whowere

also supportive of the attempts to either establish anartworkers union or to

gainan award for artists within

existing industrial unions.57

Some of these artists worked on variousprojects

across a wide range ofcommunity

groups, others alternated union related work with otherpaid

work as art teachers,

academics or artsorganisers

and with their own art work and occasionalprivate

commissions.

For artists with abackground

in feminism and the women's art movement, it

was a rareexperience

to work with, and beaccepted by, the

mythical 'hard men' of




the labour movement. Socialist-feminist artists such as Pam Harris and Gwenda

Wiseman valued their experience of gainingan intimate understanding of thework

processes and themembership of the left-wing Builders Labourers Federation (BLF)

and in commemorating its traditions of support for the underdog, support forworker

participation indeveloping an 'authentic' Australian culture, for industrial militancyand the green bans.58 It seems likely that the rewards of this working relationshiphad to do with both the romantic appeal of the radicalism and notoriety of the BLF,

and the personal bonds formed with those particular officials and members who

were genuinely and deeply supportive of their artists. In addition, there were

complicated questions to do with being a feminist artist depicting the male culture

of the building industry and that these artists' subjectivities in relation to these

questions was never addressed within these (and other Art and Working Life)

projects. Whilst this is a point worthy of greater consideration, it is also clear that

some women artists gained particular benefits and satisfaction from their

engagementwith

stereotypically 'macho' unions.

For artists with ahistory

of commitment to left activism, student-worker alliances

andAboriginal rights,

such as Harris, Ann Newmarch andMegan Evans, working

with unions was a logical step from their previous unpaid activist work. This was

also true ofmany of the male artists who came from similar

backgrounds although

their banners tended to draw more directly upon the historical banner tradition

and be less innovative in style and form. However, for some feminist artists the

collaboration did pose some interesting and complicated tensions around issues of

gender and feminist politics that they addressed within the form of their work. These

artists found that the use of the textile medium to represent the identity of a

traditionally masculine union provided them with the opportunity of subvertingthe 'macho'

stereotypesof blue-collar manual work.

Daphne Stitt, who made two

highly ornate textile banners for blue-collar male dominated South Australian unions

(the Building Workers Industrial Union (BWIU) and theAMWU), has commented

on thepleasure

shegained

fromconfounding

thestereotypes

of 'macho' blue-collar

workers by providing them with a vibrant representation of their

identity producedusing traditionally feminine needlework practices.59

These techniques were also highly practical for banners that needed tobe rolled

or folded for ease of transportation and thatmight get wet from rain and even mud

at worksite demonstrations. Textile banners could even be washed ordrycleaned

when the need arose and ifnecessary repairs could be incorporated within the form

of the banner. The quilting ofmultiple layers of fabric resulted in a strong and flexible

banner that was often more resilient than the traditional bannerpainted

in oils or

even modern acrylic paint. The diversity of craft techniques that could be

incorporatedwithin a textile banner

provided scope for therepresentation of

traditional industrial skills. Stitt utilised arange

ofdyeing

andstitching techniques

torepresent traditional construction skills such as terrazzo work, bricklaying, paving,

fencing and plastering within the form of the BWIU banner. Such textural renditions

ofmeaning were less possible within the traditional form of the painted banners. A

number of textile banners were also madeusing 'piecing' techniques which resonate

with the basic trade union philosophy of strength in unity.60




ColourandCelebration nTextileBanners

The traditional historical banners featured very formal designs and generally utilised

a sombre palette. Theycommunicated the seriousness of the business of unionism

and commanded respect for their authority as public institutions. Contemporary

banner makers have shaken up theserepresentational

traditionsthrough

more

informal designs and through use of amuch fuller paletteaswell as using different

media. Many utilise the play of colour and texture to celebrate the union's

membership, identityand

goalsand to make the union appear

more accessible as

anorganisation

concerned with social justiceas well as industrial issues.

JulieMontgarrefs banner for the national office of theAmalgamated Footwear

and Textile Workers Union (AFTWU) offers agood example of the application of

colour and sense of celebration. The banner utilises screen printing, appliqu? and

machine embroidery, and features images of (primarily female) members at work

undertaking awide range of tasks associated with the industry. Montgarref sdesign

for the AFTWU reveals the diversity and feminised nature of the (often invisible)

workforce and associates the union withcontemporary popular

discourses of

multiculturalism. The vibrancy of the colours and textures and the flowing design

within the banner contribute to the mood of celebration.61 The affirmative and

idealised representations of unionism suggested by the banner derive from the co

operationand

diversityof the

membership,the

intimacyof the

portraitsof the

workers, several of whom engage the viewer's gaze, rather than any collective

political action. The portraits of the members aregiven additional complexity

through the use of hand-colouring and the superimposition of layers of semi

transparent fabric and net suggesting complex identities. The appeal ofMontgarrefs

banner lies not only in the detail of the design but also in the vibrancy of the colours

and the appeal of its tactility. The grid patternon the reverse has the same portraits

of workers leaning out, over and through the grid, breaking down the divisions

within the form of both the traditional device of the grid and themetaphoric notion

of the grid as social divisions. Again the feminist strategies of respect for difference

and co-operation for change are utilised in a representational approach to signifyingunionism that evokes the

strategiesand rhetoric of social (movement) unionism.

Montgarretalso made a smaller, less ornate version of this banner, including

some

of the sameportraits,

to carryon demonstrations. The union's Victorian branch

frequently takes this smaller banner on industrial rallies, picket-lines and toFairwear

and anti-racism events.62

PiperAlphaCondolenceBanner

Julie Montgarrefs

Piper Alpha Condolence Banner representsa

significant departure

from the banner tradition and itscontemporary re-interpretations.

It is one of the

most eloquent examples of textile techniques being adapted to carry amessage of

solidarity. Itwas initiated through the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) in

1988-89 whilst Montgarret was artist in residence at theVTHC Arts Workshop. It is

neither apromotional expression of individual union

identitynor of contemporary

Australian unionism moregenerally. Instead, itwas created to

express international

solidarity and empathy with the impact on aparticular community of a major

industrial accident. The banner was sent as agift to the City of Aberdeen from the




workers of Australia in commemoration of the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster which

occurred on 7 July 1988,with the loss of 170 lives. The main panels of the banner are

made from a fine grade, transparent, polyester screen-printing mesh on which the

artist painted images of the ocean and mid-summer night sky onto both layers which

when overlaid added amoir?, watery effect.63 The darkness of tones indicate the

wildness of the sea and that the disaster occurred at night. Over 170 small dyed-red

squares, each carrying the name of one of those who died during and after the

disaster, areplaced

over thesky/ocean image.

The red squaresare anchored between

the transparent front and back layers of mesh by way of agrid of machine-stitched

lines which pass through the middle of each square horizontally and vertically. The

stitched grid isboth a small cross and amarker of their sea graves. A map of Scotland,embroidered in bright blue, fills most of the front panel. It locates the rig

geographically and acknowledges thatmost of theworkers were Scottish. The rig,

itself, is stitched in very small scale in relation to the frame to suggest the fragility of

the structure so distant from land and the distance of over 300 feet from the lowest

deck to the sea(many of the workers had to jump this distance when the rig

exploded).In each corner of the banner Montgarret has placed seabirds including gulls,

puffins and guillemots not only for their insistent presence around oil rigs (in both

Australia and the North Sea) and their common appearance around the Scottish

coast but also in their own right as victims. Sea birds died by the thousand in the

resulting oil slick that spreadas far as

Norway. On the reverse panel, Montgarret

included a faint rainbow in reference to the bravery of all the workers -including

the crews of the rescue boats who were atgreat risk in even

approachingthe

rig.

The origin of the banner resulted through a combination of the then VTHC arts

officer Daphne Stitf s connection with Scotland and her interest in the British tradition

of condolence banners, togetherwith

Montgarret'sown involvement in the

establishment of the Victorian branch of theAIDS memorial quilt project. Theywere

both aware of the significance of textiles in relation to grief and healing. Montgarretnotes the suitability of textile as a medium of condolence for its 'familiarity, its

connotations ofprotection,

comfort andsecurity

as resonant materials [and] also

the processes of making which supported and encouraged the process of grievingand celebration of lives'.64 Stitt arranged the transport of the banner toAberdeen

through the Seamen's Union of Australia. Ithangs in the Hall of Remembrance at

the Aberdeen City Art Gallery and occasionally visitors place wreaths of flowers

beside it.65




TheSouthAustralianWomen inTradeUnionsNetworkBanner

Plate 1: 'Women inTrade Unions' banner designed by Kay Lawrence and ElaineGardner

Photo courtesy of the United Trades and Labor Council of South Australia

The banner depicted inPlate Iwasdesigned by Kay Lawrence and made by Elaine

Gardner with the participation ofmembers of the South Australian Women inTrade

Unions Network.66 The network was an informal group of women unionists which

existed togive support

to women who were new to trade union activism and found

the customs and culture strangeor

alienating. Manywomen union officials and

members of formal committees such as theWomen's Standing Committee supported

the activities of the network and were also involved in the design and production ofthe banner.

The banner's design draws upon the traditional symbolism ofwomen's suffrage

struggles through its choice of colours: purple, green, yellow and white67. Whilst

the design has similarities to the traditional union banner design with a central

image and decorative border it also subverts the heroic and formal aspects of the

traditional design. Whereas in the traditional banner itwould be usual to see proud

male figures marching in a line in support of their demands or a sole heroic male

figure representative of allmale workers, the image chosen as the central panel for

this banner connects to a very different method of organising. The photographic

image, reproduced as a cyanotype (or blueprint), depicts women in an Adelaide

May Day march with a banner calling for improved childcare facilities. The nature

of the issue selected is in stark contrast with those industrial and ideological issues

traditionally placed in the foreground on union banners. Childcare is an issuewhich

particularly highlights the dual role of women aspaid and unpaid workers and

there has been along battle by

women unionists toget it recognisedas an industrial

issue. The women arewalking

in a casual line, two women on the centre left are



Muir Feminism and Representations of Union IdentityinAustralianUnion Banners 1105

deepin conversation, another, on the

right, pushes

her

baby

in a pram. The

arrangement of women suggests the informal processes of women's organising

through networking rather than the formal and hierarchical union structures of

committees and elected officials. Instead of an ornate and formal gold border, as

many traditional banners employ, the photographic image appears tobe 'stuck on'

to the banner background bymeans of photographic

corners. This device links the

imageto another domestic artefact, the

family album, and to women's role as the

keeper of family and community histories.

The central image is surrounded by two rows of intertwined purple ribbons on

which words are embroidered. The words also differ from the traditional banner

content in that they are in seven different languages and express the things thatwomen do together

as part of their organising for change. The words include

expressionsof emotion such as

'laughing', 'caring7and

'dancing7.68The banner also

features handmade details such as the hand-stitched embroidery around a rosette

on one woman's lapeland

edgingaround another's jacket.

These details also increase

the link towomen's domestic needlework and to intimacy instead of formality. The

banner reverse is a simple deep purple satin with the title 'women in trade unions'

appliqu?d in cursive lettering inwhite and yellow. The whole banner ishand quilted,

a task undertaken collectively bymembers of the network under Gardner's co

ordination, and which links the banner to the invisible histories of women in both

the industrial and domestic spheres. The construction process also put into practice

the network'shope

for a moreparticipative

unionism. The luscious sheen of the

purple satin, the intimacy of the women calling for childcare, and the joyful and

soft colours and style invite the viewer to join with these women for pleasureas

much as protection. The image invites participation and touch and works to

demystify and make more accessible the often threatening and overwhelming

masculinesymbolism

and traditions of unionism. It alsopositions

unions aspart

of

a broad social coalition, just another set of people working for change. In thisway it

anticipates the strategy of social (or social movement) unionism which has become

a key strategy in theUnited States and Canadian labourmovements and a contested

one within debates on the future of Australian unionism.69

TheWomen inTrade Unions Network banner utilises feminist cultural strategies

of subversion, and desire in itsdesign and construction, together with employment

of traditional feminine craft techniques. The incorporation of domestic crafts within

an industrial context also calls to attention some of the anomalies in the situation of

women with regard to their double load of paid and unpaid domestic work.

Feminism as an underlying principle for women's organising ismade explicit in

thewomen's symbol on the top left hand corner of the banner's heading and again

through symbolsand

badgeson the

lapelsof some marchers.

ManyAustralian union banners

(especiallybanners made for union and

peakcouncil women's committees) incorporate

the women'ssymbol

as anexplicit linkage

to feminism. Canadian artists and unionists observe that the women'ssymbol rarely

appearson Canadian banners with women's activism

being representedinstead

through bread and roses. Bread and roses was the symbol adopted by the Lawrence

textile workers in their strike against inhumane hours and the use of child labour in

1912,when they said they were on strike 'not just for bread but for roses too'.70This

symbolism iswidely known and used with considerable affection inNorth America.




However, Australia lacks the historical parallel of such amajor women's industrial

struggle recognised by organised labour and its subsequent martyrs, nor has it

developed any commensurate symbols of shared interest.71 Some Australian unions

have adopted the use of the rose in relation towomen's organising but this has its

antecedents in the rose of the British Labour party rather than theNorth American

roses. Some examples of the rose as a feminist union symbol include the Western

Australian and South Australian TLC women's badges, the Victorian NTEU women's

committee banner designed and made by Anne Learmonth, and the South Australian

AMWU women's committee T-shirt and caps. The UTLC in South Australia has

recently adopteda version of the bread and roses logo in promotional material for

activities of interest towomen unionists. Assistant Secretary Michelle Hogan says

that theWomen's Standing Committee has been impressed by the symbol's capacityto express the complexity ofwomen's experiences within the union movement: that

of difference; belonging and their contributions to the labour movement.72

TheTransport orkers'UnionBanner, outhAustralia ndNorthernTerritory ranch

Plate 2:TransportWorkers Union of Australia (SA/NT)'banner

designed by JoannaBarrkman

Photo courtesy ofKarlhuber photography

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) banner designed and made by artist Joanna

Barrkman with the assistance of indigenous artist Christina Yambeing (from

Merrepen Arts), is one of very few Australian banners to attempt to explicitlyassociate the union with the struggle for land rights.73 The TWU banner not only

seeks to acknowledge that it isAboriginal land which the TWU members traverse

constantly in theirwork, but also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders members.74

The banner incorporates the techniques of silk painting and appliqu? and is

exceptionally beautiful with vibrant reds and ochre tones referring to both western

and indigenous conceptualisations of the landscape.



Muir Feminism and Representationsof Union Identity inAustralian Union Banners 107

It utilisesa

traditional design formatof an oval

medallionwith

surroundingimages and border. However, both the palette and medium are

distinctly different.

The central image is of a road train with three tanks which immediately suggests

outback Australia as in most other statesonly

two can be hauled. On either side of

the road train are two camels indicating the historic methods of transport in that

hostile environment and they also refer to the work of Afghan and Aboriginalmen

in transporting goods into remote areas. The road train isdepicted in front of awell

known Northern Territory landmark and significant Aboriginal cultural site, the

Devils Marbles. Across the centre and lower section of the banner a snake

'represent(s) the land upon which the work of the TWU takes place and the

relationship that we have to this land. The serpent has universal significance in

Aboriginalcultures and takes various forms and

meanings'.75The border of the

banner reflects two different styles of Aboriginal art found in the territory, the dot

painting of the central desert region and the crosshatching from the top end. When

carried in events such as the DarwinMay Day parade, eyewitnesses say the banner

isspectacular

as the silk shimmers in the sunshine and the colours glow. These

qualitiesare very alluring and create a

significant degree of interest both in the

banner as artobject

and in the circumstances of its existence. The TWU banner marks

the nature of thework asbeing particularised by its location, the exceptional distances

members travel anddependence

ofpeople

in remote areas on their work inproviding

an effective transport system. It commits the union symbolically to the

acknowledgement of Aboriginal ownership of the land and their special cultural

relationship to that land. In this way it privileges land rights over any specificindustrial issues.

This banner raises the general question of whether it is appropriate for unions

to employ signifiers ofAboriginality when their ownpractices generally, in relation

to investigating and servicing the specific needs ofAboriginal members, leavemuch

to be desired.76 As in the case ofmigrant workers and other

under-represented

groups, the matter can be viewed both as anexploitation of visible signifiers of

difference for

promotional purposesand/or as a

strategy

to move their issues into

a more centralposition within the union's concerns. The 'heart on our sleeve'

approach utilises such imagery to indicate a progressive empathy for, and solidarity

with, marginalised workers in the hope that these workers will be more likely to

join the union. It could also, more kindly, be seen as a deliberate strategy by union

leadership to promote the interests ofmarginalised groups within the union, and as

apolitical issue requiring members' support, by raising their profile to the very

symbolic heart of union identity. Whether or not such unions arewilling to adopt

strategies of structural support to better ensure the representation of their issues

(such astargeted positions

onkey decision-making bodies) and the necessary

resourcesto service their specific industrial issues remains questionable. There are

certainlyinstances where unions have been

happyto

promote/use imagesof women

in/to centralsymbolic positions but have refused to take the necessary steps

to

improvetheir industrial

representationor have done so in tokenistic ways which

fail to consider the power relations within theimages.77




Conclusion

Feminist artists and feminist art practices had asignificant influence on the revival

of the tradition of trade union banner making inAustralia during the 1980s and

early 1990s. Feminist interest in reviving traditional women's domestic needlework

skills and adapting them to the themes of contemporary social and political changebecame a

strong strand within Australian bannerproduction.

The artists discussed

in this article have retained a commitment to theprinciples

of unionism, its role and

itspossibilities,

and haverepresented

it in an affirmative way. Theyhave not

attemptedtomake reference to reservations about the

capacityof unions to

effectively

representwomen's

experiencesin the

subjectmatter of the banners, nor would it be

appropriateto do so. However, it is

argued that reference to these issues may be

found in the form andtechniques

usedby

feminist banner makers. Feminist

challengesto traditional forms and structures of unionism are reflected in the

depictionof women in non-traditional trades, in the inclusion of feminist

iconography inbanner design, and in the production of individual banners for union

andpeak

council women's committees.

These banners reflect debates around twokey strategies

of feminist activism

within unions.Firstly,

thesupport for separate structures for women and the

promotionof

policiesand

practices which guaranteewomen a

prominent placein

decision-makingstructures.78

Secondly, creating

an increasedvisibility

of women

within the cultural and symbolic realms of unionism which challenges their

categorisationas 'other' within the traditional

practicesand concerns of unions. It

has beenargued

that it isimportant

to notonly

'see how women arepositioned

as

"other" to the ...masculine worker (but also) toidentify

sites where suchgendered

practicesof

representationcan be

challenged'.79 Such anapproach,

it isargued,

can

create anopportunity

for women toidentify

with a different kind of unionism.

Unfortunately,in some instances, this

promising representation of unions as a

sympathetic space for theaddressing

of concerns of women, non-English speaking

backgroundand

indigenousworkers has been

betrayed byunions' failure to move

beyond window dressing to a systematic overhaul of their policies, priorities andpractices. However, in other instances the discussion that occurred within the union,

or the union's women's committees, or the banner reference group around thepolitics

ofrepresentation enabled women members to raise other

grievances about the ways

in which the concerns of women unionists wererepresented and the

continuing

dominance of masculine forms of union culture.Throughout

theperiod

of the 1980s

and 1990s, women inmany unionsdeveloped

arange of

strategiesof

self-organising,

caucusing, presenting alternate identities of unionism andcelebrating

their survival

within and identification with union culture. Banners have been oneway in which

women have drawn attention to their presence, theirdiversity

and theirchallenge

to the traditional practices of unionism.

Whilst theproduction

of new union banners has slowed from a rush to a trickle,

the collection of banners produced in the 1980s and early 1990s is historically

significant. They record thechanging configurations of unionism and, in

particular,

the ways in which feminism hasattempted

to contest traditionalimages

o?

unionism.80 Some banners from thatperiod have

alreadybeen outdated

by the

processes of unionamalgamation

anddwindling membership. However, it is to be

hopedthat this

generation of banners are not discarded or left to rot like those of the



Muir Feminismand Representationsof Union IdentityinAustralian Union Banners 109

1890s and that instead that theywill be valued as an important record of a period of

substantial and contested change in both arts practice and unionism.

Endnotes

1. See for example J.Hughes Film Work (video) Melbourne, 1982; K. Harper, The Useful Theatre: the

New Theatre Movement in Sydney and Melbourne 1935-1983', Meanjin, vol. 1,1984, pp. 56-71; A.

Reeves, A Tapestry ofAustralia: the Sydney Wharfies Mural, Waterside Workers Federation, Sydney

Port, Sydney, 1992.

2. Visual arts historian Sandy Kirby and (the late) artist, art theorist and unionist Ian Burn are two

notable exceptions who have written about the history of labour cultural projects, the cultural

history of the labour movement and the context provided by that history. S. Kirby and I.Burn,

'Historical Sketch' in I.Burn(ed.), Working

Art: aSurvey of

Art in theAustralian Labour Movement in

the 1980's, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1985; S. Kirby, Artists and Unions: A Critical

Tradition, Australia Council, Redfern, 1992.

3. K. Muir, 'Difference or Deficiency: Gender, Representation and Meaning inUnions,' in B. Pocock

(ed.), Strife: Sex and Politics in Labour Unions, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1997, p. 173.

4. I.Burn, 'Artists in the Labour Movement,' in I.Burn, Dialogue: Writings inArt History, Allen and

Unwin, North Sydney, 1991, p. 142.

5. S. Garton, 'What have we Done? Labour History, Social History, Cultural History', in T. Irving

(ed.), Challenges toLabourHistory, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 1994, p. 56.

6. M. Lake, The Constitution of Political Subjectivity and theWriting of Labour History' in Irving,

ibid., pp 75-97. Also J.Damousi, 'Gendered Meanings and Actions in Left-Wing Movements,' pp.150-168 in same volume. For a discussion of the situation of non-English speaking background

workers see, for example, S. Bertone and G. Griffin, Immigrant Workers and Trade Unions, AGPS,

Canberra, 1992.

7. Lake, The Constitution', p. 77; Burn, 'Artistsin

the Labour Movement', pp. 140-151; G. Hawkins,From Nimbin toMardi Gras: Constructing Community Arts Practice, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1993,

p. 96.

8. Lake, The Constitution', p. 85. Also I. Burn 'Foreword', inKirby, Artists and Unions, pp. 3-4.

9. Hawkins, From Nimbin toMardi Gras, pp. 133-155.

10. Hawkins argues that this is how theArt and Working Life program was sold to trade unions (see

p. 97).

11. Examples of the capacity of unions to develop structures which utilise diversity asstrength in

relation to organising and coalition building strategies have been discussed in a number of recent

United States labour publications. See, for example, K. Bronfenbrenner et al. (eds), Organizing to

Win: New Research on Union Strategies, ILRPress, Ithaca, 1998; G. Mantsios, A New LaborMovement

for theNew Century, Monthly Review Press, New York, 1998;M. Ngai, 'Who is an American

Worker? Asian Immigrants, Race, and the National Boundaries of Class', in S. Fraser and J.Freeman (eds), Audacious Democracy: Labor, Intellectuals, and the Social Reconstruction ofAmerica,

Mariner, Boston 1997, pp.172-185; and J.Mort (ed.), Not Your Father's Union Movement: Inside theAFL-CIO, Verso, London and New York, 1998.

12. For a discussion of women's domestic needlework as potentially subversive see R. Parker, The

Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and theMaking of theFeminine, Women's Press, London, 1983. For a

discussion of Australian feminist artists' re-discovery of needlework, see S. Kirby, Sight Lines:

Women's Art and Feminist Perspectives inAustralia, Craftsman House, East Roseville, 1992, pp. 9-25.

13. For example, P. Berry, Can Unions Survive?, BWIU, Canberra 1989; ACTU, Australia Reconstructed,

ACTU, Melbourne, 1987; Evatt Foundation, LabourMovement Strategies for 21st Century, Evatt

Foundation, Sydney, 1991;M. Crosby and M. Easson (eds), What Should Unions Do? Pluto Press,

Sydney, 1992.

14. A. Carey, The Ideological Management Industry^ in T.Wheelwright and K. Buckley (eds),

Communications and theMedia inAustralia, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1987, pp. 156-179.

15. S. Scalmer and T. Irving, The Rise of theModern Labour Technocrat: Intellectual Labour and the

Transformation of theAmalgamated Metal Workers' Union, 1973-85', LabourHistory, no. 77,1999,

pp. 64-82. Artists perhaps could be seen to be a version of a specialist officer or 'technocrat'.16. See biographical information about Max Ogden as amember of the ACTU's Arts and Creative

Recreation Committee in D. Mills, Art and Working Life,ACTU/Community Arts Board, Sydney,

1983, p. 19. The other members of the committee at this time were theACTU's Arts officer, J.

McLean, P. Bloch, L. Carmichael, P.Clancy, M. Crosby, D. Cushion and A. Morgan.17. For further discussion of this change in attitude and the AMWU's key role in developing the

Accord see, for example, F. Stillwell, The Accord ... and Beyond: the Political Economy of the Labor

Government, Pluto Press, Sydney 1986; P. Ewer et ah, Politics and theAccord, Pluto Press, Sydney,1991.

18. Unions who had significant reservations about the Accord included the Australian Teachers

Federation and theNew South Wales Nurses Association which voted against it at theACTU's

E

N

D

N

0

T

E

S




Special unions conference in February 1983. See B. Norington, Jennie George, Allen and Unwin,

Sydney, 1998, pp. 130-2.19. Mills, Art andWorking Life.At this time about 40 per cent of the Australian workforce were trade

union members which made the case that unions were themost logical vehicle to increase the

access of workers to the arts a more convincing argument than itwould be today. For a discussion

of the political and institutional context inside the Australia Council at the time this policywas

introduced, see Hawkins, From Nimbin toMardi Gras, pp. 91-115. The Art andWorking Life

program was one of three incentive programs established by Council at that time. The other two

were the Multicultural Arts Program and the Youth Arts Program.20. ACTU, The Arts and Creative Recreation Policy, ACTU, Melbourne, adopted 1981 and revised in 1985,

p.l.21. Ibid.

22. Australia Council's Art and Working Life policy quoted inMills, Art andWorking Life, p. 16.

23. UTLC Arts Policy, adopted in 1984 and revised in 1987, Adelaide. Hawkins notes that there were

significant tensions Ijetween notions of difference and disadvantage' within projects themselves

and the various papers published promoting the program to different audiences. See Hawkins,

From Nimbin toMardi Gras, p. 115.

24. R.Markey, 'Marginal Workers in the Big Picture: Unionization of Visual Artists', Journal ofIndustrial Relations, vol. 38, no. 1,1996, pp. 22-41.

25. For a discussion of the challenges of organising strategies for diverse memberships see, for

example, B. Ellem, 'Organising Strategies for the 1990s-Targeting Particular Groups: Women,

Migrants Youth', inCrosby and Easson, What Should Unions Do?, pp. 347-361, and J.Shaw, M.

Walton and C. Walton, 'ADecline inUnion Membership: Some Ideas for Trade Unions in the

1990s', Evatt Foundation, LabourMovement Strategies, pp. 93-104.

26. Bertone and Griffin, Immigrant Workers, p. 99.

27. Examples of some of the strategies developed through grant funded projects and the work of such

committees include the 1988 establishment and support of the National Unions Coalition with

Aboriginal Movement (NUCAM) and the funding forAboriginal officers based at several peakcouncils; and the 1996 decision by the ACTU to establish targeted positions forWomen and

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members on the ACTU Council. Examples of projects include

the UTLC andWorking Women's Centre 1989 arts project with childcare workers, Not Minders Not

Mothers Not Martyrs. This project produceda touring exhibition to promote understanding of the

skills of childcare workers, the nature of their work and their need for higher wages and better

conditions. Examples of reports produced which drew attention to policy issues and made

recommendations for change include L. Gatica, Ethnic Minorities and Employment Issues: a Trade

Union Perspective, Trades and Labor Council ofWestern Australia, Perth, 1988; ACTU, Migrants and

Unions, Trade Union Information Kit 9, ACTU, Melbourne, 1985;M. Nightingale, Facing theChallenge:Women inVictorian Unions, VTHC, Melbourne, 1991.

28. For some insight into the nature of theWaste Watch attacks and the trade union response, see Art

Work, (video) UTLC, Adelaide, 1989.

29. For example, the South Australian United Trades and Labour Council (UTLC) had a regular staff

of over 20 during the latter years of the 1980s with several additional short term project staff. In

2000 its staff includes two full time elected officials and three administrative workers with

occasional support from short term project staff. These changes reflect the drop in trade union

membership, the loss of grant funding and the reduction in affiliation bysome unions that no

longer regard support to state peak councils as a priority. Such a reduction in staff has significantly

changed the broader social, cultural and political roles played by theUTLC and its capacity to

initiate or support projects.30. A. Stephens and A. Reeves, Badges of Labour, Badges of Pride: Aspects of Working-Class

Celebration, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, p. 2.

31. Lake, The Constitution', p. 85; Burn, 'Artists in the Labour Movement', p. 4.

32. See, for example, C. Cockburn, Brothers: Male Dominance and Technological Change, Pluto Press,

London, 1983; C. Cockburn, In theWay ofWomen: Men's Resistance to Sex Equality inOrganizations,Macmillan, London, 1991; D.S. Cobble, Women and Unions: Forging a

Partnership, ILR Press, Ithaca,

1993; Nightingale, Facing theChallenge; C. Shute, 'Unequal Partners: Women. Power and Trade

Union Movement', in N. Grieve and A. Burns, Australian Women; Contemporary Feminist Thought,Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1994; and various chapters in Pocock (ed.), Strife: Sex and

Politics inLabour Unions.

33. Kirby and Burn, 'Historical Sketch'.

34. J.Gorman, Banner Bright, Allen Lane, London, 1973.

35. A. Stephens and A. Reeves, Badges of Labour, pp. 3-4; A. Reeves, Another Day, Another Dollar:

Working Lives inAustralian History, McCulloch Publishing, Melbourne, 1988, p. 83.

36. J.Damousi, Women Come Rally: Socialism, Communism and Gender inAustralia 1890-1955, Oxford

University Press, Melbourne, 1994; Damousi 'Gendered Meanings', pp. 150-168. An example of the

worker as liberator can be seen in the New South Wales Liquor Trades Employees Union Banner

reproduced on the cover of Stephens and Reeves', Badges of Labour.

37. Stephens and Reeves, Badges of Labour, 'Introduction', no page number.

38. Ibid.



Muir Feminism and Representationsof Union Identity inAustralian Union Banners 111

39. A. Mancini, 'Union Art-

Past, Present and Future', inArtwork: Recent Art of the Victorian Trades Hall

Council Arts Workshop, exhibition catalogue, Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, 1989.40. Women's needlework has been used by activists in earlier generations to express anti-slavery

messages in the United States, suffrage messages in Britain and calls for peace and disarmament in

Australia. See Parker, The Subversive Stitch; L. T?ckner, The Spectacle ofWomen: Imagery of the Suffrage

Campaign, Chatto and Windus, London, 1987; J. Isaacs, The Gentle Arts: 200 Years ofAustralian

Women's Domestic and Decorative Arts, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1987.

41. There is an extensive literature on the development of feminist arts practices including the

employment of domestic needlework (see especially Parker, The Subversive Stitch) and the

influence of French feminist theory on feminist artists. For example, see G. Pollock, Vision and

Difference: Femininity, Feminism and theHistories ofArt, Routledge, London, 1988; L. Nochlin,

Women, Art and Power and Other Essays, Thames and Hudson, London, 1989. R. Parker and G.

Pollock (eds), Framing Feminism: Art and theWomen's Movement 1970-1985, Pandora, London, 1987.

For an Australian perspective on these developments, see C. Moore (ed.), Dissonance: Feminism and

theArts, 1970-90, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1994.

42. For example, The Lovely Motherhood Show7 and 'Quantum Leaps' inAdelaide and the 'IToyleyshow' in New South Wales.

43. K. Muir, The Banner Tradition', inModern Trade Union Banners, Catalogue, UTLC, Adelaide, 1987,

no page number. The UTLC secured grants from both the Crafts Board of the Australia Council

and the South Australian Jubilee 150 Board initially tomake 15 new banners. Additional funds

were obtained from the Australia Council's International Year of Peace fund for the design and

production of five separate peace banners. Together with contributions from unions, the UTLC

was able to assist in the production of over 26 new banners, some of which were actually pairs that

could be hung separately or used as double sided banners on marches.

44. Burn, 'Foreword', inKirby, Artists and Unions.

45. See Bertone and Griffin, Immigrant Workers; Nightingale, Facing theChallenge; B. Pocock, Women

Count: Women in South Australian Trade Unions, UTLC and Centre for Labour Studies, Adelaide,

1992; B. Pocock, Raising our Voices: Activism amongst Women andMen in South Australian Unions,

Centre for Labour Studies, Adelaide, 1994; S.Mezinec, The Slow Road toFairer Unionism: Changes in

Gender Representation in South Australian Unions 1991-1998, Centre for Labour Research, paper no.

10,Adelaide, 1999.

46. Burn, 'Foreword', inKirby, Artists and Unions, p. 4.

47. P. Berry, Can Unions Survive?; Bertone and Griffin, Immigrant Workers; Pocock, Women Count and

Raising Our Voices; Cobble, Women and Unions; J.White, Sisters and Solidarity, ThompsonEducational Publishing, Toronto, 1993.

48. Examples of women in such roles can be found in B. Hansen's banners for theNewcastle BuildingTrades group of unions, the Printing and Kindred Industries (New South Wales) union banner and

the Builders Labourers Federation (Tasmania); M. Evans' Operative Painters and Decorators Union

(Victoria) banner, J.Croft's Australian Meat Industries Employees Union (Western Australian)

banner. In contrast, several of the banners by male artists for similar unions do not include women.

See, for example, those of G. Hogg for the Building Workers Industrial Union (Victoria) and the

Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners (Victoria); A. Hill's Australian Timber Workers

Union (South Australia) banner); and B.McKay's banner for the Seamen's Union of Australia

(Western Australia). Instead, the design of these banners reinforces themale dominated nature of

the industries and the heroic male worker tradition. Iwish to emphasise here that banner designswere negotiated between the artist and the union and these comments should not be seen to implythat the responsibility for these choices by with the artist alone.

49. See, for example, C. Merewether, Contemporary Visual Arts in theArt and Working Life Program,

unpublished report, Visual Arts Board, Australia Council, Sydney, 1987.

50. Burn, Dialogue: Writings inArt History, p. 143.

51. Muir, The Banner Tradition'.

52. See Burn, 'Foreword', in Kirby, Artists and Unions, p. 4. The slowness of this process and the

important role of symbols and culture in transforming organisations would seem to be recognisedin point 8 of the UTLC Arts Policy discussed above.

53. Discussion of the practicalities of achieving such change can be found inWhite, Sisters and

Solidarity; Crosby and Easson, What Should Unions Do?; B. Pocock and J.Wishart, Organising Our

Future, Centre for Labour Research, research paper no 9, Adelaide, 1999; and ACTU, Unions?

Work, ACTU, Melbourne, 1999.

54. V. Binns, 'Introduction', in V. Binns (ed.), Community and theArts: History, Theory, Practice, Pluto

Press, Sydney, 1991, p. 12.

55. Markey, 'Marginal Workers'.

56. Burn, 'Artists in the Labour Movement', p. 145.

57. Markey, 'Marginal Workers'; Burn, 'Artists in the Labour Movement'; Wiseman quoted in R. Healy,Process and Practice

-Evaluation ofArtist in theCommunity JobCreation Scheme, Victorian Ministry for

theArts, Melbourne 1984, p. 121.

58. Healy, ibid. It should be noted thatWiseman, who had been amember of theWomen's Art

Movement inAdelaide, made a banner for the Victorian Branch of the BLF in 1983, and that as a

result of that successful collaboration designed and executed ahuge public art project with the BLF




in 1985. Itwas seven storey mural From theHod to the Favco on the side of the Rialto building whilst

itwas under construction. The mural represented the work of the BLF members. This mural wasone of the examples subsequently criticised by theWaste Watch committee.

59. D. Stitt, personal communication to author, 1987.

60. For example, the Seamen's Union Peace Banner (South Australia) and the Australian NursingFederation's (South Australia) banner. The West Australian TLC Women's Banner, although not

'pieced', ismade in such away that several distinct sections, that can also hang separately, come

together as awhole for marches. The New South Wales Teachers' Federation banner is a

patchwork of smaller knitted and sewn images.61. This is in stark contrast to the design of traditional historical banners which was very formal and

generally utilised a more sombre palette. The traditional banners communicated the seriousness of

the business of unionism and commanded respect for their authorityas institutions. Many

contemporary banner makers have shaken up this image of unionism

62. Other banners to utilise colour and texture in this way include: M. McMahon and N. Taylor'sbanner for theAMWU; D. Stitt's banners for the BWIU and AMWU (both in South Australia); K.

Muir's banners for the Food Preserver's Union and the Australian Nursing Federation (both in

South Australia); D. Humphrys' banners for the Northern Territory Public Sector Union and

Communication Workers Union, and E. Gallegos' banner for the Electrical Trades Union

(Tasmania).

63. Iam very grateful to Julie Montgarret for providing me, at short notice, a copy of her original artist

statement and the detailed information on which this section draws.

64. J.Montgarret, personal communication to author, 2000.

65. V. Rigney, Banners of theWorld: theContemporary Art of BannerMaking, exhibition catalogue,

Glasgow Museums, Glasgow, 1992, no page number.

66. Lawrence was an Adelaide-based feminist artist whose primary practice was as a tapestry weaver.

She had coordinated a number of high profile and local community tapestry projects and

commissions (including the Parliament House Embroidery project 1983-88) as well as other textile

projects. She was also an occasional lecturer at the South Australian School of Art. Gardner was a

quilter who had first commenced work on community textile projects in 1984. She had worked on

both tapestry and quilting projects. Both of these artists have subsequently continued their

involvement in community projects together with maintaining their individual practice.67. Banners, both painted and needlework, were a feature of the women's suffrage struggles

particularly in Britain (see T?ckner, The Spectacle ofWomen).

68. These are not the words most commonly associated with the formal rhetoric and structures of

unionism. They offer another example of Lake's point about the turn to promoting the idea of

'friendly' unions as a source of support forwomen in hard times 'substituting the values of

friendship for power and care for control' (Lake, The Constitution', p. 85).69. See Endnote 11.

70. W. Cahn, Lawrence 1912: the Bread and Roses Strike, Pilgrim Press, New York, 1977.

71. See C. Conde, M. Hynes and C. McLeod, 'Bread and Roses Across the Pacific', Hecate, forthcomingNovember, 2000.

72. M. Hogan, personal communication to author, 2000.

73. The Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union (Northern

Territory)

banner

produced

in themid

1980s was another which attempted to acknowledge Aboriginal union membership both in its

imagery and in its border of T?wi design.74. The TWU in theNorthern Territory also covers workers in a number of 'eco-tourism' ventures and

shares coverage of national parks with the LHMWU as well ascovering workers in the

conventional transport industries.

75. J.Barrkman, Transport Workers Union Banner', unpublished artist's statement in possession of

the author, Darwin, 1996.

76. In the years immediately preceding the banner's production, one of the Northern Territory'sTWU's full time officials was

Aboriginal. The TWU has played asupportive role in peak council

solidarity campaigns in support of both Aboriginal workers and wider ATSI campaigns such as

land rights in both South Australia and the Territory. The union has also attempted topursue the

issue of special leave for cultural purpose without success. It has not implemented, however, some

of the other suggested strategies to address the issues facing indigenous workers, such as

dedicated positions on the union

governing body,

a

separate

union committee on

indigenousissues or a sub-branch of indigenous members. This information comes from conversations

between the author and TWU (South Australia) secretary B. Heffernan and Industrial Officer S.

Key during the time that funding for the banner wasbeing sought from the Australia Council.

77. K. Muir, 'Difference orDeficiency' in Pocock (ed.), Strife: Sex and Politics inLabour Unions, pp. 188-9.

78. For discussion of these strategies see, for example, International Labour Organisation, 'Women's

Participation in Trade Unions', Labour Education, no. 90,1993; also White, Sisters and Solidarity.79. Muir, 'Difference or

Deficiency', p. 180.

80. It is also a valuable historical body of work thatwas, in part, produced due to a particularinstitutional convergence, theACTU's adoption of its 'Arts and Creative Recreation Policy' in 1980

Documents

Jurnal Australian 7