Open Conference of Industrial Unions (1930: Wellington, N.Z.); New Zealand Alliance of Labour

The United Federation of Labour (UFL) was displaced in the late 1920s by the newly formed New Zealand Alliance of Labour. This inaugural meeting, held at the Trades Hall, 126 Vivian Street, was attended by various delegates from the book trades: Mr F. Marshall, representing the 1,000 members of the Wellington Typographical Federation, Mr B. Martin on behalf of the 100 member-strong Auckland Printing Trades Employees, and Mr A. Tongue from the breakaway Canterbury Federated Unions' Typographical (170 members) and Printing (300 members) Trades. The Wall Street crash of 1929 and the subsequent global economic depression meant that by 1931, in-fighting amongst, particularly, the typographic sector of the trade, was replaced by a re-evaluation of the trade, its union structures, and its relationship to government and the bargaining table.

Further reading:

• Peter Franks, Print & Politics. A History of the Trade Unions in the New Zealand Printing Industry, 1865-1995 . Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2001.