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"A bloody migrant who thinks he can run a union" : The case of Jerzy Bielski, a migrant trade unionist in 1950s Australia
Nilsson, Ebony Grace Persian, Jayne
Nilsson, Ebony Grace
Persian, Jayne
Abstract
Jerzy Bielski, a Polish displaced person (DP) who resettled in Australia in 1949, was the first post-war migrant to work for an Australian trade union. He was recruited in 1951 by the Australian Workers Union (AWU) as a migrant unionist and, some years later, established his own migrant trade union: the New Citizens Council. The council faced heavy criticism from within the trade union movement, including by right-wing DPs who, acting as Cold War warriors, were instrumental in the Labor Party split in the mid-1950s. Ultimately, this article argues that migrant trade union activism has a longer post-war history than is commonly acknowledged.
Keywords
displaced persons, trade unions, migrant activism, migrants rights, assimilation
Date
2024
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
126
Issue
Page Range
97-115
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
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Controlled
Notes
Copyright © 2024 Australian Society for the Study of Labour History
This research was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council, DP130101215.
This research was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council, DP130101215.