Joy Ardill outlines her role in the formation of Socialist Left (SL) from the mid-1970s along with Anne Warner, Sue Yarrow, Hamish Linacre, Billie Watts, Cath Rafferty and Kath Turner who formed the Left Steering Committee before the 1979 Rockhampton ALP Conference. She states that getting left unions into the SL was important but difficult.
George Britten comments on the impact of the 1957 Queensland Labor Party split on the union movement in Queensland. He talks about his experience with the Building Trades Group.
George Britten reflects on the relatively low level of tension between communists and non communists within the union movement in Brisbane compared to elsewhere in Queensland.
Walter Threlfall describes the role of unions in his apprenticeship, and speaks about his membership of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU). He reflects on the Labor-sympathetic and heavily unionised nature of Newcastle in the 1970s.
Jack Hutton discusses some of the issues he dealt with as a member of the Townsville Trades and Labor Council. He describes the relationship between the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Trades and Labor Council, particularly in relation to the annual Labour Day March and Picnic.
