Profile - Thomas (Tom) Wright (1902-1981)

Scotsman Tom Wright migrated to Sydney at age 9 and left school at age 14 when he gained an apprenticeship as a sheet metal worker. He joined the Sheet Metal Working Industrial Union of Australia and quickly rose through the ranks, holding prominent positions in the NSW Branch including member of the state management committee, branch treasurer, and union delegate to the Labor Council of NSW.  

Tom had a keen interest in politics and joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP), serving as secretary of the Hurstville Branch. In 1923 he also joined the Communist Party of Australia (CPA). Following the ALP’s decision to exclude communists, Tom was expelled and embraced the CPA. He served as financial secretary and in 1925 was elected general secretary. He held this position until 1929, when his close allies, Jack Ryan and Jack Kavanagh were expelled. Tom escaped a similar fate and was restored to the party’s Central Committee in 1931. 

Tom began a relationship with his CPA colleague Mary Lamm, with both working for the Unemployed Workers’ Movement. They married in 1941.

Tom was a strong force in the trade union movement and Labor Council of NSW. In 1936 he was elected state secretary of the sheet-metal workers’ union and vice-president of the Labor Council of NSW in 1937. He was elected state secretary and federal president of the Sheet Metal Working Agricultural Implement & Stove Making Industrial Union of Australia. In the 1970s he served as state president and Commonwealth vice-president of the Amalgamated Metal Workers’ Union. He was a foundation member (1943), delegate (1943-73) and vice-chairman (1952-73) of the Metal Trades Federation of Unions. He was instrumental in the formation of the Australasian (later Australian) Council of Trade Unions (1927) and served as an ACTU delegate and member of the ACTU executive.  

Tom was passionate about Aboriginal rights, the Peace Movement and equal pay for women. He authored New Deal for Aborigines (1939) and successfully petitioned the CPA and Labor Council to promote policies supporting Aboriginal land rights. He also established a women’s organising committee within the sheet metal union and promoted the importance of women in the industry.  

Tom published several books and many articles that were regularly published in communist and trade union publications. He served as the editor of the Sheetmetal Worker journal for many years.  

Tom Wright died in Sydney in 1981 at the age of 78.     

References

Shields, T 2012, Thomas (Tom) Wright (1902-1981), Australian Dictionary of Biography, volume 18, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed <http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wright-thomas-tom-15654>

City of Sydney 2020, Sydney's Aldermen: Thomas Wright, accessed <https://www.sydneyaldermen.com.au/alderman/thomas-wright/>