Orders not to work on sites that proposed the destruction of green space, the demolition of existing housing, or demolition of older buildings to be replaced by high-rise developments, major roads,or shopping centres—placed by the Builders and Labourers Foundation (BLF) in Australia from 1971 to 1975
Context
Trade unions—associations of workers allied to their relevant industry—began to form in the UK and the United States towards the end of the nineteenth century in order that workers could gain power in numbers against exploitative employers, working practices, and laws. Unions are generally associated with collective bargaining power to increase wages, decrease working hours, increase parental leave, and other campaigns that increase workers rights. Over time, the power of unions has increased and decreased, depending on economic conditions and the political climate.
Social Movement Unionism, a term coined by Kim Moody, describes the importance of unions forming alliances with wider issues that impact workers. Examples of unions connecting with women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and migrant’s rights are widespread—as are examples of marginalised workers unionising to secure workplace rights. Trade unions have a history of engaging with climate-related issues, both in support and in opposition. Fred Rose describes the multiple intersecting interests between corporations, workers unions, and environmentalists that indicate possibilities for alliances but also conflicts—such as the use of less hazardous chemicals in manufacturing. Alliances between unions and environmentalists are often complicated by wider class issues. The ‘Green Bans’ movement that took place in Australia in the early 1970s demonstrate an example of an alliance between a trade union and local residents in relation to environmental issues, becoming widespread as its multiple campaigns gained publicity and success.
Practice
In the 1960s and 70s the Builders and Labourers Federation (BLF) in Australia represented around 90% of construction workers in the state of New South Wales. Social responsibility was codified within the BLF manifesto, which stated that ‘workers had a right to insist their labour not be used in harmful ways.’ Traditionally, a ‘Black Ban’ refers to a union ban that is put in place to restrict the supply of materials or labour to a construction site, an industry, or another workplace due to safety issues or wage disputes. A ‘Green Ban’, as it came to be known, refers to a union ban that is put in place with regard to conservation or environmental issues.
The first green ban was initiated at Kelly’s Bush in Hunters Hill, New South Wales in 1971. Kelly’s Bush was the only green area left in the suburb of Hunters Hill. A proposal by a construction company to build a residential development on the area led the residents, who named themselves ‘The Battlers of Kelly’s Bush’, to approach the Mayor, the local council and even the Australian Prime Minister to get the proposal halted. None of these efforts were successful, until the group approached the BLF, asking the construction workers who would be building the proposal to support the residents by enacting a ban. The construction company initially proposed using non-union labour to build the project, however, workers threatened the company in return, stating, ‘If you attempt to build on Kelly’s Bush, even if there is the loss of one tree, this half-completed building will remain so forever, as a monument to Kelly’s Bush.’ Kelly’s Bush still exists as a public recreation area, complete with a monument to green bans. The success of the green ban meant that by 1974 there were 42 green bans enacted by the BLF and over 100 buildings preserved from demolition by the Australian National Trust. Areas such as Sydney’s Botanical Gardens and Centennial Park were saved from construction plans that would have seen a car park for the Opera House and a sports stadium being built on the sites.
The alliance between the residents of Hunters Hill and the construction workers of the BLF represents a solidarity between groups with differing backgrounds that have identified concern over the destruction of the environment as an issue that affects everyone. This kind of solidarity has been replicated in the current UK by environmental activists from Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, and Friends of the Earth who joined the picket lines of striking railway workers in 2022. They identified common demands for a low-cost and well-funded public transport service, and a common enemy in the corporations running the railways, as reasons for the show of solidarity.
Instead of acting as if the knock-on effects of the construction projects were not their responsibility, the construction workers of the BLF understood the potential impact of their work and took action to adhere to their union agreement of social responsibility and ensure that their labour did no harm. Through their success in preventing unwanted construction and loss of green space, the green bans demonstrate the potential for groups to act in solidarity on issues that are too often seen as separate, but which in fact are brought together by climate breakdown and need to be addressed in an interdependent manner.