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Without Bosses: Radical Australian Trade Unionism in the 1970s by Sam Oldham (review)

At a time when corporate neoliberalism occupies a hegemonic role in industrial affairs, Sam Oldham’s Without Bosses: Radical Australian Trade Unionism in the 1970s presents a compelling picture of the upsurge in labour militancy that occurred during that tumultuous decade, documenting the litany of strikes, occupations and work-ins that arose within a wider climate of social and political unrest. Oldham’s study begins with what may be considered dual catalysts for the period under examination: the repealing of the penal powers in 1969, and the rise of the shop committees around the same time. The explosion of industrial activity is also linked to the crisis in capitalism as the post-war consensus began to unravel and as the West crept towards the economic crises of the early 1970s and stagflation. Despite the broader economic and cultural influences – the residue of the counterculture of the 1960s looms large throughout these events – the author accumulates a mass of evidence that emphasises the material foundations of workers’ desires to control their workplaces. Whether in the form of health and safety committees, decisions over retrenchments or supervisory roles, or disputes relating to wages and conditions, a recurring theme of Without Bosses is the innate yearning of working people to achieve some agency over their collective endeavours, and to challenge institutions that reinforce existing hierarchies on the shop floor. Without Bosses is a wholly fascinating and thoroughly researched study, which provides a critical analysis of workers’ struggles during a pivotal time in the history of the labour movement and modern Australia. As a contribution to the historiographical exchange of this era, Oldham has provided a valuable addition to the existing record that speaks to a militancy that challenges conventional notions of trade unionism, and stands in stark contrast to contemporary industrial affairs.