Unemployed Workers Movement
| Abbreviation | UWM |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Melbourne, Australia |
| Purpose | Socialism Anti-Eviction |
Region | Australia |
National Secretary | Jack Sylvester |
Main organ | Communist Party of Australia |
The Unemployed Workers Movement (UWM) was a Socialist activist organisation operating in Australia during the Great Depression. It advocated for expanded Welfare, and protections for the Unemployed and fought against evictions in working-class neighbourhoods and work for welfare schemes.[1][2][3] In 1930 the UWM had an estimated 30,000 members.[1]
History
During the Great Depression in Australia, unemployment rose rapidly, reaching a height of 32 per cent in 1932. It is estimated that around 60,000 Australians depended on Government assistance.[4] Such assistance however was often inadequate or in the form of coupons which could not pay rent.[2][1] Additionally "Work for theDdole" schemes prevented many from receiving support.[2]
The Unemployed Workers Movement was formed in Melbourne after a dispute between the Victorian Trades Hall Council
Activities
After the UWM commitment to combat evictions, UWM branches created individual "Anti-Eviction Committees" through which they coordinated opposition. The Committees would investigate each case of eviction and decide if to lend their support.[3]
If the UWM Branch decided to intervene, multiple methods were used to prevent eviction. UWM leaders would meet with property owners, alongside a protest held at the property, this sometimes included veiled threats of violence. If deputation failed, the UWM utilised picketing which according to Nadia Wheatley was "familiar to trade unionists, and it fitted the sociable nature of the unemployed movement."[3] If picketing on the footpath failed, picketers would move into the house. In these activities the UWM were often assisted by members of the Workers Defence Corps and supporters of the Australian Labor Party.[5][3][1]
On multiple occasions, UWM protests turned into brawls with police attempting to fulfil eviction orders. Such 'battles' took place in Redfern, Leichhardt, Bankstown and Newtown. With UWM members armed with rocks, metal bars, bricks and bottles.[3][5]
The UWM tactics were extremely successful, winning every eviction case they supported in Sydney in the first five months of 1931[3], and continuing to have an extremely high success rate[3]
- ^ a b c d MacIntyre, Ian (2008). "Lock Out The Landlords: Australian Anti-Eviction Resistance 1929-1936". The Commons Social Change Library.
- ^ a b c McIntyre, Iain (2020-08-31). "Jim Munro and the Unemployed Workers Movement in the 1920s and 1930s". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wheatley, Nadia (2001). Sydney's anti-eviction movement: community or conspiracy?. University of Wollongong Press. pp. 146–173. ISBN 0947127038.
- ^ "Height of the Great Depression | Australia's Defining Moments Digital Classroom | National Museum of Australia". digital-classroom.nma.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b Moore, Andrew (2005). "The New Guard and the Labour Movement, 1931-35". Labour History (89): 55–72. doi:10.2307/27516075. ISSN 0023-6942. JSTOR 27516075. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-07-27.