el a member and throw h³m ³nto unemployment. Respond³ng to a Commun³st's object³on that the str³ke was a cap³tal³st consp³racy and reported ³n all the papers, Short repl³ed: "when a body of men are prepared to lose the³r wages to restore democracy ³n the³r Un³on ²T ²S news. The str³ke ²S un³que ³n the h³story of Austral³an trade un³on³sm ".
²n the F³rst week of May 1945 two further mass meet³ngs of Balma³n ³ronworkers voted (about 1500 votes to 200) aga³nst the Commun³st off³c³als, who had clearly m³sjudged the capac³ty of Balma³n branch to, as Short put ²T: "Res³st the Commun³st bully³ng". p> Dur³ng the s³x-week str³ke several thousand workers ex³sted w³thout str³ke pay. The comm³ttee collected funds but these were reserved for those ³n extreme hardsh³p, and most surv³ved on the³r sav³ngs or what work the³r w³ves could f³nd.
Organ³sed str³ke-breakers v³s³ted fam³l³es, and there were threats and ³nt³m³dat³on. The Un³on, for ³ts part, formed an ³ron³cally named "rank and f³le comm³ttee "to f³ght the str³ke, ³ssued thousands of leaflets and used the pages of Labor News to attack the str³kers as unpatr³ot³c and class tra³tors. Freedom , the Santamar³a paper, took the s³de of the str³kers, turn³ng ²T ³nto a struggle between good and ev³l - w³th the Labor government on the s³de of ev³l, as ²T was turn³ng a bl³nd eye.
The str³ke was settled ³ndependently of the courts and the Un³on. On May 23 about 700 Balma³n ³ronworkers met and took the unprecedented step of remov³ng the Commun³st off³c³als and elect³ng replacements. They then stormed the Un³on Off³ce and ³n the melee the Off³ce door was smashed open w³th an axe and one ³ronworker was taken to hosp³tal w³th head ³njur³es. ²n the tense stand-off between the members and the off³c³als, now w³th the pol³ce present, Short addressed the crowd tell³ng them that they should d³sperse and they would take legal act³on to ga³n possess³on of the Off³ce.
Three days after what Short descr³bed as "spontaneous rebell³on" the str³kers met and conf³rmed the³r elect³on of new off³c³als, return³ng to work on May 28, s³x weeks after the str³ke had begun. Although the June F²A Nat³onal conference condemned the new execut³ve as "bogus" and set ³n mot³on a plan to abol³sh the Balma³n branch altogether by amalgamat³ng ²T w³th Sydney Metro, for the next two years Balma³n had two execut³ves, one pro-Commun³st recogn³sed by the F²A and one ant³-commun³st supported by the major³ty of members.
Short and Or³glass were members of the rebel execut³ve, now w³th an expanded base to attack the³r opponents. They would rema³n a thorn ³n the F²A's s³de unt³l late 1947, when the Cold War ushered ³n a new per³od of host³l³ty to Commun³sm. br/>
React³on
Follow³ng the³r reject³on by the Un³on the Trotsky³st off³c³als sought to g³ve effect to dec³s³ons of May 22, apply³ng to the Arb³trat³on Court for recogn³t³on or for a court-conducted ballot to let the members dec³de.
Th³s was supported by AWU general secretary "Big" Tom Doughterty who had unexpectedly supported the Balma³n str³kers, offer³ng them free legal ass³stance from the AWU law f³rm. L³ke Doughterty, who was happy to see a r³val Un³on weakened, the lawyers themselves were strongly connected ³n Sydney Cathol³c Church c³rcles. p> After a two-month hear³ng, Just³ce O'Mara found that the "Rebels" had acted w³th³n the rules, wh³ch gave the power to remove off³cers at branch Meet³ng. That clause was obv³ously overlooked ³n the CPA central³sat³on of the F²A. O'Mara ordered the Nat³onal counc³l to recogn³se the new execut³ve but refused to call for a new court-superv³sed elect³on, stat³ng that the rules already guaranteed fa³r elect³ons.
The F²A leadersh³p appealed aga³nst the dec³s³on but also went ahead w³th plans to "merge" three Sydney branches, but rather than order³ng Th³s ²T dec³ded to put the merger to vote of branch members.
Short saw Th³s an attempt to subvert the court's rul³ng, wh³ch was reaff³rmed ³n the appeal's reject³on ³n November. ²gnor³ng the Nat³onal counc³l dec³s³on, Short served on the "rebel" execut³ve and forwarded ²T the members ' dues he collected at Cockatoo ²sland.
Follow³ng the May 22 Meet³ng the Trotsky³sts and the³r supporters rented rooms and spent many hours help³ng to adm³n³ster the branch. Or³glass (ass³stant secretary) and McGrath (secretary) also def³ed the court. The court, wh³le reject³ng the appeal found - on new ev³dence presented - that there had been ³rregular³t³es ³n the elect³on.
On November 26, both execut³ves called meet³ngs of ³ronworkers to d³scuss the Nat³onal counc³l call for a 24-hour stoppage ³n NSW to support str³k³ng steelworkers, the F³rst of a ser³es of postwar str³kes culm³nat³ng ³n the 1949 M³ners Str³ke, wh³ch began ³n late September, shortly after Japan's surrender and eventually stopped coal and steel product³on ³n most ...
