Jim Healy (trade unionist)
Encyclopedia
James "Big Jim" Healy was an Australian trade unionist and communist activist.
Healy was born at West Gorton in Manchester
, the son of corporation labourer Dominic Healy and cotton-worker Mary Ellen, née Schaill. He attended St Francis of Assisi parish school and began assisting Labour Party canvassers at the age of 8. He enlisted in the 8th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
in 1915; served until he was wounded in action on the Western Front
in 1918 and discharged. On his return he moved to Scotland to work as a plate-layer in the tramway
s.
On 19 July 1919 Healy married woollen weaver Elizabeth McGowan at St Cuthbert's Catholic Church in Edinburgh
. They and their three sons emigrated to Queensland
in 1925, where Healy began work as a fireman and boiler attendant at Mackay
. He became a wharf labourer in 1927 and the following year was elected to the management committee of the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia
(WWF) becoming branch president in 1929. Disappointed with the underperformance of various Labor
governments in response to the Great Depression
, Healy joined the Communist Party of Australia
in 1934 after a tour of the Soviet Union
.
Healy moved to Sydney
in 1936 and in 1937 was elected general secretary of the WWF, transferring its head office from Melbourne
in 1939. Healy is given credit for modernising the union and he was the founder and first editor of the WWF's national journal, the Maritime Worker. In 1937 and 1938 he campaigned in support of waterside workers' boycotts of Japan
, and he continued to strengthen the WWF during World War II
due to the industry's contribution to the war effort. From 1945 to 1949 he led a boycott on Dutch
ships in order to support the Indonesia
n independence movement.
Healy oversaw the amalgamation of the WWF with the Permanent & Casual Wharf Labourers' Union
(PCWLU), but the antagonism of many in the WWF towards the PCWLU weakened his position. In the 1949 coalminers' strike he was gaoled for contempt of court
, having refused to disclose the whereabouts of money used to assist the strikers; sentenced to a year, he was released after apologising five weeks into his sentence. He was active in the campaign against the Menzies
government's attempt to ban the Communist Party.
A committee of inquiry into the waterside industry was established by the Stevedoring Industry Act of 1954, in an attempt by the government to end the WWF's monopoly on wharf labour supply; the federation went on strike with the support of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
(ACTU); the government went ahead with further reforms, but Healy was appointed to the ACTU executive in 1957. He died of a cerebrovascular accident in 1961 at Darlinghurst
and was cremated; he was farewelled in Sussex Street with a "comrade's farewell" (Healy was an atheist), attended by hundreds of mourners. The Internationale
was played and the cortège stretched for almost a mile, blocking traffic for over an hour.
Healy was born at West Gorton in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, the son of corporation labourer Dominic Healy and cotton-worker Mary Ellen, née Schaill. He attended St Francis of Assisi parish school and began assisting Labour Party canvassers at the age of 8. He enlisted in the 8th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....
in 1915; served until he was wounded in action on the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
in 1918 and discharged. On his return he moved to Scotland to work as a plate-layer in the tramway
Tramway
Tramway may refer to:* Tramway , a lightly laid railway for uses such as logging or mining * A system of trams * Aerial tramway...
s.
On 19 July 1919 Healy married woollen weaver Elizabeth McGowan at St Cuthbert's Catholic Church in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. They and their three sons emigrated to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in 1925, where Healy began work as a fireman and boiler attendant at Mackay
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
. He became a wharf labourer in 1927 and the following year was elected to the management committee of the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia
Maritime Union of Australia
The Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. As of 2011 the union has about 13,000 members. It is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers' Federation and represents the...
(WWF) becoming branch president in 1929. Disappointed with the underperformance of various Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
governments in response to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Healy joined the Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
in 1934 after a tour of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Healy moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1936 and in 1937 was elected general secretary of the WWF, transferring its head office from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1939. Healy is given credit for modernising the union and he was the founder and first editor of the WWF's national journal, the Maritime Worker. In 1937 and 1938 he campaigned in support of waterside workers' boycotts of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and he continued to strengthen the WWF during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
due to the industry's contribution to the war effort. From 1945 to 1949 he led a boycott on Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
ships in order to support the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n independence movement.
Healy oversaw the amalgamation of the WWF with the Permanent & Casual Wharf Labourers' Union
Permanent & Casual Wharf Labourers Union of Australia
The Permanent & Casual Wharf Labourers Union of Australia was a Australian union for maritime labourers.The Union was established in opposition to the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia. Branches were founded by "loyalists" in Sydney in response to the General Strike of 1917 and amalgamated...
(PCWLU), but the antagonism of many in the WWF towards the PCWLU weakened his position. In the 1949 coalminers' strike he was gaoled for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
, having refused to disclose the whereabouts of money used to assist the strikers; sentenced to a year, he was released after apologising five weeks into his sentence. He was active in the campaign against the Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
government's attempt to ban the Communist Party.
A committee of inquiry into the waterside industry was established by the Stevedoring Industry Act of 1954, in an attempt by the government to end the WWF's monopoly on wharf labour supply; the federation went on strike with the support of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
(ACTU); the government went ahead with further reforms, but Healy was appointed to the ACTU executive in 1957. He died of a cerebrovascular accident in 1961 at Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...
and was cremated; he was farewelled in Sussex Street with a "comrade's farewell" (Healy was an atheist), attended by hundreds of mourners. The Internationale
The Internationale
The Internationale is a famous socialist, communist, social-democratic and anarchist anthem.The Internationale became the anthem of international socialism, and gained particular fame under the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1944, when it was that communist state's de facto central anthem...
was played and the cortège stretched for almost a mile, blocking traffic for over an hour.