Liam Byrne is about to deliver the definitive Australian union history
ACTU historian Liam Byrne is about to release an important new book, No Power Greater: A History of Union Action in Australia, which “gets to the heart of what it means to be a unionist”.
Melbourne University Publishing have confirmed that No Power Greater will be released for sale on May Day next year ̶ 1 May 2025.
No Power Greater examines over two centuries of struggle and activism, making two fundamental arguments about the nature of the union movement – that unions have pursued a humanising mission, and that unions are not just institutions, but “emotional communities”.
“Unions are the organisations that workers create when we come together to protect our interests. Unions are the product of emotional connection, a sense of shared identity forged through struggle, and bound by solidarity.”
Liam Byrne
The book also charts how communities originally excluded from the movement, including women workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, migrant and CALD workers, and those whom we would now call LGBTIQA+/Queer workers “established their own traditions of collective action”.
“Through their own agency, these workers fought for and won their own place within the emotional community of unionism. While the journey to make unionism as inclusive as possible continues, the significant advances made have been the direct result of the struggles and actions of these excluded communities themselves.”
Liam says that the book “demonstrates how essential unions have been to Australian history and the forging of Australian democracy”.
“Attacks on unions has made our country less equal and damaged our society.
“Democracy only works when people have a stake in the system. Attacks on unions have been an attack on egalitarianism and the fair go.
“Now, in a time of growing inequality, rapid technological change, and looming climate catastrophe, it is imperative that we have a strong and vibrant union movement. Part of that is capturing and sharing the true history of unionism in all its complexity – especially the fundamental reality that Australia is a fairer and more decent place because workers have come together, through their unions, and taken action to win fundamental rights that assert our essential humanity.”
The Point profiled Liam in the Labour History column in our Term 4 edition last year – you can read that article online at the news section of our website – and many unionists will be familiar with Liam’s work thanks to his monthly history newsletter ‘Rebel Chorus’, regular Maintain the Rage Substack essays and social media posts.
Liam was a union member and activist for many years, and participated in a range of progressive campaigns, before completing a PhD in labour movement history, working as a casual academic and becoming the ACTU’s National Activist Organiser. He became ACTU Historian after the 2019.
Aside from his current position, Liam is a biographer and political historian and has written on Australian politics and history for the Guardian, The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Conversation, and others. Byrne’s first book, Becoming John Curtin and James Scullin: the Making of the Modern Labor Party, was published by Melbourne University Press in 2020.
To pre-order a copy of No Power Greater: A History of Union Action in Australia go to Melbourne University Press.
LINKS:
Liam Byrne profiled in The Point, Term 4 2023
Sign up to Dr Liam Byrne’s Rebel Chorus newsletter by sending an email to: atui@actu.org.au