Start Date
2-10-1999 4:00 PM
End Date
2-10-1999 4:30 PM
Description
The NSW Independent Teachers' Association came into being in December 1972 as the consequence of a successful takeover of an existing 'union', the Assistant Masters' and Mistresses' Association, by an industrially minded group of lay teachers from Catholic systemic schools. 1 In the first five years after the takeover, membership ofthe union increased from 1,000 to 1,800 people: from about ten to sixteen per cent of its potential membership. Then, in the subsequent five years, membership increased to 8,500, or 58 per cent of the potential membership. 2 Why did the union grow relatively slowly before 1977; why so quickly after 1977? This paper suggest some answers to those questions which add to our knowledge of the complexity of the relationships between unions and the communities in which they work.
Lay Teachers in their Community: The NSW Independent Teachers' Association, 1972-1980
The NSW Independent Teachers' Association came into being in December 1972 as the consequence of a successful takeover of an existing 'union', the Assistant Masters' and Mistresses' Association, by an industrially minded group of lay teachers from Catholic systemic schools. 1 In the first five years after the takeover, membership ofthe union increased from 1,000 to 1,800 people: from about ten to sixteen per cent of its potential membership. Then, in the subsequent five years, membership increased to 8,500, or 58 per cent of the potential membership. 2 Why did the union grow relatively slowly before 1977; why so quickly after 1977? This paper suggest some answers to those questions which add to our knowledge of the complexity of the relationships between unions and the communities in which they work.