As recently as the early 1990s, 40% of Australian workers were union members. While there was a slight increase in 2024 – the first in a decade – that membership is now at 13.1%.

This decline has been used to argue unions have become less important in Australians’ lives.

Although some unions have recently made headlines for the wrong reasons, including allegations of corruption, bullying and violence, others – such as the Transport Workers Union (TWU) – have scored surprisingly big wins.

This includes a A$90 million fine for Qantas’ illegal sacking of 1,800 workers, and a deal with Uber and DoorDash to improve food delivery workers’ pay and safety.

Our research examines what the TWU did over 30 years to reassert its legitimacy – and how its campaigns have impacted Australians’ lives.

The story begins in the 1990s, when the shift to “enterprise bargaining” fragmented unions’ industrial strength.

Thousands of agreements struck at the enterprise level replaced a few industry-wide instruments. This spread union resources thin, making it difficult to achieve outcomes in workplaces with low membership.

In response, the TWU

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