Proud to be union? Queer work(ers) and the Australian trade union movement, 1970s–80s

Especially visible since the second half of the 20th Century, the presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer workers in certain industries has troubled gendered jurisdictions of work. Gay men have often been more visible in traditionally feminine professions–e.g. nursing, teaching, flight attendants–and lesbians and trans women in masculine professions (e.g. truck driving, the manufacturing sector). American historian Allan Bérubé calls this transgression of the gendered division of labour ‘queer work’. This article draws on the notion of ‘queer work’ to examine interactions between the Australian trade union movement, gay and lesbian workers, and struggles for gay and lesbian rights in the 1970s and 1980s. Whilst some sections of the Australian trade union movement that represented queer work(ers), such as teachers and nurses, were relatively quick to take up the interests of members, others lagged behind. Conversely, some trade unions outside of queer professions, notably the blue-collar NSW Builders Labourers Federation, took an interest in questions of discrimination on the basis of sexuality. In other words, whilst the presence of queer work(ers) within particular industries has, at times, led to the relevant union taking up queer issues, this has not always been the case. Whilst it is not possible entirely to de-couple trade union attitudes to questions of sexuality and rights from the relative queerness of the industries they represent, there are other significant factors at play; notably, the broader political orientation and history of the union, and the presence of an active and organised rank-and-file.