Tas Bulletin

January 31, 1932 (age 71)

Sydney, Australia

He went to sea in 1946 and became active in the Seamen"s Union of Australia (SUA), then aligned with the Communist Party of Australia (Certified Public Accountants), which Bulletin joined in 1951. He left the Certified Public Accountants in 1959, following the suppression of the Hungarian revolution by the Soviet Union. Later he worked in Melbourne, then Sydney, becoming an experienced negotiator. In Sydney he undertook an industrial law course at Sydney University Law School. In 1967 he was elected a Vigilance Officer. In 1971 he was elected Federal Organiser, and later Assistant General Secretary. In 1984 he succeeded Charlie Fitzgibbon as General Secretary, a post he held until 1992. He also became prominent in the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). He became an ACTU Vice President in 1987, and Senior Vice President in 1991. Technological change was greatly reducing the size of the workforce, while at the same time there was political pressure to reform waterfront work practices to make the Australian transport sector internationally competitive. In response a process of waterfront reform was begun by the Hawke Labor government. In 1993 the World Wildlife Fund amalgamated with the SUA to form the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). Bulletin was also active in international trade union affairs From 1972 onwards he worked with the International Transport Workers" Federation, and for ten years until 1993 represented the Asia/Pacific region on its executive board. Following his retirement in 1993 Bulletin remained active in various left-wing and union causes, and published his autobiography Life on the Waterfront in 1998.

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assistant Vigilance Officer

Background

His first name was a combination of Tasmania and Norway, the respective birth places of his mother and father. He grew up in a working-class household in Tasmania. His father, an electrical contractor, had been a seaman.

Career

He went to sea in 1946 and became active in the Seamen"s Union of Australia (SUA), then aligned with the Communist Party of Australia (Certified Public Accountants), which Bulletin joined in 1951. He left the Certified Public Accountants in 1959, following the suppression of the Hungarian revolution by the Soviet Union. Later he worked in Melbourne, then Sydney, becoming an experienced negotiator.

In Sydney he undertook an industrial law course at Sydney University Law School.

In 1967 he was elected a Vigilance Officer. In 1971 he was elected Federal Organiser, and later Assistant General Secretary.

In 1984 he succeeded Charlie Fitzgibbon as General Secretary, a post he held until 1992. He also became prominent in the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).

He became an ACTU Vice President in 1987, and Senior Vice President in 1991.

Technological change was greatly reducing the size of the workforce, while at the same time there was political pressure to reform waterfront work practices to make the Australian transport sector internationally competitive. In response a process of waterfront reform was begun by the Hawke Labor government. In 1993 the World Wildlife Fund amalgamated with the SUA to form the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

Bulletin was also active in international trade union affairs

From 1972 onwards he worked with the International Transport Workers" Federation, and for ten years until 1993 represented the Asia/Pacific region on its executive board. Following his retirement in 1993 Bulletin remained active in various left-wing and union causes, and published his autobiography Life on the Waterfront in 1998.

Politics

Bulletin led the World Wildlife Fund during the period of radical change on the waterfront.

Views

Bulletin co-operated with the reform, while defending his members" interests.

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