Michele O'Neil
Michele O'Neil | |
|---|---|
O'Neil speaking at the 2021 Palm Sunday refugee rally in Melbourne. | |
| 11th President of the ACTU | |
| Assumed office 28 July 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Ged Kearney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michele O'Neil |
Michele O'Neil is an Australian trade unionist and president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) since 2018.[1]
Union career
[edit]O'Neil was previously the branch and national secretary of the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA).
Union movement
[edit]In 2004, she told union members to consider cutting ties with the Australian Labor Party (ALP) over tariff cuts in the clothing, footwear and textiles industries.[1]
O'Neil spoke in favour of scrapping boat turn-backs in 2015 when a delegate at the Labor party conference.[citation needed]
In 2018, O'Neil was elected president of the ACTU.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Born in Melbourne, O’Neil is the youngest of five daughters. Her mother left school at 13 to work in a tannery in Melbourne and worked as a waitress, and in various other casual jobs while raising five daughters. O'Neil's father served in the army, before serving as a public servant and briefly as an Australian Football League (AFL) administrator.[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Staff (17 July 2018). "Michele O'Neil's ascent to ACTU president". SBS News. Special Broadcasting Service. AAP. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ↑ "Labor downplays union refugee policy push – 9News". www.9news.com.au. 20 July 2018.
- ↑ "Meet the new ACTU President, Michele O'Neil". Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA. Retrieved 23 May 2019.