This innovative and comprehensive book is the first detailed study of the making and development of Australian peak unions. For over 150 years, peak unions have been a central part of the Australian industrial relations landscape. They remain by far the most significant institutional form of inter-union cooperation in the country at the national, state, local, and industry scales. They are remarkably varied bodies which have played vital roles in union growth and labour renewal. Some are strong, some weak, and a select few have even come close to being unaccountable, a state within a state.

This multi-author book systematically examines their nature and influence at different times and in different places. It adopts a unique combination of comparative method and conceptual insights from the fields of industrial relations, history, geography, organizational studies, and political science. Its thirteen chapters explore the whole range of peak unions and labour councils--from local bodies to State councils to the national peak union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

The book allies this empirical diversity with an essential theoretical cohesion. It opens with two conceptual chapters which develop a model for explaining the formation and changing purpose and power of peak unions, a model which resonates through all the subsequent chapters.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Bradon Ellem, Raymond Markey, and John Shields
CHAPTER 1: Different Roads to Power: A Comparative Study of National Union Federations - Chris Briggs
CHAPTER 2: Beyond the "Will to Unity": Theorising Peak Union Organisation and Agency - Bradon Ellem and John Shields
CHAPTER 3: The Labour Council of NSW: 1871-2001 - Ray Markey
CHAPTER 4: Product of a Community in Transition: The First Brisbane Trades Labour Council: 1885-1888 - John Kellett
CHAPTER 5: The Industrial and Political Role of the Trades and Labour Council of Queensland since 1922: A Reassessment - Simon Fry, John Shields, and Bradon Ellem
CHAPTER 6: The Formation and Role of an Independent Trades and Labour Council in Western Australia - Bobbie Oliver
CHAPTER 7: The Barrier Industrial Council: A Study in Local Peak Union Origins, Purpose, Power, and Decline - Bradon Ellem and John Shields
CHAPTER 8: Peak Unionism in the Illawarra - Ray Markey and Shirley Nixon
CHAPTER 9: A Podium for Politics: The Origins and Role of the Rockhampton Trades and Labour Council and Its Predecessors - Barbara Webster
CHAPTER 10: A Fourth Level Council: The Wagga Wagga District Trades and Labour Council: 1943-1990 - Warwick Eather
CHAPTER 11: Power and Space in the Victorian Trades Hall Council - Cathy Bridgen
CHAPTER 12: The End of a Cycle? The Australian Council of Trade Unions in Historical Perspective - Chris Briggs

"A thoughtful and at times provocative analysis of peak union councils, this book is an instructive read for union members. Contemporary Australia sees hostility towards unions and collective bargaining increasingly the fare of daily media speculation and thus questions of unity and strength of purpose are central debates. In this context, as in many others, a little historical understanding can be a powerful thing. Peak Unions in Australia is thus a timely and valuable contribution not just to our history but potentially to union futures. I thoroughly recommend it."

-- Sharan Burrow, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions