Registered under the New South Wales Trade Union Act on the 12 November 1885, the Pressers' Union of New South Wales remained a conservative union throughout its history. Committed to the premise of exclusivity, the Pressers' Union vehemently rejected calls to expand its membership base by including semi-trained pressers and female members. Its strangle hold on the craft ensured that pressing in New South Wales remained a completely male dominated domain. Given this stance on exclusivity and its strong belief in the virtues of collective bargaining, the Pressers' Union of New South Wales rejected early overtures of amalgamating into wider, industry based unions. However, by August 1915, in a climate of war-time wage fixation, many of the Pressers' Unions' policies were being undermined to such an extent that its members voted to join the federally registered Federated Clothing Trades of the Commonwealth of Australia. It was not until the 6 March 1917, however, that members of the Pressers' Union and the New South Wales based Tailors' & Tailoresses' Union met as the New South Wales Branch of the Federated Clothing Trades of the Commonwealth of Australia. |
