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John (Jack) Leahy (?–?)

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John (Jack or Johnny) Leahy (?-?) bogus trade union official 

Birth: ? Death:? 

  • It was reported that towards the end of 1891 and early 1892 Leahy “began to plead for support from those engaged in shearing pursuits on the grounds that the Australian Workers’ Union’s subscription rates were too high. . .
  • Secretary of bogus Machine Shearers' & Shed Employees' Union (NSW), 1902-1907, enjoying close relations with employers associated with Pastoralists' Union of NSW and negotiating special industrial agreements with PUNSW.
  • Clashed repeatedly with Donald Macdonell, MLA, general secretary of Australian Workers' Union, over MSSEU's pre-emptive registration under NSW Industrial Arbitration Act 1901.
  • Refused to give evidence before Select Committee (1902) and Royal Commission (1904) set up on Macdonell's initiative to overturn MSSEU registration and was fined for doing so.
  • Edited MSSEU journal the Shearer (established 1904) which was anti-AWU and anti-Australian Labor Party.
  • Published article in 1905 which in 1906 resulted in an out-of-court settlement on a libel action initiated by Macdonell, W.G. Spence & Hector Lamond.
  • Subsequently acted more as an employer-contractor than as a union secretary, being sued for non-payment of wages.

Sources
John Merritt, The Making of the AWU (Melbourne, 1986).

Additional Resources

  • photo, Evening News (Sydney), 21 September 1903, p 2

Related Entries in NCB Sites

Citation details

'Leahy, John (Jack) (?–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/leahy-john-jack-34217/text42936, accessed 28 April 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012