Partners in Protest: The Case of the 1929 Timber Workers' Strike

Abstract

Women's involvement in trade unions and their direct participation in industrial action has been the subject of growing interest for labour historians and industrial relations scholars. Some research has also concentrated on women's indirect participation in paid work. However just as this field of investigation has made inroads into the study of labour history, some have advised a return to ‘traditional ‘concerns of institutional labour history by focusing more specifically on the institutional forces which shape industrial relations. The following article takes up this debate about the perceived benefits in adopting an ‘institutionalist’ or ‘rank and filist’ approach through an investigation of the 1929 strike in the timber industry. By analysing those closely associated with strikers and their unions, thereby adopting a ‘rank and filist’ approach, it suggests that hitherto unexplored aspects of mobilisation may come to light. It concludes that gender relations was an important factor in sustaining this case of industrial action.