The Seamen's Union in the 1920s and 1930s

The 1920s and 1930s was a period of great change and industrial action for the Seamen's Union. Following a protracted period of conflict, on 5 June 1925, the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission deregistered the Federated Seamen's Union of Australasia for “continuous disobedience to the arbitration laws and repeated interruption of shipping services” (Smith 2010). At the time, the union was led by Tom Walsh. Originally from Ireland, Walsh had arrived in Brisbane in 1893 and worked as a seamen on coastal ships. By 1909, he had joined the Federal Executive of the FSUA and also later served as the New South Wales Branch Secretary. In 1917, Tom married notable activist and suffragette Adela Pankhurst. Both actively campaigned against conscription and were founding members of the Communist Party of Australia. Both also spent periods of time in prison due to their activism. 

In 1922, Tom Walsh became Federal Secretary of the FSUA and was very successful in obtaining improved conditions for seamen on Australian vessels. His tactic of delaying a ship while conditions were negotiated was highly effective and soon made him and the union the target of shipowners. In 1925, seamen and wharf labourers struck in response to the actions of the Commonwealth Government Line of Steamers, who "chartered British ships and sailed under British articles to avoid paying Australian union rates" (Hogan 1990). Shipowners agitated for the deregistration of the FSUA, particularly after Walsh refused the direction of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to man the ships Eromanga and Dilga, which had sat idle in Sydney while the union fought shipowners over their continual disregard for the Award. With no sign of an end to the conflict between the union, the Commission and the Commonwealth Steamship Owners’ Association, the Commission cancelled the Award and ruled that from 6 June 1925 the SUA would cease to be a registered organisation. Although the union did continue to operate, it could no longer legally enforce rules or collect membership fees.

Tom Walsh was charged with inciting the Waterside Workers' Federation and the government passed special legislation to try and deport him and fellow FSUA official Jacob Johnson (Hogan 1990). The Deportation Board found in favour of the government and Walsh and Johnson were subsequently arrested on 20 November 1925 and and held at Garden Island in Sydney. Ultimately, neither were deported. Johnson, defended by H.V. Evatt, appealed to the High Court and won his case, with it determined that he could not be deported to his native Holland as he had been naturalised in 1913 (Cuneen 2022). 

Tom Walsh and Jacob Johnson had very different approaches to handling the union's difficulties, with Johnson favouring a much more militant approach. With Walsh in the role of General President and Johnson in the role of General Secretary, a role he took over from William (Bill) Raeburn in December 1926, there was ongoing conflict within the union's leadership. In August 1928, Johnson was convicted of intimidation and sentenced to six months in prison. Following his release, hostilities with Walsh resumed until Johnson successfully defeated Walsh in 1929. It was not until 1936 that Walsh was readmitted to the union. He died in Sydney in 1943, survived by Adela and seven children. 

During this turbulent time, the Seamen’s Union of Australasia was established. Although Jacob Johnson and his supporters certainly considered him the union's leader, there was much confusion about the leadership during the 1930s, with ongoing conflict between Johnson and Joseph (Joe) Keenan. Keenan, a Scotsman who had arrived in Australia in 1921, was a member of the Militant Minority Movement of the Communist Party of Australia. In February 1935 he was elected General Secretary of the SUA Sydney Branch and led the 1935-36 Seamen's Strike. Keenan was a fierce opponent of Johnson and instigated his removal from a union meeting in December 1935, with Johnson eventually expelled in 1937. Keenan replaced Johnson, but at the same time, Chris Herbert from the Sydney Branch also took on the position of General Secretary, with each supported by different factions. Keenan had relied on the support of the CPA, but lost this support through alleged personal failings, which included accusations of "carousing in a Greek sly grog shop, buying drinks for prostitutes, and having a cynical, flippant attitude to serious questions" (National Centre of Biography). 

The issue of the SUA leadership was not settled until 1937, when W.J. Daley was elected as the sole General Secretary.

References

Cuneen, C 2022, Johnson, Jacob, People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/johnson-jacob-32705>

Hogan, S 1990, Pankhurst, Adela Constantia (1885-1961), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pankhurst-adela-constantia-9275> 

Keenan, Joseph (Joe) (1900-?) 2022, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/keenan-joseph-joe-32783/text40774>