Union density in Australia has been in free fall for decades. In 1992, nearly 40 percent of workers were union members; today, that figure hovers around 12.5 percent for public sector unions. In the private sector it is closer to 8 percent. Strikes and industrial action have collapsed even more dramatically.

Militancy has not simply ebbed — it has been legislated out of existence. Unions face draconian penalties for unprotected action, meaning industrial agitation not preapproved by industrial courts. “Protected strikes” require navigating an obstacle course of ballots and bureaucratic approvals. In practice, withdrawing labor without state sanction risks crippling fines, rendering the right to strike conditional upon judicial permission.

This is the hostile terrain in which the United Workers Union (UWU) operates. The largest blue-collar union in the country, the UWU was formed in 2019 through a merger between the National Union of Workers and United Voice. The UWU is currently facing retaliation from Woolworths, the country’s largest employer, for a series of successful warehouse strikes last year.