Story: Unions and employee organisations

Disputing the carpenters’ dispute

Disputing the carpenters’ dispute

During the Cold War period, after the Second World War, militant unionism was opposed strongly by employers and the government, and also by the reformed Federation of Labour. These two pamphlets, by the FoL (left) and the Carpenters’ Union (right), both claim to tell the ‘true story’ of the 1949 carpenters’ dispute. The government had – controversially – deregistered the communist-led union.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Reference: The history of the carpenters’ dispute, 1949: communist activities exposed. Wellington: National Executive of the New Zealand Federation of Labour, 1949; Roy Stanley, Fighting back! The true story of the 1949 carpenters’ dispute. Auckland: New Zealand Carpenters and Joiners’ Union (Auckland Branch), 1950.

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How to cite this page:

Erik Olssen, 'Unions and employee organisations - Unionism after the Second World War', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/22274/disputing-the-carpenters-dispute (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Erik Olssen, published 11 Mar 2010