Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union
The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) is the largest union in construction, forestry, maritime, textile, clothing and footwear production. The CFMEU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Labor Party.
The CFMEU has offices in all capital cities in Australia and in many major regional centres with the national office of the union being in Melbourne. Before the 2018 merger, the CFMEU had an estimated 120,000 members and employed around 400 full-time staff and officials.[2]
In March 2018, a two-year long process ended resulting in a merger between the old CFMEU, the Maritime Union of Australia and the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia. The new CFMEU had a membership of approximately 144,000, 1% of the Australian workforce, with combined assets of $310 million and annual revenue of approximately $146 million.[3]
Amalgamations[edit]
The federal division of the Federated Saw Mill, Timber Yard and General Wood Workers Employees' Association changed its name to the Amalgamated Timber Workers' Union of Australia. The former union had been registered federally in 1907 and had registered branches in Victoria, Adelaide, New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania. Although the organisation was deregistered in 1918 its members formed a new union, the Australian Timber Workers' Union, the same year. The new union extended coverage to workers in box and case factories, saw makers' shops, joiners' workshops, carpenters, implement workers and wood-working machinists. In 1940 the union filed an application and succeeded in extending its coverage to most workers employed in the timber and wood industry including cabinet makers and furniture factories. In 1991 it amalgamated with the Pulp & Paper Workers' Federation of Australia to form the Australian Timber & Allied Industries Union. Later in the year amalgamation with the Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia created the ATAIU & BWIU Amalgamated Union. Further amalgamations eventually saw this organisation become part of the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union in 1993.[17]
In late 2015, the Maritime Union of Australia and CFMEU entered into merger talks to create 'Australia's most powerful union'.[18][19]
On 29 February 2016 at the MUA national conference, delegates voted unanimously in favour of negotiations for a merger with the CFMEU.[20][21] In August 2017, the Turnbull government introduced tough new laws targeting the CFMEU, with broad powers to deregister unions, disqualify officials and block unions from merging if they repeatedly breach industrial laws. The proposed law failed to pass the Senate.[22] The Fair Work Commission approved the merger in March 2018 of the CFMEU, MUA and the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA).[23] The merger had been opposed by business groups, including Master Builders Australia, and by the federal government.[23] In November 2018, the Australian Mines and Metals Association appealed to the Federal Court of Australia against the merger.[24] The appeal was dismissed in December.[25]